Pier 66 to open waterfront venue
Property, at 17th St. Causeway, can be accessed by foot, car or boat
FORT LAUDERDALE – An empty space along the picturesque Intracoastal Waterway will be filled in with music, entertainment and activity every day of the year, under a newly approved Pier 66 South proposal.
On the south side of the 17th Street Causeway, site of the former Sails Marina, developer Tavistock Development Co. will build a one-story, 5,000-square-foot, air-conditioned building with an indoor-outdoor bar and seating.
City commissioners voted Tuesday night to allow the five-year, temporary and ongoing special event. Longer term, Tavistock plans a major redevelopment there and a renovation of the iconic Pier 66 Hotel & Marina on the north side of the 17th Street Causeway.
At the new waterfront venue, visitors might find yoga, happy hours, brunches, farmers markets, artistic displays or musical performances, a Tavistock memo says. The zone might be reserved for a wedding or birthday party. Food trucks will rotate every few weeks or months.
The property, at 2150 SE 17th St., can be accessed by foot, car or boat.
Neighbors in the Harbor Inlet community said they successfully sought protections, worrying about loud music, and boisterous patrons, and traffic.
“I for one and many of my neighbors want this venue to succeed,” resident Prabhuling Pate said at a lengthy City Commission discussion of the application in December. “However, nobody can predict with certainty the impact on Harbor Inlet.”
“We know that there’s a few residents in Harbor Inlet that would just prefer nothing be built,” Tavistock lawyer-lobbyist Stephanie Toothaker said at the Dec. 18 meeting. “I get it. It’s been empty for a long time. Anything that’s there is going to have an impact on the neighborhood. That’s just the reality.”
But she said there would be no loud concerts or live bands, just maybe the occasional “acoustical person singing Jimmy Buffet.” Tuesday, some residents praised Tavistock representatives for working with them to come to agreement.
Jessi Blakley, a Tavistock senior director, said the company hopes to open the new entertainment venue by the end of summer, before the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which kicks off Oct 30.
The hours of activity will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays, according to what was approved Tuesday.