Fort Lauderdale redeveloping to regain limelight
There hasn’t been much of anything to draw Fort Lauderdale tourists to its magnificent view of the ocean for the past decade. This year that may change.
The luxury St. Regis will open in December. The W, part of the Starwood group’s, 517 unit property is set to open in 2007. The 298 unit Trump International Hotel & Tower, being developed on the site of the Gold Coast and Merrimac hotels, plan for a 24-story building, designed by renowned architect Michael Graves.
Existing hotel operators that haven’t made major upgrades since Fout Lauderdale’s heydays now must decide whether to spend tens of millions of dollars to keep pace, or risk slipping into the shadows of the new larger hotels.
Most of Fort Lauderdale’s oceanfront was first developed in the 1940s and 1950s. Its renaissance has proceeded in fits and starts. But the entire region has an interest in its improvement because nearly half of all visitors to Broward head for Fort Lauderdale, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Transformation began two years ago with the opening of the Atlantic, a 124-unit condo/hotel run by a unit of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and the 156-unit Best Western Pelican Beach Resort, redeveloped by the Kruze family from a 109-room complex that was outmoded.
The 30 year old Radisson Bahia Mar, is up for a makeover. The yachting center surrounding the 296-room hotel got a $17 million renovation last year. With 26 acres of docks and land fronting both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, Bahia Mar is a prime spot for a luxury brand.
Charles Kao
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