City rejects swap to expand Bahia Cabana — for now

Fort Lauderdale city commissioners denied a proposal by the owner of the Bahia Cabana Beach Resort to expand and further develop the property by acquiring a fire station next door.

But the city commission and Randolph Equity Partners, the owner of Bahia Cabana, still might work out an agreement allowing the resort owner to acquire the city’s Fire Station 49 in exchange for building a new fire station at a nearby location.

Fire Station 49 and Bahia Cabana both have premium locations at the southern entrance to the city’s beachfront area.

Vice Mayor Dean Trantalis said at a May 24 city commission meeting that a new fire-station location nearer Las Olas Boulevard may be preferable to a site 250 feet from the existing Fire Station 49 location, which Randolph Equity Partners proposed.

Adam Sharif, who runs Randolph Equity Partners, said the company is unopposed to an alternative location for Fire Station 49 at 1015 Seabreeze Boulevard, just south of the Bahia Mar hotel and marina.

One door south of the fire station is Bahia Cabana at 3001 Harbor Drive, a corner location where Harbor Drive and Seabreeze Boulevard intersect.

Sharif told city commissioners Randolph Equity Partners wants redevelop and expand Bahia Cabana in a project that would include “ultra-luxury” condominiums at prices averaging $7 million per unit.

Commissioner Romney Rogers said he was reluctant to endorse the Bahia Cabana expansion plan without knowing what it would look like. [Sun-Sentinel] — Mike Seemuth