High-rise developers of Hallandale Diplomat still tweaking development mix

The conceptual design of four high-rise buildings at the Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club in Hallandale Beach could become finalized by the end of summer as the property’s owners fix the mix of condos, hotel rooms, condo-hotel units and rental units.

The Hallandale Beach City Commission earlier this year approved the development of one 30-story residential building with 250 units on the grounds of the Diplomat golf course, plus three condo-hotels 30, 24 and 20 stories tall with 938 keys.

Louis Birdman, one of the golf property’s owners, said market conditions have changed since the city approved the development, so he and the other owners are still deciding on the mix of units for rent and units for sale in the residential building. He said the number of condo units in the three hotels is also in flux.

The development team will finalize the design of the buildings and their mix of uses in “probably a few months,” Birdman said in an interview.

“Now we’re getting more into the fine-tuning of those designs and making decisions about what product we’ll bring to the market,” Birdman told The Real Deal prior to a Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce luncheon he attended.

He said the development team would secure construction financing after finalizing the development’s design. In addition to Birdman and Mike Meyers, the owners of the Diplomat Golf & Country Club include Nate Sirang of California-based Concord Wilshire Companies.

They bought the Diplomat golf course in 2014 for $20 million. The Hallandale Beach property is located east of the Intracoastal Waterway, a short drive from the 998-room Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood.

Birdman also is an investor in the One Thousand Museum development in downtown Miami, a 62-story condominium designed by the late Zaha Hadid. Construction crews recently poured the 14th floor of the building.