How Fort Lauderdale’s hotel boom went bust

The credit crunch severely restrained a potential boom in Fort
Lauderdale’s hotel market, and the wave of hotels and renovations that
began three to four years ago is now a mass of foreclosures and failed
plans. The Trump International Hotel & Tower faces foreclosure. The
Broward County Convention Center hotel’s deal fell apart in December,
and even if the county approves a new bid this year, the hotel may not
be built until 2014. The project for the “1” Hotel and Residences, a
green resort brand chosen by hotel mogul Barry Sternlicht
for Fort Lauderdale and four other cities, never started. And the Lago
Mar’s $15 million expansion is delayed as the developer, Walter Banks,
waits for the market to rebound. [Sun Sentinel]