Ocean Land unveils plans for $200M luxury senior living project in Fort Lauderdale

Ocean Land Investments has revealed plans for its Riverwalk Residences of Las Olas, a luxury senior project proposed for downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Ocean Land, led by Jean Francois Roy, is under contract to buy the site at 333 North New River Drive East, which went before the Fort Lauderdale Development Review Committee this week. Roy said he will respond to the committee’s questions before the project goes to the city’s planning and zoning board later this year.

Records show Riverwalk Plaza Associates owns the nearly 33,000-square-foot site. The company paid $624,000 for the property, which houses the four-story Riverwalk Plaza building, in 1986.

Roy declined to provide a purchase price for the land, but said the project would cost between $175 million and $200 million to develop.

As planned, the 42-story, 401-unit tower would include 192 independent living units, 152 assisted living units and 57 “memory care” residences. Also on site would be doctors’ offices, physical therapy and adult daycare. Roy said the development will fill a void in the neighborhood for active senior living, connecting residents to landmarks like the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and nearby museums.

The developer has five Aqua-branded boutique condo projects under construction or recently completed in the Las Olas neighborhood, which he said are about 85 percent presold. Roy’s career has spanned 40 years, building high-rise retirement homes in Montreal and high-rise condominiums in South Florida.

He expects to break ground on Riverwalk Residences next summer with delivery expected about 30 months from then, he said.

Borges + Associates Architects is designing the project, which would feature restaurants, a rooftop bar, a spa, gym, outdoor pool and a hotel component. As planned, it will also have an indoor-outdoor plaza on the ground level, a sky garden at the tower level, and a gourmet market along the riverwalk.