Related wins approval to develop high-rise condo project in Hollywood

Hollywood commissioners approved the Related Group’s proposal to develop a high-rise condominium and community center on city-owned beachfront land.

Miami-based Related would rebuild the outdated Hollywood Beach Culture and Community Center at 1301 South Ocean Drive, and develop a 30-story, 300-unit condo project on adjacent municipal land that the company would lease for a proposed 99-year term.

Commissioners on Wednesday approved Related as the top-ranked bidder to rebuild the community center and develop the condo tower. After Related made an unsolicited proposal to do so in June, the city issued a public request for proposals from other bidders. Brokerage firm CBRE marketed the RFP on behalf of the city.

A municipal selection committee last month ranked the proposal by Related as the best, followed by bids, in ranked order, from Key International/13th Floor Investments, Continuum Company, and Chateau Group. All proposed both a new community center and a residential development.

Related proposed construction of a two-story community center with 20,000 square feet of space, nearly 25 percent more than the existing community center. Related also would rebuild an adjacent public park, restore a nearby sand dune, and link the development site to the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, a beachfront pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Related also would build a 5,000-square-foot restaurant on the ground level of the new community center, which the company would lease to a restaurant operator.

The developer would build these public facilities, valued at $10 million, at no cost to the city.

According to its master plan for the project, Related would pay the city $400,000 of guaranteed annual rent on a 99-year ground lease, plus 30 percent of rental payments by the restaurant.

Related also would pay Hollywood 12.5 percent of revenue from condo sales, after deducting the estimated $10 million cost of the new community center and other public facilities. It would also make a $5 million payment to the city upon execution of a 99-year ground lease.

Related expects $280 million of total revenue from condo sales, or an average of about $930,000 per unit. Miami-based Arquitectonica would design the development with three levels of parking and amenities. Eric Fordin, a Related senior vice president, told the commission that the average size of the condos would be about 1,500 square feet.

Related’s entire project, including public and private portions, would cost an estimated $138 million and would take a bit more than two years to construct.

Commissioners directed city staff to negotiate a comprehensive agreement for the development. The project would require site plan approval before construction could start. Other city approvals may be required too.

Zoning on the residential portion of the development site limits density to 25 dwelling units per acre, less than half of the 57 dwelling units per acre that Related plans to build. But Broward County allows municipal governments to adopt Transfer of Development Rights programs to permit developments with density that exceeds local zoning limits.
According to Related’s master plan, “the adoption of a TDR program [by Hollywood] would be required in order to permit the development of all 300 proposed units.”