UPDATED, Oct.1, 4:30 p.m.: The Related Group won final approval of a rezoning for its second planned oceanfront condominium development in a three-block area of coastal Pompano Beach.
City commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to rezone a 3.19-acre property at 900 North Ocean Boulevard, where Related plans to build a 21-story building with 119 condos.
The rezoning from “multi-family residence-45” to “planned development – infill” raises the maximum building height from 105 feet to 232 feet on the oceanfront site.
The as-yet-unnamed condo development will replace Beach Villas Condos, a three-story building with 48 units, built in 1979.
The development site is next to the 16-story Century Plaza Condos to the north, and the one-story Golden Shores Apartment Co-op to the south, and directly across North Ocean Boulevard from the one-story Sea Horse Motel.
The first three levels of Related’s Arquitectonica-designed building will have parking spaces and commercial space. Robert Lochrie, an attorney for Related, told the Pompano Beach Planning & Zoning Board at its July 28 meeting that the commercial space “may be a barber shop or an art gallery, not a retail destination,” according to minutes of the meeting.
The board recommended approval of the rezoning on Aug. 25 after Related agreed to exclude grocery stores and convenience stores as possible occupants of the commercial space.
In May, Related, led by Jorge Pérez, broke ground at 1116 North Ocean Boulevard for the construction of Solemar, a 20-story, 105-unit condominium just north of the newly rezoned condo site.
This month, Related secured a $91.3 million construction loan from CIBC Bank for Solemar, which is 95 percent presold, according to a company spokesperson.
Related launched pre-construction sales at its Solemar development about a year ago at prices that started at $1.3 million per unit.
The developer acquired the Solemar site in 2011. The project began to advance after another nearby condo development, Sabbia Beach, opened in 2019 at 730 North Ocean Boulevard.
Developed by Fernbrook Homes and Grupo Fernandez, the 11-story, 69-unit condo, Sabbia Beach was the first new oceanfront condo project to open in Pompano Beach in a decade.
Other developers are also planning oceanfront projects in Pompano Beach. Miami-based Fortune International Group paid Lionheart Capital $27.5 million in September 2020 for a 4.6-acre site at 1380 South Ocean Boulevard, which has frontage on the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. The property is approved for a 33-story building on the beach, a 15-story building on the Intracoastal, and a marina.