Development is booming in Fort Lauderdale.
Downtown Fort Lauderdale has more than 40 projects with 16,000 condos and apartments in the works, according to a May report released by the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.
The residential units will add to others that have been built over the past several years, showing developers continue to make downtown bets for the city nicknamed Venice of America.
Jenni Morejon, president and CEO of the Fort Lauderdale Development Authority, said that about 6,000 residential units were built between 2019 and this year.
“Downtown has come into its own,” she said.
Here are some of the projects planned in downtown Fort Lauderdale:
Kushner Companies and Aimco, 200, 300 and 520 West Broward Boulevard
Apartment giants Kushner Companies and Aimco paid $49 million for an assemblage in downtown Fort Lauderdale in January. The companies plan a 3 million-square-foot multi-tower development, following a key zoning change from the Fort Lauderdale commission last year.
BH3, 300 North Andrews Avenue
BH3 paid Traina Companies, a co-developer of Privé at Island Estates in Aventura, $23.1 million for FATcity, a 2.8-acre city block in 2019. The developer plans to build 612 apartments on the site. BH3 financed the deal with a $14.4 million loan from New York-based Maxim Credit Group.
Dependable Equities, 300 Northeast Third Avenue
Brooklyn-based Dependable Equities plans a 1.5-million-square-foot development called Ombelle. Plans currently call for 1,100 luxury rental units. The developer paid $27 million for the 1.9-acre assemblage in November.
ROVR Development, 626 Northeast First Avenue
Ricardo Vadia, who leads Miami-based ROVR development, bought the 27,000-square-foot site from Israeli developers Doron Broman, Simon Langbret and Uri Redler in 2018 for $2.8 million. According to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, 99 condos are planned for the site.
OKO Group, 629 Southeast Fifth Avenue
Billionaire developer Vladislav Doronin assembled and closed on three blocks in Fort Lauderdale — including Dev Motwani’s 629 Southeast Fifth Avenue — for a total of $63 million. Motwani sold the property in 2020. A year earlier, he received city approval for a 246-unit, 34-story apartment tower.
Urban Street Developer, Hines, 501 Northwest First Avenue
Houston-based Hines paid $57.4 million for a mixed-use project site in FATVillage last year, with plans to build 835,000 square feet of office space, retail and residences. Hines and Fort Lauderdale-based Urban Street Development are partnering on the project.
Moderno, 307 Southwest Fifth Street
Moderno Development Group, led by Christopher Bibus and Doron Broman, paid $5 million for an assemblage in 2018 with plans to build an $80 million mixed-use rental building. The developer has approval to build over 300 apartments.
Roberts Equities LLC, 808 Southeast Fourth Street
Boca Raton-based Roberts Equities LLC won approval in December to build several dozen condos. The developer planned to begin pre-construction condo sales at the half-acre site this year. The company bought the site through an entity for $6.1 million in 2016.
Aimco, 901 North Federal Highway
Aimco bought a redevelopment site in Flagler Village for $64 million, which is part of an assemblage for a new mixed-use project. The developer has approval to build 1,500 apartments, spanning 3 million square feet on a 9-acre site, in phases.
Merrimac Ventures, 317 North Federal Highway
Developer Dev Motwani paid $14 million for a development site where he’s approved to build over 700 residential units, according to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.
Ocean Land Investments, 501 Southeast 6th Avenue
Jean Francois Roy, founder and CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based Ocean Land Investments, has approval to build a 96-unit multifamily development, replacing a three-story condominium.
Walker & Dunlop, 701 North Federal Highway
Hollywood-based developer Walker & Dunlop is currently constructing 337 apartments. The development, Called Quantum at Flagler Village, will have a 647-space parking garage and 20,884 square feet of retail space. The Flagler Village Land Trust assembled the parcels of land from 701 to 723 North Federal Highway in 2016.
Urban Street Development, 401 Northwest First Avenue
Urban Street Development, led by real estate developer Alan Hooper and restaurateur and entrepreneur Tim Petrillo, scored a $9 million construction loan in 2020 to complete The Forge, a 35-unit apartment building in Fort Lauderdale’s FATVillage. According to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, the project is currently under construction.
Related Group, 201 South Federal Highway
Jorge Pérez’s Related Group, armed with an $84 million construction loan from Bank of America, is building over 300 apartments at 201 South Federal Highway.
