A construction firm founder won site-plan approval for a 54-unit condominium to rise along the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale’s North Beach area, replacing a mid-century modern hotel.
The Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted unanimously Tuesday night in favor of the 13-story waterfront development, called Opus at 701, at 632 and 701 Bayshore Drive. The developer is Bill Lougheed of Fort Lauderdale.
Lougheed’s entities paid nearly $20 million last year to assemble the 0.78-acre development site, according to state and county records.They bought the Manhattan Tower, a 1955-built hotel, for $11 million and a 56-year-old apartment building for $8.5 million.
Lougheed’s CNB Contracting of New Rochelle, New York, is the general contractor. Richard Mach is co-developing the project.
Fort Lauderdale-based Adache Group Architects designed the boutique condo development with amenities including a fitness center and spa, as well as a pool deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. A podium with 114 parking spaces would be above the ground-floor lobby. The top floor’s design includes an elevated roof deck with an infinity-edge pool and a clubhouse lounge.
Most homeowners in the Central Beach Alliance support the development, said William Brown, president of the neighborhood association. Developers reduced the distance the balconies extend from the planned condo building in response to comments from nearby residents, he said.
Much of the commissioners’ discussion about Opus at 701 centered on plans to demolish Manhattan Tower, one of many older buildings in Fort Lauderdale’s North Beach area with a Mid-Century Modern architectural design.
Manhattan Tower and its soaring metal sign are structurally unsound due to deterioration including cracked and spalled concrete and corroded steel concealed by layers of paint, said Stephanie Toothaker, an attorney for the developers.
The developers proposed installation of a sculpture of the Manhattan Tower at the lobby entrance of Opus at 701 to commemorate the property’s architectural identity.
But spalled concrete and rusted steel don’t justify demolition of Manhattan Tower, said Arthur Marcus, a former member of Fort Lauderdale’s Historic Preservation Board. Marcus also told city commissioners that the Manhattan Tower is one of 26 buildings in Fort Lauderdale’s North Beach area that have a mid-century modern architectural style but aren’t designated historic properties.
“This is the first of probably 26 more demolitions in North Beach,” Marcus said.
Mayor Dean Trantalis supported the developers’ plan to commemorate the Manhattan Tower.
“It’s rusting. It’s not structurally sound. But that doesn’t mean we want to erase it from the landscape,” the mayor said. “It’s just part of the kitschy look of Fort Lauderdale.”
