Fort Lauderdale Real Estate
Las Olas Riverfront – Possibly Redeveloped Into Over
1,200 Apartments + Retail
The redevelopment plans for the almost desolate Las Olas Riverfront site in downtown Fort Lauderdale have been revealed.
Built in 1998, Las Olas Riverfront was a popular restaurant and entertainment destination for many years, but it got hit hard by the recession, lost many tenants and fell into foreclosure.
Dev Motwani, acquired the 3.67-acre property out of foreclosure for $16.7 million in 2011. The Fort Lauderdale Riverfront retail complex is mostly vacant now.
Motwani has been seeking development partners for the property and he’s found a big one. Ryan Shear has a pending deal to acquire the 2.38-acre western portion of Las Olas Riverfront from Motwani’s company. That’s the area closer to the train tracks with frontage on the river.
On Sept. 13, the city’s Development Review Committee will consider the proposal for PMG’s portion of the site. It calls for two apartment towers with a combined 1,214 units, 40,000 square feet of retail and 1,944 parking spaces. The apartment towers would rise 46 and 42 stories while the parking deck would be 13 stories.
The 244,656 square feet of retail currently at the property would be demolished.
“It’s more like hotel-oriented multifamily,” Shear said. “It’s designed for the post-college, socially active millennial. To activate that area, you need a residential component. You can’t just have a retail destination alone.”
Two major public transit projects, the Wave streetcar and the Brightline passenger train, are also under construction and will have stops near Las Olas Riverfront.
One-bedroom units in Las Olas Riverfront would measure about 500 square feet while two-bedroom units would measure 800 to 900 square feet, Shear said.
Jack McCabe, head of Deerfield Beach-based McCabe Research & Consulting, said “It will be desirable for people who live in the immediate vicinity and for people who want to live without owning a car.”
For projects like Las Olas Riverfront, being in the urban core could lower transportation costs and reduce transportation expenses. All across South Florida, car-dependent residents are being asked to embrace urban living.
To see the full article please visit The South Florida Business Journal.
Image: Mark Goebel
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