Fort Lauderdale's South Beach Still Trying to Exit the 1970s

Larry Barszewski reports from Fort Lauderdale: "It's back to the drawing board for the long-sought transformation of the city's southern stretch of State Road A1A."

"Plans to upgrade the area, which includes Bahia Mar, Bahia Cabana and the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, have been placed in limbo or scaled back, leaving it trapped in a 1970s time warp," explains Barszewski. That state of affairs persists despite recently abandoned plans to remake the Bahia Mar resort into a mixed-use entertainment and residential attraction. The deciding factor that sunk the proposal: "developers of the city-owned site said they could not reach lease terms with the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show…"

The article includes more details about the proposed development, the local opposition to the plan, and the political maneuvering that will be necessary for any future development plans. Meanwhile, however, the Bahia Mar proposal isn't the only project to fail to move from concept to reality. "In May, commissioners rejected a land swap needed to provide room for a Bahia Cabana redevelopment proposal," according to Barszewski. That plan would have built luxury condos, a restaurant, and a waterfront promenade. Plans to renovate the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center have also been scaled back.

Finally, Barszewski also notes one sign of change coming to the area: "The city has plans to upgrade Las Olas Boulevard on the barrier island into a more inviting stretch, creating an oceanfront park where the city's surface parking lot is, improving open space on the south side of the road near the Intracoastal and building a parking garage on the north side."