Read in the Miami Herald, Feb. 1, 2016

A new compact with the Seminole Tribe pending approval by Florida Legislature

Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe of Florida are betting the Florida Legislature will approve a compact between the state and the tribe, and they’re betting big — $1.8 billion guitar-shaped hotel big.


The tribe outlined the details of the development at its Hollywood headquarters Monday to Scott, who was welcomed by the cheers of hundreds of Hard Rock employees. The $1.8 billion expansion plan was originally announced last spring, when the tribe began negotiations over the compact with the governor, and it continues to be touted as an economic reward for giving the tribe a statewide monopoly for certain casino games.


At the center of the proposal is the 800-room, 36-floor silver hotel, shaped like the body of a guitar rising from the Hollywood complex. The expansion also calls for five new restaurants, including a new Hard Rock Cafe, a buffet, dessert shop, nightclub and Swamp bar. If completed, as promoted, the tribe estimates the plan would create 19,452 jobs, including 4,867 full-time positions and 14,585 construction jobs, said Seminole Gaming CEO James Allen.


“We have created something that is, I think, an international tourist destination and an integrated resort that’s not just about gaming,” Allen said. “This will rival not just anything here in the state of Florida, but Atlantis [Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas] and anything in the world.”


Allen said the hotel will feature Bora Bora-style cabanas, creating a space for guests to step straight from their room into a VIP pool. The plans also call for extended-stay villas to house guests, many expected to come from Latin America, who stay for months at a time.


The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa would also get a revamp, with a second, 500-room hotel tower and several new dining and retail options at that facility.


$1.8 billion Cost of expansion plan to Hard Rock hotels in Hollywood and Tampa
But the development hinges on a gambling compact between the state and the tribe, that although already approved by Scott, is facing opposition in the state Legislature, which must ratify any agreement. Neither the House nor Senate has drafted legislation to enable the compact amid steep opposition from the state’s existing gambling operators.


The 20-year gaming deal would give the tribe exclusive rights to operate blackjack, craps and roulette in its seven casinos in exchange for revenue-sharing payments, guaranteeing $3 billion to the state over seven years, beginning in 2017. The payments are based on a sliding scale that rises the more the tribe makes in profits.

Scott called it the “biggest compact ever signed,” and thanked Seminole tribal leaders for their help reaching an agreement.


“What the Seminoles have done in the state is remarkable,” Scott said at the announcement. “This compact will have a positive impact on job growth.”


Scott added that the compact would help preserve more than 3,500 jobs held by table games dealers and employees who are at risk of losing their jobs if a new compact is not agreed on. That’s because a five-year provision for card games such as blackjack and baccarat, which was part of the previous compact, expired in the summer.

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The Seminole Casino has evidently added to the touristic attraction of Hollywood.
Hollywood Real Estate is booming at this time. Existing properties and new pre-construction projects in Hollywood are boosting real estate values in the whole area.


In Downtown Hollywood, several projects such as the H3 - Hollywood Station;


The Hyde Beach completely sold out, right on the beach.


Costa Hollywood in the Hollywood boardwalk area.


Margaritaville Resort on Hollywood Beach.


And one of the best and latest projects:

HYDE BEACH HOUSE

on the Intracoastal side of Ocean Drive, right across from the Hyde Beach and the famous Beach Club complex.

New projects will be announced, as things develop.

For more information or reservations on any of these projects or on

HYDE BEACH HOUSE

please call

Henry B. Nathan

(800) 416-2747

(954) 296-6741

hbnathan@gmail.com

New Project on Hollywood's Intracoastal

Seaside Project at North Beach Hollywood

The informal Jimbo's Sandbar is one my favorite bar/ restaurant  on the water. It has been for some years now on the lot North of the old Martha's  Restaurant. One of the last informal places where you can still sip a beer at sunset and enjoy some wonderfully greasy appetizers, this would be my dream of the scenery all along the Intracoastal from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. No fashionable restaurants, no trendy disco's; this is just what I want.

Jimbo's Sandbar

I had been wearily thinking about the land next door, which we knew as Martha's, in the late 80's a truly romantic restaurant where we would meet our friends for a good dinner and some fun on the dancing floor. It is evidently getting ready for some major construction.

Looking alarmingly at the Margaritaville gigantic silhouette slowly rising at the Johnson Street beach parking lot site, I couldn't but worry.

I have read today in the Daily Business Review an article that somehow give me some peace of mind.

See why:

When Seaside Hollywood North Beach LLC approached the Hollywood City Commission for a zoning change and site plan approval for 3.3 acres on the Intracoastal Waterway, they weren't looking to increase density in their proposed Seaside Village project.

Developers John Passalacqua and Malcolm Resnick instead wanted to build less at 6024 N. Ocean Drive, the longtime home of iconic Hollywood restaurant Martha's on the Intracoastal south of the Dania Beach Boulevard bridge.

They've demolished Martha's and want to replace it with a condominium development set amid lush green landscaping and open space. Instead of the existing North Beach development district zoning, Seaside Hollywood sought a planned development designation that would limit the size of the project.
 

"It was clear to everybody that the density was about half of what the developer could have put on the property," said Seaside attorney Wilson Atkinson, a shareholder with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney | Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale. "The commission complimented the project on its design and compatibility with the neighborhood and approved it unanimously" Wednesday.

Seaside controls about 900 feet of waterfront property with 720 feet of seawall and a 240-foot cove on the south end. But on land with entitlements for 61 units, the developer proposed a total of 23 units in five three-story buildings set 60 feet apart on the waterfront. Parking would also be generous—a 4:1 ratio.

Plans for the $15 million project include an 11-slip marina, dockage for boats up to 60 feet, a swimming pool and recreation center with a kitchen and barbecue area.
"We left a lot of money on the table. We really did," Passalacqua said. "But we also wanted to do the right thing."

Passalacqua, who's lived in the city 30 years, sits on Hollywood's planning and development board and is president of the North Beach Community Association Inc.—two roles that influenced his project ideas.


"We could have built anything allowable by code. The bottom line is you can do a development that will not give open vistas to the community, but we were very conscious about allowing the community to still enjoy the open vistas of the Intracoastal," Passalacqua said. "It's a lifestyle. We're not just giving square footage. It's about keeping with the integrity of the building and showing you don't have to overbuild to do the right thing."

Seaside developers had a bonus sometimes not available to their peers in areas with escalating land prices. The group acquired the land at a deep discount during a foreclosure action last year.

Broward County records show the parcel traded for $6.24 million eight years earlier. But Seaside Hollywood bought the note for $2.1 million and successfully entered a starting bid of $100 for the foreclosed property. To pay off three years of back taxes, they shelled out another $512,000 plus $250,000 in legal fees to clear notes on the property for a total investment of just under $3 million.

"We took a lot of risk. When you buy something like we did, you don't know how the court is going to treat it, so we also bought all the risks," Passalacqua said. "That's the message we're sending here. It's an example of conscientious development. I see the prices on some of these recent deals, and I understand most developers don't have that option because they pay too much. But we did what the community wanted. We're going to make money, but we're also going to the do the right thing."

Seaside Village will have a $26 million to $30 million sellout with units priced at about $500 to $700 per square foot. The developers are financing the project with partners Julie and Laurie Schecter, daughters of Aaron Schecter, who built the first Century Village in western Palm Beach County in the 1960s. The Schecters helped finance the land acquisition, and Passalacqua will fund the development with Resnick, CEO of Vintage Homes of Florida Inc. in Hollywood.

Vintage has built numerous South Florida residential projects. Its latest project, White Sands, is across the street from the Seaside Village site and includes 18 units priced from $1 million to $1.3 million.
"We didn't become greedy," Passalacqua said. "I know the end users will be very happy. I will leave something behind that shows we weren't pigs."

This is what I actually expect Seaside Village to become.

 ...If I can't have my waterside cafes, at least this would be acceptable.