DEVELOPMENT ALERT - UPDATE 12/24/09
Block 55 "Hollywood Circle" Project
Diplomat Golf Course Land Use Change
The HLSCA has learned that the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, owners of the Diplomat Golf and Country Club, have applied for a land use change with Broward County. This change would create a Local Activity Center (LAC) on the golf course which is located in the City of Hallandale Beach. The Union's plan is to built 1,078 condo units and 400 more hotel rooms on the golf course in five high rise buildings ranging from 25 to 30 stories tall. This added density will undoubtedly create much more traffic and congestion in the Lakes neighborhood to the north as the main traffic artieries to the north are the Diplomat Parkway and 14th Ave. The HLSCA hosted a special meeting on Monday, Dec. 7th at 7pm at the Hollywood Beach Community Center where the developer and their lobbyist made a presentation and answered questions. The traffic consultant also made a presentation on the proposed traffic impacts. Despite the traffic study and the "sales" pitch from the developer's lobbyist most resident's fears were not assuaged. At the Dec. 16th City of Hallandale Beach Commission meeting, the project passed by a vote of 3 to 2. The item will go to the Broward County Planning Council in early 2010 for final approval.
ArtsPark to get Amphitheater
The City of Hollywood will finally get the remaining funds from Broward County to complete the promised amphitheater located on the southeast corner of the ArtsPark. One (1) million dollars has been withheld by the County for years now as the City grappled with finding a way to raise funds needed to finish this important part of the ArtsPark project. After some haggling by the City and the County, these funds have been released and the City can now proceed with a much smaller, scaled down version of the performing element of the ArtsPark project. The HLSCA welcomes this move as the amphitheater has always been an integral part of the park and has been sorely missing since the old bandshell was demolished prematurely in 2004. Here is a prelimenary drawing of the new Amphitheater: ArtsPark Amphitheater drawing.pdf
New Zyscovich Initiative
Click here for a copy of the March 10, 2009 Zyscovich presentation: Zyscovich Downtown Master Plan March 2009
On March 10, 2009, the City and the CRA held a public meeting on the proposed Zyscovich Downtown Zoning effort at City Hall. Bernard Zyscovich made a presentation and reviewed the 2003 plan his consulting firm created and reveled to the public his much anticipated Master Plan and Zoning Recommendations for Downtown Hollywood. This was the third in a series of meetings on the Z Team plan. Questions were taken from the audience. The consensus among many at City Hall and in the community was overwhelming approval of the new plan. The new plan replaces the existing 15 story zoning and would allow up to 230' around the ArtsPark. By using Floor Area Ration calculations as a means of limiting density for future downtown projects, height could reach 230' but the massing of the buildings will be minimized, especially towards the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The floor area ratio (FAR) is the principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings. FAR is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning lot. Each zoning district has an FAR control which, when multiplied by the lot area of the zoning lot, produces the maximum amount of floor area allowable in a building on the zoning lot. For example, on a 10,000 square-foot zoning lot in a district with a maximum FAR of 1.0, the floor area of a building cannot exceed 10,000 square feet. The new Zyscovich plan calls for a maximum FAR of 4.50 around the ArtsPark but drops down towards the residential neighborhoods. Below is a graphic example of FAR:
Floor Area
Ratio (FAR) Explained
A FAR of 1.0
The illustration above shows a
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.0. This simply means that, if the area of the plot is 10,000
square feet, then 10,000 square feet of gross floor area has been built on the plot. The
illustration above shows a 4-story building covering 1/4 of the site, giving a FAR of 1.0.
Four floors of 25 square meters each are built on a site of 10,000 square feet.
The reference design for
carfree cities is based on a FAR of 1.5. Here are some ways to get to a FAR of 1.5:
It will be noted that a FAR of
1.5 is quite high, although this density is not unusual in
carfree.com
Copyright ©1996-2002 J.Crawford
The Zyscovich Master Plan was adopted by the City Commission on unanimous approval on April 15th, 2009. Now the Planning Dept. will begin the process of making the necessary text changes to the existing Land Use Code to implement the new zoning regulations. These regulations will need to be approved by the Planning and Zoning Board over the coming months.
Block 58, Southeast corner of Young Circle/ArtsPark
Mixed use project at 17th Ave. and Harrison Street - Latest News on the Project
Here is a history of the Block 58 (formerly known as the Hart Project):
In February, 2005, the City Commission was informed that the original Block 58/Hart Project was in the process of being revised. The developers notified the City that they were withdrawing their plans for the theater and starting over again with the design. There is still an on-going lawsuit over the Hollywood Bread Building parking garage. The original plans to construct a proscenium theater where the old movie house is located have been scrapped. On Nov. 14, 2006, the CRA agreed to a settlement of an ongoing lawsuit regarding ownership of the Bread Building Parking Garage. In the settlement, the CRA/City will receive satisfaction of some of the delinquent payments for the numerous loans granted to the original Hart LTD developers, Patricia Peretz and Gary Posner.
The original hi-rise project had been given "conceptual approval" by the City Commission acting as CRA Board of Directors. Originally, a 15 to 17-story hi-rise condo with retail shops was slated for the lot currently occupied by the old Hollywood Bread Building. This hi-rise would have been constructed on the southwest corner of the property at Van Buren Street and Federal Hwy. The property is currently zoned for 5-stories so a zoning change would be required. The revised Hart project now includes a plan for a new "Charter" school to be built east of 17th Ave. on Van Buren Street behind the Art and Culture Center. This will replace the Charter School that is currently operating on the first four floors of the Home Building, grades K through 8th. The existing charter school opened in 2004.
All setbacks and height restrictions would have conformed to the Zyscovich guidelines, informally adopted by the City. The height restrictions call for a maximum permissible height at 17th Ave. and Harrison Street of 55' with an increase to 80' at a point 15' west of 17th Ave. The permissible height limit at 17th and Van Buren Street is 55'.
MOST RECENT EVENTS:
On May 9, 2007, the CRA voted to approve a new development agreement with a new company, WSG Hollywood, LLC. WSG is an established developer of apartment, condo and office projects around the country. In the new deal, the City will be compensated for the 3.5 million dollars in delinquent loans left by the former developer, Hart District, LTD. (Gary Posner and Patricia Peretz). Most significant in the new development agreement is a commitment by WSG to give 27,000 square feet of property at 17th Ave. and Harrison Street to Charter Schools USA so a new school can be built to house the existing Hollywood Arts and Sciences School. The above mentioned plan to move the school has been abandoned. This pleases the HLSCA Board of Directors and also allows the project to qualify for a two (2) story or 25' height variance from 15 to 17 stories as per the Zyscovich downtown guidelines. The HLSCA is still concerned about other unresolved issues such as building design and traffic flow for both the school and the new apartment/retail building. Some of these issues are becoming clearer now as the developer has applied for rezoning and has submitted plans to the City.
THE LATEST PLANThe Block 58 project (formerly known as the Hart LTD project) located on the southeast corner of Young Circle, has a new developer, WSG Development Group. As reported in the June 2007 Lakes Newsletter, WSG has acquired the property and submitted plans to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) in August. The HLSCA Planning and Zoning Committee reviewed the plans and met with the developer and Downtown CRA Director, Neil Fritz in early August. Much to our surprise, the plans call for a 25 story high rise tower on the corner of Federal Hwy. and Van Buren Street. The project steps down to 10 stories at 17th and Harrison Street and the Hollywood Academy of Arts and Sciences new building will be 5 stories located at the corner of 17th Ave. and Van Buren Street. Happily, the school location is exactly where the HLSCA Board suggested it be built. However, the massing and height of the proposed high rise element of the project far exceed the existing 150 feet or 15 story zoning and totally ignores the City’s paid consultant, Bernard Zyscovich’s recommendations of 17 story maximum height if a public use (school) component is included in the project. It appears that the City is ready to dispense with the $150,000.00 Zyscovich Downtown Master Plan recommendations that, it turns out, were, regretfully, never made into law. It is now felt by some that the Zyscovich guidelines may not produce the best architectural designs as they promote flat, stocky or bulky structures, ala the Radius project. It remains to be seen if the City will ask the Zyscovich group to revisit their recommendations in light of the ever changing real estate and development market.
This 25 story height concerns the HLSCA Board greatly as it may set a precedent for other yet to be designed downtown projects and could also create a "concrete canyon" effect surrounding the ArtsPark. As it stands today, when sitting in the center of the Artspark and looking towards the northwest, one is confronted with a huge mass of concrete and glass called the Radius project, built with at least a dozen setback variances (yet only 14 stories tall). Think of that same effect when looking in all directions from the center of the ArtsPark if every project got a height variance to 26 or more stories. However, after meeting the developer, the HLSCA Board has a better understanding of the rationale behind the need for additional height on Block 58. WSG has taken on a number of hardships or encumbrances with this project. First, WSG had to pay off a number of bad loans made by the prior developer, Hart, LTD. Then, the City required WSG to donate 27,000 square feet on the property to Charter Schools, USA so they can build a new school facility on Block 58 as this was part of the original plan that got City approval back in 2003. Finally, WSG has to deal with an existing 19 story high rise condo/office building, the Home Tower, on Block 58 that was constructed in 1966 with no on site parking. The school and the Home Tower have, in effect, minimized the amount of land available to build on. Hence, their need for additional height. Although not near a final design, WSG plans to construct a project that will look similar to the renderings shown below. These drawings shows the main tower with the terraced roofline, the five story charter school at 17th and Van Buren and a proposed eight story office building with parking garage at the corner of 17th and Harrison Street next to the existing Home Tower (shown as a shaded block). Again, there is no final architectural design as of this writing. These rendering is purely conceptual.
The HLSCA met with WSG and Charter Schools USA in December, 2007 to work out the design details for the charter school's proposed new building at 17th Ave. and Van Buren Street and the proposed office tower at 17th Ave. and Harrison Street. The original design called for unacceptable height at these locations so the HLSCA was able to gain a reduction in the height and scale for these two structures. The school building will be 55' above the street with a playground on the roof top that will be set back from the edge of the parapet wall. The office tower was reduced from 110' to 90' from street level. Land was cleared for construction of the new school building in February, 2009.
The HLSCA Board of Directors is working very closely with WSG, the Downtown CRA and the Dept. of Planning to insure that the plan for this project addresses our concerns regarding height, massing, traffic flow in and around the neighborhood and, most importantly, that this excessive height does not become the de facto standard for new development projects in downtown Hollywood. There is still a long way to go for this project but we recognize the unusual circumstances and financial issues that WSG has to deal with and appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the design process during these early stages. The project received approval from the Planning and Zoning Board for Planned Development zoning status in late November. On July 22, the City Commission passed on second reading the final plans for Block 58. The main residential tower will be 22 stories, the office tower at 17th Ave. and Harrison Street will be 8 stories. The sidewalk setbacks on the Young Circle side were increased. In addition, the school parcel at 17th Ave. and Van Buren Street can only be used for an educational purpose. The school must be built within 3 years or the school parcel will revert back to the CRA.
The HLSCA Board of Directors is very interested in hearing your thoughts on this project. Call us or write to us at info@hollywoodlakes.com
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Southern Facilities Developers (SFD) Declares Bankruptcy
BY PATRICK DANNER
PDANNER@MIAMIHERALD.COM 10/16/08Below is a review of the many downtown projects currently proposed and under review by the City. With the poor real estate market conditions currently, these plans may never come to fruition:
SOUTHERN COMMONS - SFD (see story above)
The City of Hollywood approved the development of a 19 story hi-rise mixed-use tower facing Young Circle Park in Downtown Hollywood in 2004. This tower would be located where the historic Great Southern Hotel is currently. The plans call for seven (7) floors of non-public parking and twelve (12) floors of condominium apartments of varying sizes. There will be retail on the first floor. The property is less than one acre in size. The original plans called for total destruction of the historic Great Southern Hotel. Now, two and half sides of the Great Southern will be restored and preserved in the revised plans. The Mach Building eminent domain lawsuit appeal, which the City of Hollywood won in the spring of 2008, has finally come to an end. The court originally ruled in favor of the Mach family. The Mach family has appealed the final court ruling to the Florida Supreme Court. However, the Court decided unanimously to not hear the case. In addition, the Hollywood Historical Society has been sued by the developer over the retraction of support for the facade easement agreement signed in 2005. This lawsuit is still pending. It appears that the project can go forward but the negative real estate climate may further the project well into the future.
Publix Parcel
The Publix parcel has been sold to a large development firm, Equity One. The proposed plan calls for more condo hi-rises, possibly as high as 18 stories, with retail on the first floor. Rumor has it that Publix will move across the street to Block 55 with a new, two story version incorporated into that project. Stay tuned for more details.
Block 55 "Hollywood Circle" Project
Southern Facilities Developers (SFD), the same developer who is working on the Great Southern parcel, has acquired all of the land including the Townhouse Apts. on Block 55 on the northeast corner of Young Circle. Their first plan, called "Hollywood Circle" for a 20 story high rise was rejected by the City for a variety of reasons, most notably, the project's lack of compliance with the de facto Zyscovich guidelines. A second design was presented to the City in April, 2008, for a 25 story high rise project (see rendering below). The HLSCA Board is firmly opposed to this second design and has formally told the City of our opposition. The HLSCA Board met with the developer on March 29, 2008 and was promised an open dialogue and frequent meetings to allow the developer to respond to our concerns. That never happened.
On November 13, 2008, the City's Development Review Board (DRB) was presented plans to approve for the project shown in the photos below. The DRB, known for being extremely pro development, approved these plans despite the fact that they did not conform to the 1995 Master Plan or the 2004 Zyscovich guidelines (which were never made into law). It is felt that this design will not conform to the updated Zyscovich guidelines that are expected to be presented to the City Commission in April. That, unfortunately, did not deter the DRB. They passed the plans which are now schedule to go to the Planning and Zoning Board (P&Z) for their approval. After that, the project must be approved by the City Commission. The HLSCA and many Hollywood residents are asking why the rush to approve this project BEFORE the Zyscovich team has a chance to finish their recommendations? It was made clear to the HLSCA and residents that the Commission did not want to see anymore of these large downtown projects go through the process before the Z team plan was completed. The HLSCA is extremely disappointed the City Staff has allowed this to happen. In addition, the CRA does not support the design stated at the Nov. 13th DRB meeting that this project can't be built under the existing four year old Development Agreement.
After meeting with the Block 55 developer and his traffic consultants, none of the HLSCA's concerns were satisfied. The Block 55 rezoning proposal went before the City Commission on February 18th, 2009 for first reading and passed by a vote of 5 to 2 (Mayor Bober and Comm. O'Sheehan voted no). Our concerns that the structure was too tall at 25 stories and that the unsightly 22 story north-south wing that presents a large wall on the east exposure of the project (see photo below) and serious potential traffic issues were not addressed by the City Commission or the developer. Even the Planning Departments recommendation to lower the height from 248' to 240' has, so far, been refused by this developer. Also promised by the developer but unconfirmed is the possibility that Publix would relocate into a two story store at 17th Ave. and Polk Street with a parking lot dedicated to the store above it. Shoppers would have to park in the garage and go down elevators to get in and out of the store. The Commission's second and final reading for the project will occur in late March or early April. After which, the CRA will be obligated to negotiate a revised Development Agreement which may or may not include any financial assistance from the City. Stay tuned for more on that issue.
The Block 55 project was passed on Second Reading at the March 18th Commission Meeting at a height of 266'.
For a full set of plans with renderings, click here: Hollywood Circle Block 55 Plans Stay tuned for more.
Proposed Design for High Rise Tower on Block 55 (Greyhound Bus Station property)
SIZE AND MASSING ISSUES
The HLSCA Board of Directors continues to work with the City of Hollywood Office of Planning and the Historic Preservation Board regarding oversized construction in the Lakes neighborhood. In an effort to maximize the utilization of property space, more and more property owners are constructing large, "Weston" style homes in the area. These new homes are typically too large in size and massing for the surrounding homes and create a "canyon" effect. The HLSCA is concerned about this trend and would like your input and comments. Please contact us at the Feedback page.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has published a report on "Taming the Teardown Trend - Protecting America's Historic Neighborhoods" which reviews the problems caused by proliferation of large, oversized and out of scale homes in a historic neighborhood such as our Lakes neighborhood. To download this report, click here: Teardown Trend
