Renderings of plans for a new development at Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
A group of developers, including the Related Group, is launching a $2 billion development at the largest marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with the goal of creating a “mini Monaco,” according to executives.
The new development at Bahia Mar Marina will include a hotel and apartment towers, along with a beach club, restaurants and retail space, according to the plans.
“Fort Lauderdale — and South Florida in general — has been waiting for a real destination that has a Monaco feel,” said Nick Perez, president of The Related Group’s condominium division. “We’ve got the deep-water marina, we’ve got the restaurants, but we don’t have that all-inclusive five-star resort. So that’s something that’s been missing from the market.”
Renderings of plans for a new development at Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
Miami-based Related Group, controlled by billionaire Jorge Perez, is partnering with Tate Capital and Rok Acquisitions on the project. The development will span nearly 40 acres of land and water, with multiple apartment towers and a St. Regis with about 200 rooms, according to plans. The hotel will replace the existing DoubleTree hotel on the site.
The development caps years of failed attempts to redevelop Bahia Mar, a major yacht marina that helped make Fort Lauderdale the yachting capital of the US. Wednesday.
The Bahia Mar land is owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale and leased to an entity led by developer Jimmy Tate and his family. Plans by Tates and Rok Acquisitions to develop the property were stalled for years by Fort Lauderdale residents and local officials, who objected to the large scale of the project. The new plan provided for limited buildings and more public amenities.
Renderings of plans for a new development at Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
Along with the apartment towers and hotel, the plan calls for 88,000 square feet of commercial space, with restaurants, boat docks, a public park along the Intracoastal and a 25-foot-wide boardwalk. The marina will feature slips for yachts up to 350 feet.
Perez said that because 65 percent of visitors to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show are from abroad, primarily from Europe and Latin America, growth will come from a global clientele of boat owners and boating enthusiasts.
Renderings of plans for a new development at Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
“There is no facility in South Florida where you can have a residential unit, have a hotel, amazing food and beverage and your mega yacht or your regular yacht, whatever kind of boat you have, literally in your backyard,” he said. .
The project is scheduled to open sometime in late 2029. Douglas Elliman will market the residences, which will start at $4.4 million for the apartments.