FORT LAUDERDALE —
The city is preparing to go on a major spending spree in the latest effort to revamp the beach and ensure its future as a tourist destination.
As much as $63 million could be spent on a high-style makeover that also broadens the beach's appeal beyond simply sand, surf and sun.
The expansion and remodeling of the International Swimming Hall of Fame is one possible target for aid. Other possibilities include a fishing pier, a more impressive entrance to the beach, more public parking and a wider promenade along State Road A1A.
"It's time to spend the money and build a brand on the beach that gets people coming back," Mayor Jack Seiler said.
The city is sitting on $27 million in cash saved from property taxes paid by businesses and residents in its central beach area and can borrow the rest based on taxes that it expects to collect over the next eight years.
For tourists like Alison Hutson, of Hampton, Va., such improvements are needed. She's fine with Fort Lauderdale for a reunion with old college friends, but said she wouldn't choose it for a family vacation.
"If you're here with a family, it would be tough because there is not much to do other than the beach," Hutson said while walking along the shore. "It really is geared to the beach and the bars."
But others say the beach is enough of a draw. "It's beautiful and clean, and that's good enough for me," said Cara Boucher, of Boston.
City officials and beach business leaders say the spending spree is needed to keep Fort Lauderdale competitive in the tourism market. The plans being drawn up are the latest step in the city's long transition from the nation's college Spring Break capital to an upscale destination that has a wide appeal among travelers.
Fort Lauderdale has been plowing tax money into redeveloping the beach since it broke away from the Spring Break era two decades ago. Tax dollars were spent to demolish the old Holiday Inn at Las Olas and A1A was demolished and turn it into a beach parking lot. The city also built marine facilities and a children's park, added some public restrooms and re-landscaped key parts of A1A and Las Olas.
The public investment was followed by the private development of high-end hotels from the Ritz Carlton to the W.
Officials have been hording cash in preparation for their next move. Now, they say, time is of the essence.
The city and county designated the beach as blighted in 1989, a move that allowed the city to take all city and county property tax revenue paid by businesses and residents in the area and spend it on beach improvement work. But the deal with Broward County government to earmark property tax revenue for beach redevelopment ends in 2019.
City commissioners and beach business leaders plan to set priorities for the money by the end of the year. The move comes at the same time that they are negotiating the redevelopment of the Bahia Mar complex to include a permanent home for the annual boat show.
The renovation of the Swimming Hall of Fame is likely high on the list because of its strong support among commissioners.
Commissioners sought bids last year for the Hall of Fame upgrade and tentatively approved plans in September that include new Olympic-size pools, an aquatic theater and state-of-the art artificial surf machines.
The proposal carries a $71 million price tag, and the city may have to finance up to $52.5 million of the cost. The city and developers are looking for sponsors and other private investment so they can limit how much must come from the pool of cash that the city has for beach redevelopment.
Beach planners have identified other improvements that they say would boost the beach as well. The city would look at partnering with private business so the money could be spread as widely as possible.
The city is considering the construction of a fishing pier at either Sunrise or Las Olas boulevards. Proponents say it would be a landmark that would attract residents and tourists and boost nearby businesses as well as draw fishermen. Other area cities from Sunny Isles Beach to Lake Worth have been investing in upgrades to their piers.
Planners also have suggested replacing municipal parking lots with garages. That would make the beach more accessible by easing the parking crunch on the barrier island. The garages, they say, could have first-floor restaurants and shops and provide room for landscaped plazas on part of the property.
Improving the beach for walkers, joggers and bicyclists is another option. Planners have suggested a wide pedestrian and bike path along the east side of A1A as well as a promenade on the Intracoastal Waterway.
"We need to have destinations on the beach," said Fort Lauderdale attorney Jordana Jarjura, who serves on the city's Beach Redevelopment Board. "We need to ask, how do we enhance the beach? How do we enhance tourism-related activities on the beach?"
Beach resident Mel Rubinstein added, "It would be nice at the end of eight years that we have projects completed that will last forever."
Tourism officials and beach activists worry that the Fort Lauderdale area could lose ground in the battle for tourists without improvement.
The metro area has held comparatively strong in attracting tourists despite the economic downturn. According to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, about 10.6 million people visited Broward County in 2009, down 4 percent from a year earlier. Tourism in the Orlando area fell almost 9 percent during the same period.
But Nicki Grossman, president of the visitors bureau, warns that other communities are putting money into building attractions and that Fort Lauderdale needs to do more to create buzz. She said the area must do more to broaden its appeal.
Some beach activists point south to Hollywood as an example of how Fort Lauderdale needs to change. That city completed a $14 million renovation of its beach walk three years ago, has expanded its beach parking and launched a project to improve the appearance of side streets around the beach.
"Hollywood is cleaning our clock," beach resident Art Seitz said.
Some hurdles stand in the way of Fort Lauderdale's redevelopment push.
Key property near A1A and Las Olas is the subject of a long-running court fight with the developers who wanted to build a condo high-rise there called Palazzo Las Olas. The city rejected those plans in 2003, and the ensuing lawsuit has wound its way through the court system and could continue for two to three more years.
Also, some beach business leaders want at least part of the money spent on planning and marketing events rather than construction. They want aid for holiday lights, nighttime movies on the beach, art fairs, Fourth of July celebrations and Memorial Day events.
They say major events will lure people and showcase the other changes on the beach. Seiler and city commissioners said they would consider earmarking up to 10 percent of the money toward events.
"It is very important that we market ourselves," said Ramola Motwani, a hotel developer on Fort Lauderdale beach. "It's so important that we show the people how we've changed."
Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4511.
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