Hollywood is poised to relax some of its development rules to allow oceanfront towers in the area where BH Group and Related group have a historic hotel under contract.
The city is considering an overhaul that could bring up to 340-foot projects under restrictive regulations near the historic Hollywood Beach Resort. The rest of Hollywood Beach would remain primarily low-rise.
The proposed Hollywood Beach Overlay District would create six development precincts, each with its own height and density standards. The city only would grant the development bonuses to projects that meet specific design guidelines.
The Hollywood Planning and Development Board is to vote on the proposal Aug. 11. If approved, the overlay would remain in place for five years before city officials evaluate whether it spurred redevelopment and decide whether to extend it.
The biggest change is reserved for the Hollywood Beach Resort precinct, a narrow stretch between Harrison and Tyler streets that’s home to the closed century-old resort. Under the overlay district, projects could rise to 340 feet, with an additional 150 feet available through a historic rehabilitation incentive for comprehensive restoration or historically accurate reconstructing the landmark resort.
The changes come as the Toledano family’s BH Group and the Pérez family’s Related Group have the 398-key Hollywood Beach Resort under contract from the Chetrit Group with plans for a major redevelopment. David Martin’s Terra is in talks to join the venture.
Elsewhere, buildings could reach 200 feet north of Balboa Street in the North Beach Village precinct and along A1A/Ocean Drive in the South Beach Residential precinct. Two largely residential districts — one of them between Carolina and Thomas streets, and the other between Bougainvilla Terrace and Harrison Street — would allow buildings up to 150 feet along A1A and up to 100 feet on specific properties designated “transition areas.”
The proposal also creates bonus-density programs. Under the Tourism Incentive Density Entitlement, the city would have a finite pool of bonus hotel rooms that the commissioners would allocate among projects. In some areas, this would allow developers to build up to 350 keys per acre.
Elsewhere, developers can tap residential unit bonuses, including through transferable development rights.
Additional height and density would be tied to architectural standards, including ground-floor restaurants and retail, and public plazas. Design guidelines also call for preservation of beach access and a modern reinterpretation of the area’s Art Deco architectural style.
The proposal is the first phase of a broader effort to rewrite Hollywood Beach’s development regulations. A formal master plan and additional changes to the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning code are expected to follow.
The overlay district proposal comes after extensive analyses of properties and precincts at the commission’s direction. It’s a bid to foster redevelopment of aging buildings, while preserving Hollywood Beach’s quaint feel.
Hollywood isn’t the only South Florida coastal city taking a hard look at its oceanfront redevelopment. As the region has hosted a construction boom in the past half decade, several municipalities are evaluating how to regulate development on prime oceanfront sites.
This month, West Palm Beach temporarily reined in development in some coastal districts while it hires a consultant to examine possible future zoning changes. The city has hosted a development boom in recent years led by billionaire Steve Ross who first turned downtown West Palm into an office mecca and is also developing condos and apartments.
In the meantime, Deerfield Beach voted to loosen floor area ratio restrictions for some coastal areas. City voters will get a final say on the charter amendments in a November referendum.
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