Rows of banana tree saplings are sprouting from a vacant lot in downtown Fort Lauderdale where a massive multifamily development was once planned.
Dozens of trees were planted at 707 Southeast Third Avenue in the last several months, turning the development site owned by New York-based Benjamin Companies into an unlikely patch of farmland.
The planting has caused a stir online, with Fort Lauderdale residents and local groups questioning whether the bananas are part of a strategy to qualify for an agricultural tax break under Florida’s Greenbelt Law.
The Benjamin Companies, a real estate development and management company led by Kenneth Coyle, acquired the 2.4-acre site for $33 million in 2022. That same year, the developer scored approval for a multifamily development on the property, which spans a full city block and includes eight vacant lots and one lot with a six-story office building constructed in 1972.
Plans for the project called for two 33-story towers with a combined 542 apartments and 13,800 square feet of commercial space. It also would have had a seven-story podium and 801 parking spaces. But the project stalled, and the site went back on the market for more than $33 million last year.
Chris Lentz and Andrew Slowik led the Cushman & Wakefield team marketing the site, The Real Deal previously reported. Coyle told TRD at the time that it was “a covered land play.”
But the site never sold, and it appears to have been removed from the market. Nearly 2,500 square feet of space in the office building, which was 85 percent occupied as of last year, is listed for lease on JLL’s website.
In January, The Benjamin Companies applied for an agricultural classification, which was denied by the office of Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar, Axios reported. The banana lots are currently classified as vacant commercial, records show.
Florida’s Greenbelt Law allows qualifying agricultural land to be assessed for property taxes based on its agricultural use instead of its market or development value. The provision, meant to protect Florida farmland, provides real estate developers with a tax loophole, allowing them to enjoy potentially lower property taxes while waiting to move forward with development.
Last year, developers used the loophole to deprive Sarasota and Manatee counties of at least $6.6 million in tax revenue, the Miami Herald reported. In Sarasota, a company tied to Medallion Home used grazing cows to qualify for the tax break, paying just $442 in property taxes for 59 acres of land zoned for residential development, the outlet said.
Kiar told Axios that The Benjamin Companies’ property doesn’t warrant an agricultural classification because his office doesn’t think it’s being used for “a bona fide agricultural purpose.”
The developer has appealed the decision to Broward’s Value Adjustment Board, the outlet said.
Online, local residents have criticized the developer’s potential motivations, calling the move an act of “corporate greed” and arguing the agricultural tax loophole accelerates “reckless development.”
Others demanded accountability from the city and questioned the plants’ purpose, saying the trees haven’t produced any fruit and don’t appear to be properly cared for. One commenter claimed the property owners have plans to sell the banana leaves to the local zoo for animal feed, Beyond Florida reported.
The Benjamin Companies did not respond to requests for comment.
The developer’s projects are concentrated mostly in New York, where its completed master-planned developments include Averne by the Sea, Central Islip Redevelopment and Greens at Half Hollow, according to its website.
In 2022, Benjamin paid $145.5 million for Morea, a 327-unit apartment building in Pompano Beach.
Read more
Benjamin lists Fort Lauderdale dev site for over $33M, as construction prices continue to climb
New York developer pays $146M for newly built Morea Apartments in Pompano Beach
