A developer's vision for a luxury 38-story condo on the beach cleared one hurdle this week after getting a green light from the City Commission.
Developer Gilbert Benhamou must now get state approval to build the $140 million, 64-unit tower east of the Coastal Construction Control Line, the state-drawn boundary for most construction on the beach.
Some nearby residents complained that the tower would sit too close to the shoreline. In response, the developer agreed to move the building 14.8 feet to the west and 4.11 feet to the north.
Still, not everyone was happy.
"I don't think it's the right project for the beach," Commissioner Michele Lazarow told the Sun Sentinel. "It looks like they picked up a building from Sunny Isles and dropped it in Hallandale."
Mayor Joy Cooper and Commissioners Alex Lewy and Anthony Sanders voted in favor of the project while Lazarow and Commissioner William Julian voted against.
"We know something is going to be built," Cooper said before the vote. "We represent the city as a whole. I am sorry that some of you are upset that your life will be impacted because there will be a building in front of you."
Should it win state approval, the 449-foot tower would break ground by December and open two years later at 2000 S. Ocean Drive. Units would range in price from $2 million to more than $5 million.
The former Regency Health Spa, a two- and three-story resort that closed last year, will be demolished.
The developer has agreed to pay the city more than $1.3 million to help replenish sand along the city's beach. The condo would bring in $2.7 million in property taxes, with about $800,000 a year going to Hallandale.
Hallandale would also collect $1 million in building permit fees based on an estimated construction cost of $90 million, records show.
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