The Sun Sentinel reports that a 23-story, Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, is planned for 1.8 acres along Fort Lauderdale beach. The structure will feature 150 hotel rooms and 95 residences. Construction is expected to begin in 2016 and be completed by 2018 according to the developer, Fort Partners of Miami.
This is the first luxury hotel to be built on Fort Lauderdale beach in eight years. The last luxury hotel built on Fort Lauderdale beachfront was the $225 million St. Regis Resort & Residences Fort Lauderdale in 2007. That property is now The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale.
The beachfront project site is located at 521 to 529 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. Currently, Avalon Waterfront Inns and Tropic Cay Hotel occupy the site, but they plan to vacate it this year.
It is reported that the Four Seasons project will include separate hotel and residential lobbies, as well as separate hotel guest and resident swimming pools, and several restaurants. Additional amenities will include poolside cabanas and beach club, spa, fitness center, children's recreation room, ballroom and meeting facilities. The private residences will range from 800- to 6,000-square-feet, and feature one to three bedrooms. Prices for the units have not been released.
Toronto-based Four Seasons, whose hotels are renowned for refined service, has more than 30 hotel properties nationwide. In Florida they have the Four Seasons Hotel Miami and the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort.
Hospitality industry experts are excited about the upcoming project, believing it will serve to strengthen Fort Lauderdale’s booming tourism business. Hotel occupancy has grown in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County for 60 consecutive months.
More than a dozen Broward County hotels were sold in 2014, including the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel (now B Ocean Resort, Fort Lauderdale), Westin Beach Resort & Spa, W Hotel & Residences and Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood.
Nicki E. Grossman, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said travelers loyal to the Four Seasons brand will find another destination to enjoy in Fort Lauderdale.
"This gives us a great opportunity to expand the luxury offerings for visitors to Broward County. The brand itself trumpets potential growth in the luxury market," Grossman told the Sun Sentinel.
