Eastward ho! The restoration of Hollywood: in terms of westward expansion, the city of Hollywood has been built out for years. But the redevelopment of its eastern downtown and beach area has just started to take off. What makes it attractive for developers and new residents is a low-rise, low-stress coastal environment that retains its authentic urban flavor. Plus location, location, location - Hollywood City Report

South Florida CEO, April, 2003 by Rochelle Broder-Singer

The Diplomat is spurring other development as well. At the Hallmark, a mixed-used retail/office/condominium located across the street from the hotel, management company Amicon Development Group is seeing its tenants grow younger--and its commercial vacancy rate drop below 5 percent. "There's been a lot of attrition over the past five or six years, which has caused a lot of the apartments in the area to be gathered up by young people because it was a very affordable thing," says Amicon vice president Ross Adickman.

In response, many property owners are making upgrades and raising rents. Charles E. Smith Residential spent some $106 million to acquire about 1,800 rental apartments at OceanCrest Beach and OceanCrest Club, and is pumping $37 million into improving the buildings.

At nearby Presidential Tower, Bain-bridge principals Sheila Mead and Richard Schechter are looking towards Hollywood's past to reclaim what was (when built in 1968) the state's most luxurious rental property. The company purchased the 551-unit beachfront complex in 2001 and renamed it 2501 Ocean Drive. They're spending $25 million on renovations, and rents will rise significantly. "Bainbridge feels very bullish about the future of Hollywood," Schechter says. "It has the beachfront, it has the Intracoastal, it has this fabulous downtown that's being redeveloped."

In some ways, newer entrants are following in the footsteps of Hollywood-based Premier Developers, which built Renaissance on the Ocean at the north end of Hollywood Beach. When the two 18-story condominiums were completed in 1999, says Premier CEO Gordon Deckelbaum, the average price for a unit was around $600,000; they have appreciated some 30 percent to 50 percent since then.

Deckelbaum, who's lived in Hollywood since 1978, says many of Renaissance's owners moved there from other places in the city, and nearly all of them are full-time residents. "I've developed in a bunch of other municipalities in South Florida, and there is something more hometown about Hollywood than anywhere else," says Deckelbaum. "Hollywood is uniquely situated to blend a new vibrancy while maintaining a more suburban, easier lifestyle."

That mix of old and new is just what development firm LOETA is seeking with a proposed project just south of Sheridan Street, on a city block that runs from A1A to the ocean. Its plan for a 72-unit, nine-story blend of retail outlets, restaurants, townhouses and condominium apartments is structured like a wedding cake, and inspired by Salas' vision. "The CRA had some design workshops as to what to do with the Broadwalk, but never had any way of implementing the beginnings of them," says project architect Derek Vander Ploeg. "We're creating a sort-of prototype for the Broadwalk. ... As other projects develop, they can connect to us."

Smaller deals, too, are adding to the mix. Attorney Matthew Zifroni, head of the real estate department at Tripp Scott, recently brokered a $1.8 million deal for an undisclosed client to purchase a small hotel on Ocean Drive, near the bandshell at Johnson Street. "My client views the city of Holly-wood, especially the beach, as a great opportunity," Zifroni says. He's negotiating a larger hotel buy for the same client.