Developers looking to build high-rises in downtown Fort Lauderdale received some bad news.
More than a year after Fort Lauderdale voted against Trammell Crow Residential Co.’s plans to build a 21-story apartment complex at 501 Southeast Sixth Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the city’s attorney claims it scored a legal victory, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The Dallas-based developer sought to build a 181-unit residential building known as the Alexan-Tarpon River project off the New River. The project would replace an old condo building, but the proposal was ultimately denied in a 3-2 vote in August 2018 under two newly elected commissioners and Mayor Dean Trantalis’s smart growth platform.
In May, an affiliate of Trammell Crow Residential sued the city, alleging the commission never stated how it failed or misapplied its requirements with the city. It also alleges that the city approved four other similar developments nearby.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently denied the developer’s request for review, the city attorney wrote in an email to commissioners, according to the Sun Sentinel. The deal still remains in limbo.
The lawsuit highlights some of the tensions developers are having with the new commissioners and Fort Lauderdale’s mayor to restrain development. After years of new developments and high-rises downtown, Fort Lauderdale’s mayor is trying to ensure whether the city has the right infrastructure to support the growth.
[Sun Sentinel] — Keith Larsen