Fort Lauderdale Commission does not want to pay huge cost for joint government center
From David Volz
Ken Krasnow, a representative from Colliers, presented the Fort Lauderdale City Commission with alternatives to the Joint Governmental Center Campus (JGCC) with Broward County to serve as a new City Hall for the City of Fort Lauderdale.
The options Mr. Krasnow showed include building on City-owned land, building on a privately-owned site, or purchasing an existing building.
The City Commission determined that the estimated project cost of nearly $1 billion, with Fort Lauderdale’s portion approaching $400 million is too high a cost.
City Manager Chris Lagerbloom will coordinate with County officials to set a meeting with the Unified Direct Procurement Authority (UDPA) where both parties can discuss the JGCC project and officially agree not to move forward.
Fort Lauderdale City Commission appoints Greg Chavarria as City Manager
From David Volz
The City Commission appointed Assistant City Manager Greg Chavarria to assume the role of City Manager on Saturday, July 23. Over the coming weeks, Mayor Trantalis will act on behalf of the City Commission to negotiate a formal employment contract with Mr. Chavarria, as is required for a charter officer position.
Fort Lauderdale Commission approves major contracts
From David Volz
The Fort Lauderdale City Commission approved an interim agreement with The Boring Company that authorizes the firm to proceed with feasibility studies for the Las Olas Loop, a tunnel system connecting Downtown Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale Beach. The information gained from these studies will be used to design the loop’s alignment and stations and determine the cost to move forward through construction and into operation and maintenance. Following completion of the studies, the City Commission will decide whether to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with The Boring Company.
The Boring Company plans to spend part of the city’s fee of $375,000 preparing a geotechnical report and coming up with civil and architectural design drawings for the tunnels and stations. “I have a lot of unanswered questions including funding sources before we can consider a final comprehensive agreement. This was a necessary step to gather further information,” said Commissioner Steve Glassman.
The City Commission approved a Site Plan Level IV development permit for Sunrise FTL Ventures, LLLP, for their proposal to develop the Ocean Park Hotel and Residences at 2851 and 2901 NE 9 Court. The proposed development includes two buildings: an 11-story residential building with 54 units, the western building and a 12-story hotel with 100 rooms the eastern building.
“I want to thank all of the neighbors for the many months of work on this project and I want to thank the developer team for listening to and implementing the improvements to the site plan,” said Glassman.
The City Commission adopted a resolution providing notice of their decision to proceed with the unsolicited proposal submitted by Fort Lauderdale Studio Initiative LLC to develop, construct, operate, and maintain a full-service movie studio complex on city-owned property located at 1400 NW 31 Avenue and authorizing negotiations of a proposed interim and/or comprehensive agreement. The next step in the process is the development of a comprehensive agreement that could come before the City Commission as soon as July 2022. In the meantime, the proposer intends to continue outreach to nearby stakeholders and neighborhood associations.
The City Commission adopted a resolution providing notice of their decision to proceed with the unsolicited proposal submitted by My Park Initiative, LLC to develop, operate, and maintain a pickleball facility on the southwest portion of Snyder Park located at 3299 SW 4 Avenue and authorizing negotiations of a proposed interim and/or comprehensive agreement. The next step in the process is the development of an agreement. In the meantime, the proposer looks forward to reaching out to the community and sharing information about their proposal.
