[YachtForums]

From the Ft. Lauderdale News / Sun-Sentinal...

Link to story... http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flzb...0,417308.story

Fort Lauderdale's waterfront oasis Bahia Mar would be reborn as a Waldorf- Astoria hotel surrounded by new luxury condominiums and shops, under a $500 million development plan submitted to the city Thursday. In addition to a new four-acre waterside park, the plan from developer LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels would maintain a permanent home for the annual fall boat show.

The project could bring welcome revenue to the city, according to LXR, quadrupling the government's take from lease payments and real estate taxes to almost $10 million annually. And it would further remake Fort Lauderdale beach as an upscale strip, one that already includes new St. Regis and Trump hotels. "It's sort of the exclamation point at the end of the word luxury when you talk about Fort Lauderdale," said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Key to the plan is a 20-foot-tall parking structure as big as a football field that would be topped by trees and grass and open to the public. The structure would sit on the west side of Bahia Mar, softening the view of the 16-acre property from the city's Idlewyld neighborhood across the Intracoastal Waterway. The park would be covered by exhibition tents during the boat show, and other exhibits would be located in the parking area. The wiring, duct work and other infrastructure for the show would be built-in during construction. "I would never have developed this plan but for the boat show," said LXR Vice President Peter J. Henn. To get to the park, residents would stroll on a paved promenade LXR plans to build along the waterfront north to Las Olas Boulevard.

City officials will now have to look hard at the future of Bahia Mar, especially in light of voter resistance to big new buildings at the beach. The Palazzo Las Olas mixed-use project, which was on public land, and The Sails hotel and marina, both failed to survive the permitting process. "This has Palazzo written all over it again," said Vice Mayor Charlotte Rodstrom, who doesn't want residential towers on the city-owned site. "I'm not for it at all."

Two buildings of 19 and 17 stories would flank the park. The 2,000-square-foot units would start at more than $1 million, giving the developers almost $200 million upfront to fund the project. Each tower would be angled at 45 degrees to the beach to maximize views. The south tower would have 84 units and the north one 96 units. They are described by LXR as interests in a cooperative.

A public workshop scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday at City Hall will provide the first detailed exploration of LXR's plans. If the plans are approved, by the third quarter of 2010, LXR hopes to open the initial phase of the project, a pair of elite waterside restaurants of 10,000 and 8,000 square feet along Seabreeze Boulevard on the site's north end. The existing 15-story hotel tower would be updated and marketed by Hilton Hotels Corp.

The 256-room Waldorf-Astoria, designed in a starkly modern style, would rise in place of a four-story hotel building on the property's south side. Although its exterior would look nothing like the 1931 Art Deco original on New York's Park Avenue, the interior would include that hotel's famed "Peacock Alley" promenade. Once unique, the Waldorf name has been applied since 2006 to a "collection" of hotels by parent company Hilton. Other Waldorf hotels are in the works in Sarasota and Orlando. Last year Hilton was acquired by Blackstone Group, the New York parent of LXR Hotels, for $26 billion.

Bahia Mar Beach Resort and Yachting Center dates to 1949 when the city acquired title after a financial dispute and built a marina. In 1962, it was leased to a tenant who added a hotel in 1966. Today most of the land at the marina is paved parking, unused except for the boat show. Henn said it could become a retail and office center for the yacht industry if the city rejects LXR's hotel plans. Fort Lauderdale residents will likely be vocal about the future of the property.

Sadler James, a retiree and beach resident, requested detailed financial information about Bahia Mar from the city, and said he hopes any new lease gives the city a larger cut of the revenues, currently 4 percent. "The city always does better when they think somebody's watching," he said.

LXR and Blackstone control the Boca Raton Resort & Club, the Pier 66 Resort & Marina, and the Fort Lauderdale Grande, formerly the Marina Marriott. They have spent $70 million on the Grande and $30 million on Pier 66 since Hurricane Wilma damaged both hotels three years ago. Their proposed overhaul of a former Holiday Inn on Fort Lauderdale beach into Stay Social, a trendy boutique hotel, has been stalled by parking issues, however.

LXR wants the city to extend its current lease of Bahia Mar, which expires in 2062, by 45 years to keep the co-ops from losing value as the expiration nears. As the private leaseholder, LXR also wants to control the hours the public would be admitted to the Bahia Mar park, Henn said. Scott Berman, a Miami-based lodging analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers, called the park idea very innovative. "It certainly makes it different from its competition," he said.

While some buyers seeking cachet might frown on living above a public park, Berman noted pet owners would welcome the proximity. And he said the city could get more value from its lease of the acreage, which currently yields about $1.2 million a year. "That is an excellent address in Fort Lauderdale. Anybody with any real estate expertise knows there's a lot of upside," he said. "It's not enough to be a three-star hotel. Which is what it is today."

Proposed rendering of the new Bahia Mar...

[Ken Bracewell]

I had dinner with a neighboring condo association board member last weekend. He assured me that the neighbors have it in their sights and is doubtful that approval will be granted. I didn't quite understand why though.

[outmywindow]

WoW, 2,000 square feet for $1 Million. I can't believe how "cheap" your Real estate is down there.
$700 per square foot will get you a "starter" condo up here.
_____________________________________-

Vancouver Condo Scene


by news on Tue May 20, 2008 9:49 am

GARY MASON
The Globe and Mail

May 17, 2008

The hottest ticket in Vancouver this week was not for a concert or a play, but a lunch hosted by the Urban Development Institute. And they call this place No Fun City.

The guest speaker was local condo merchant Bob Rennie, whose take on the city's unrelenting real-estate market is considered by many to be as reliable as government bonds. The event was sold out weeks ago.

To call Mr. Rennie a condo seller doesn't quite do him justice. In the past 10 years or so his company - Rennie Marketing Systems - has sold more than 10,000 units. Last year, sales totalled $1.5-billion. Not bad for a kid who grew up without much on the city's east side - long before homes there became million-dollar lottery tickets.

The 51-year-old's success has helped him put together a much-prized personal art collection, buy a gold Bentley coupe and purchase the zillion-dollar home he lives in.

Mr. Rennie is constantly evaluating and judging the market, betting on where it is - and isn't - going. For the past decade, that's been pretty easy. The sales-and-price trend in Vancouver has graphed in pretty much one direction: up. But many in Mr. Rennie's audience this week were anticipating he'd be forced to deviate from his usual cheery script.

In fact, hours before he rose to speak, media outlets were reporting private-sector forecasts that showed the Canadian housing market cooling. Scotiabank warned that price gains from housing would ease in 2008 and slow down further in 2009.

If there is a slowdown under way, Vancouver seems to be immune from it. At least, if we're to believe the mind-boggling numbers provided by Mr. Rennie.

Consider this: Of the 2,743 condominiums expected to be finished this year, nearly 90 per cent are already sold. There are 2,925 condos scheduled to be completed in 2009; 98 per cent of those are sold. And 83 per cent of the 714 that will be finished in 2010 are gone.

Many of the condominiums are attached to luxury hotel developments. Mr. Rennie is selling 123 units at the Ritz-Carlton, which is scheduled to be completed by 2011. Actually, he's already sold 60 per cent of them at an average of $2,300 a square foot. That's right, a 1,000-square-foot condo in downtown Vancouver that you can't get into until 2011 will cost you $2.3-million.

Mr. Rennie said he used to joke that the per-square-foot cost of a condo in the city would be 2010 by 2010. Well, 2010 a square foot has come and gone.

The Ritz is asking $29-million for its penthouse suite, by the way. The one in the Residences at the Hotel Georgia sold recently for $18-million. And Mr. Rennie just unloaded the penthouse at the Shangri La, which isn't even completed yet, for $16-million. Three years ago, that same penthouse, not yet built and 1,000 square feet smaller, was on the market for $5.3-million.

In Vancouver's case, the old real-estate adage - location, location, location - seems to be true.

[YachtForums]

And the proposals propagate. From the Vancouver Sun...

Link to story below

Proposed mega-yacht marina scheduled for Victoria in 2009...

A proposed marina targeting mega-yachts would be bound to lure these vessels to B.C.'s capital, say owners of a Seattle company specializing in luxury boats.

"In Victoria, if you had a place, they would come," said Randy Cowley, who owns Venwest Yachts Inc. with his wife Maureen.

It's not unusual for yacht owners to have multiple slips reserved from Mexico to Canada, he said on Wednesday.

The planned $20-million, 48-berth marina at Songhees would serve the growing market for huge yachts, which are about 65 to 140 feet long, said developer Bob Evans. He is partnering with Alberta-based Western Asset Management Development Group to form Community Marine Concepts LP.

Evans said this would be Canada's only marina dedicated exlusively to mega-yachts. Plans call for the marina to be open this time next year.

"Everyone loves Victoria, and [a marina] would probably bring a lot more people in," said Maureen Cowley.

Ship Point can accommodate large yachts, but it takes transient vessels for short periods only, said Paul Servos, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority CEO. "[Evans] is looking at a regular marina."

"We think it would be complimentary to our business. We don't have any issues with it. ... We are in the business of promoting harbour activity," Servos said.

Plans for a marina are part of the 1987 Songhees master agreement between the city of Victoria and province, which led to industrial land being converted into the residential and commercial development standing today.

Each slip would have a sanitary waste removal system, and yachts would use the fuelling station at Fisherman's Wharf, Evans said. Electric golf carts would run along the wide floating concrete breakwater to serve the yachts. A bridge would allow small craft, such as kayaks, near shore.

"The key thing is, it adds interest and activity of a very high-quality nature," Evans said.

Marine submitted a development permit application to the city of Victoria last week for approval to build two buildings on pilings at Songhees. These applications normally take about eight weeks to come before council, although some take longer.

The firm already owns the two water lots where marina buildings such as offices, a restaurant, coffee shop and interpretive centre would be located. In 1993, those lots were downzoned to one-story commercial use by the city.

[outmywindow]

Re: Victoria

Victoria is a beautiful place and I wish them luck in going forward with this proposal. Although, I believe the concept was hatched back when the US Dollar had a 15 – 20% mark up on our Canadian one, today our money’s at par and our fuel costs substantially more expensive.
That and the current US economic situation will have an impact on permanent berth requirements up North with the US Recreational Yachtsman.
I assume/hope they will try to “pre-sell” prior to going forward.

Here in the “big smoke” our new, under construction ($900 Million ++++) Convention Centre will have a new SuperYacht marina attached to it.
This should be a good incentive for the Big Boys to weigh anchor from English Bay and come Downtown.

[SharkyFHB]

Guys,

And another one...

Here is a story on a Galveston Texas project:
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/s...1/story1.html/

John