Renderings of the new Bahia Marina development in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
A team of developers including Related Group is launching a $2 billion development project at Florida’s largest marina in Fort Lauderdale, aiming to create a “mini Monaco,” according to executives.
According to plans, the new development at Bahia Mar Marina will include a hotel and apartment tower, as well as a beach club, restaurants and retail space.
“Fort Lauderdale and all of South Florida have been waiting for a true destination with the feel of Monaco,” said Nick Perez, president of the Apartments Division of Related Group. “We have a deep-water marina, we have restaurants, but we don’t have this all-inclusive five-star resort. So that’s what the market is missing.”
Renderings of the new Bahia Marina development in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
Miami-based Related Group, controlled by billionaire Jorge Perez, is partnering with Tate Capital and Rok Enterprises on the project. According to plans, the development would occupy nearly 40 acres of land and water and feature multiple apartment buildings and a St. Regis hotel with about 200 rooms. The hotel will replace the existing DoubleTree hotel on site.
Bahia Mar is a sprawling marina that helped make Fort Lauderdale the yachting capital of the United States.
The Bahia Mar land is owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale and leased to entities led by developer Jimmy Tate and his family. Plans by Tates and Locke Enterprises to develop the property have been stalled for years as Fort Lauderdale residents and local officials oppose the massive project. The new plans call for reducing the size of the building and adding more public facilities.
Renderings of the new Bahia Marina development in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
In addition to the apartment complex and hotel, the plan calls for 88,000 square feet of waterfront commercial space that would include restaurants, a marina, an inner-coastal park and a 25-foot-wide pedestrian promenade. The marina features a 350-foot yacht slip.
Perez said the development would attract a global clientele of yacht owners and boating enthusiasts as 65 per cent of visitors to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show come from overseas, mainly Europe and Latin America.
Renderings of the new Bahia Marina development in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Courtesy: ArX Creative
“There’s nothing in South Florida that allows you to have a residential unit in your backyard, a hotel, great food and beverages and a large yacht or a regular yacht, no matter what kind of boat you have,” he said.
The project is scheduled to open at the end of 2029.
