Many Questions About Huge Galleria Project
BY BUDDY NEVINS
There is one question that residents of Fort Lauderdale should ask Mayor Jack Seiler and the City Commission:
Just how is anybody going to get around if eight new buildings – one a towering 38 stories – are approved at the Galleria Mall?
The project includes:
- 38-story building on the site of the former theaters and McDonald’s site with 163 hotel rooms, 378 apartments, restaurants and and retail space.
- 25-story building at Bayview and Sunrise next to Neiman Marcus with 165 condominiums.
- A 24-story building at the corner of Middle River Drive and Sunrise Blvd on the site of the Bank of America Building with 167 condominiums and a bank.
- A 15-story office building at the corner of Bayview and Sunrise (on the west side of street)
- A building ranging from 4 to 14 stories on the South east corner of the Mall with a 151 apartments, 8 town houses and retail space
- A building on the south side of the mall ranging from 4 to 7 stories with 80 units of senior housing and retail space.
- A building on the south side of the mall ranging from 4-9 stories with 101 senior units and retail space.
- A building on the SW corner of Galleria ranging from 3 to 13 stories with 194 condominiums, 6 townhouses and retail space.
The argument as announced by developers Keystone-Florida Properties Holding Corp. in September is that this will be a “walkable community.”
Maybe. Maybe folks buying million dollar apartments will leave their Mercedes at home and walk in 90 degree heat and daily rain.
But what about the rest of the community?
Is Keystone-Florida just another developer chipping away at the lifestyle of residents? Thousands of beach residents living in projects that the developer-friendly City Hall already use and need east Sunrise Boulevard.
What is the enlarged Galleria going to do for them except leave them sitting in traffic longer?
Like any developer, Keystone-Florida wrap their proposal in the promise of jobs and economic development.
Numerous studies have shown that the jobs associated with such huge developments are transitory. The added travel time for existing residents and necessary increases in fire, police, water and sewer services offset much of the benefits.
No one has even mentioned in the media that this area is in an evacuation zone for hurricanes. It is largely isolated from the rest of Fort Lauderdale by a fixed bridge on East Sunrise Boulevard.
This project has been winding its way through approvals and winning community support since last September, including holding 20 meetings with residents. But it is not too late to tell Seiler and the City Commission what you think.
A community meeting at City Hall today, Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. will allow you to voice your opinion.
Model of the project is seen above. This view is looking towards the west along East Sunrise Boulevard. The proposed tall building in the center of the picture is 38 stories high. The existing Galleria Mall lies between that building and the new 25 story high rise to the west.
The view from the west looking east along East Sunrise Boulevard. The 24-story building in the front is next to Macy’s. The building in the distance on the left is the 38-story tower. Other new buildings are situated around the mall.
May 27th, 2015 at 9:28 am
First of all this meeting tonight should be televised on the public station(here in Ft>lau Comcast its chanel-78). Dev. way to big. Scale it back. They don’t need all those new bldgs.. If this all passes it would take you all day to get from Sunrise/15 to the beach. You don’t want to compromise getting to the beach. Will see. Come on e, come all… Let’s see if its on tv tonite for starters….
May 27th, 2015 at 9:54 am
Looks like a nice project that should help to revitalize the area.
May 27th, 2015 at 10:26 am
Buddy, people all over the city are angry. The commissioners know it. Why do they not listen? They seem to want to welcome thousands of new residents, but at the same time destroy the quality of life for those already living in some of the finest downtown neighborhoods to be found in Florida. The Las Olas Isles, Colee Hammock, Victoria Park, the entire Sunrise area – even the beach and Rio Vista (when the tunnel backs up – as it did often in high season – those people are isolated). Long time residents are actually moving from neighborhoods where they felt set for life.
You should follow the money. Obviously developers hope to do well, but what about those enabling them?
May 27th, 2015 at 11:34 am
Fort Lauderdale…Nice place to visit,but I can’t live there any more. The traffic on Federal Hwy is so bad that it takes 30 to 40 minutes to get from the tunnel to Imperial Point.(While you’re watching for planes to fall out of the sky.)I don’t understand why the Commission campaigned against MASSIVE growth and then didn’t LAUGH this development right out of city hall. Take a look around, you’re selling a nice town straight to hell. I’m gone……
May 27th, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Too much! Looks like a true nightmare in the making. Cannot even imagine what the traffic at Sunrise & Bayview might look like, God forbid when that bridge goes up! Had to chuckle at your remark about those new residents leaving their cars behind to walk in the humidity & rain. As if …. not to mention that dirty word …hurricane! Revitalization is one thing but this smells of developers running amok (again). Before they take any future steps, I would like to see a review of occupancy of all those hi rise buildings that have sprouted up in the city since Wilma.
May 27th, 2015 at 1:39 pm
The way things work these days at city hall is the city administration is in control. The commissioners are unable to express an opinion about a development until the public hearings are over. That is why it is called Quasi Judicial. By the time the city manager’s staff (the planners) present the city position at the hearing, the mayor and commissioners feel like if they don’t vote for a project, they will get sued. If they express an opinion or fight against a project before the vote, they must recuse themselves and abstain from the vote.
The real power is in the city manager,a person never elected by the people and often from out of town, and without a true belonging or love for the city and it’s future. They just move from city to city, until their welcome is worn out. And we are all left with the mess (and debt)they leave behind.
May 27th, 2015 at 2:09 pm
any commissioner that votes for this project should face the consequences next election. The City has ENOUGH development going on right now. Two 40 story bldgs on Las Olas; a 300 unit project on 17 Street; new proposed developments on N. Federal Highway; a 30 story condo at Bahia Cabana; the Ireland’s Inn condo, new hotel on the beach, etc., etc., etc. coupled with the new development that has been built recently including on Sunrise Blvd, right down the street from the proposed galleria project.
The bottom line is – we don’t need it. We don’t need to, or want to, become Miami. The Galleria project should be completely off the table until there are viable traffic solutions to 17th Street, Las Olas, Sunrise Blvd, and the beach. It is hard to fathom that these developers have a traffic plan that says the current roadways can handle this many new units. This project is an insult to anybody that lives in Ft. Laud that values the quality of life the city used to have.
May 27th, 2015 at 4:46 pm
all for it, we have to employ the illegals that we are letting in somewhere, this is as good as any, let them get rid of their cars and ride bikes. great exersize, this developer is obviously looking about for all of us and not merely his pocketbook,
May 27th, 2015 at 5:13 pm
Too many cars and too much traffic already. Will Jack Seiler listen or will he put his own self interest as a politician in the way of the wishes of the voters?
May 27th, 2015 at 5:38 pm
You don’t live in Coral Ridge. If you did you would know the horrendous traffic that we fight with for most of the year just to get to Publix. This area doesn’t need revitalizing. The development is clearly a quid pro quo for someone. No wonder Seiler was able to raise so much money so quickly in his last election. I wonder if I can get me vote back.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:23 pm
I’m sitting in this City Hall meeting shaking my head. The committee started with nothing short of a strong arm sales pitch, but then invited questions about our concerns about the impact. “How will this effect traffic and will my streets, like Bayview Drive, be widened?” Answer: We don’t know. “How will this increase effect Bayview School?” Answer: We don’t know…ask the School Board. “Who will pay for this?” Answer: We don’t know…ask the city. “What other projects may pop up around this?” Answer: We don’t know…let’s wait and see. Thank you ladies and gentlemen…any more questions? Not one significant question was directly answered. What a sham!
May 27th, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Let’s keep it simple. WTF are they thinking???
Paving Paradise and creating gridlock?? I think the developer is playing the age old game of asking for way too much then compromising for way too much more than should be approved while getting what he really wants. Quality of life bites some more dust in South Florida.
May 27th, 2015 at 10:13 pm
City staff and code use multi-model transportation as a crutch to justify large development. There’s no place to walk to, no place to bike to, dangerous bike “share-rows” and it’s very hot and rainy in Florida. Saying we are going to use multi model transportation will not reduce the extra traffic that this project will bring.
May 28th, 2015 at 6:36 am
Stop your selfish bellyaching and get out of the way of progress. You ask that people not make a living so you can get to and from the beach five minutes faster? It’s going to happen anyway so if you’re that upset about living in an urban area go move someplace else where you don’t have to contend with the traffic of others. That is not what leading cities are about and Fort Lauderdale will either compete for tourism and survive or it will sink as others pass them by.
FROM BUDDY:
Other cities have already passed Fort Lauderdale. An old convention center, an aging hotel stock with no large self-contained convention hotel (think Diplomat) and traffic that paralyzes the beachfront. Why would anybody come to Fort Lauderdale? Florida is filled with better choices.
May 28th, 2015 at 9:19 am
My guess is that Mr Real Deal does not live in the neighborhoods that will be compromised because of this project. Expansion is fine…but only in appropriate areas. Wanna erect towers…great…but not smack in the middle of a purely residential area. Stop trying the screw other people so you can “make a living”. It’s financial pigs like you that are willing to bulldoze people just to make a buck that tear down the fiber of a great community.
May 28th, 2015 at 11:47 am
First of all this meeting last night should have been televised. You don’t get to pick and choose what the public should see and should not see. So last night we get the Park/Rec advisory bd(who cares). W/ their “happy” video (I mean really, pathetic part is we are all paying for this crap). Anyhow anytime public is invited to go before the commission it should be broadcasted. To some of you out there its not the PIO dept, fault or the City clerk off. this is a policy what we get to see is made by the comm. This needs to be brought to the comm. attention. ” #6″- you are so right. Mr.Feldman doesn’t give a rats ass about this city. It s all about the all mighty dollar. Who is he , and he alone to fire are police officers to say what issues(agenda) goes before our commission etc. Di d you just love last month when our city manager goes before the comm(wait) and states I am not scheduled for a raise ., nor does my contract warrant one, but I can ask anyways. He then gets approved for what 3%. Did your rack and file get a raise clear across the board-then why did you? As far thi s Galleria project its way to big. Scale it back. To you HOA’s out there get busy and voice your concerns to this comm..
May 28th, 2015 at 7:49 pm
I agree with all the people talking about the traffic jams this project will cause. Even now, traffic gets clogged on Sunrise Blvd and US1 because the city commission decided to cut off access to nearly all side streets. Once you get on that stretch of Sunrise, there’s no getting off that strip. It’s time to reopen the side streets on the north part of Sunrise Blvd.
May 28th, 2015 at 10:55 pm
Dear victims of put a garage on every blade of grass n place a hotel on every blade of grass, how come when lobbyists stand up and LIE to the city commission on projects like the fire station swsp and the underlining philosophy NO ONE comes to oppose any of the “dogs” with intelligent arguments or with research Except moi? The spokesmen for reasonable development I have heard at meetings get their facts wrong don’t research issues, “play up to journalists” ignoring lobbying the commission members who actually could stop this overdevelopment, and when Seiler, Rogers or trantalis raise issues about congession or commercial or overdevelopment Attack them anyway! Ruining the chances of a three or even four vote slow or limit development coalition. And really, no one seriously mounts a challenge to development supported candidates in south Florida. I don’t drive but any moron can see there is too much traffic.
May 29th, 2015 at 5:29 pm
Leonard Farber, who developed the Galleria is probably spinning in his grave for the potential destruction of one of Fort Lauderdale’s premier destinations.
May 29th, 2015 at 7:10 pm
The Developers and the Pennsylvania State Education Association. They own the Galleria Mall property and much of the surrounding area. The politicians will think they are winning because the lobbyists and developers will promise to “take care of them” in their next election. There is always a next election. They will be hated by their constituents. This will not be the same as them starving the homeless or letting cops make racial slurs. Every time east Ft Lauderdale residents leave their homes they will be reminded that the city commission allowed paradise to be destroyed.
The losers will again be the residents of east Ft Lauderdale. They will be faced with foreclosures of condos that won’t sell out, if not just a complete saturation of the market, which will lower their own property value. Our traffic will increase tenfold. Bruce and Romney, you seem smart. Are you listening?
May 29th, 2015 at 7:31 pm
We may have overlooked the true purpose of Fort Lauderdale’s outrageously stupid and expensive “Wave Streetcar” boondoggle!! Could it be absolutely the perfect place for Jack Seiler, Romney Rogers, and Bruce Roberts to put on their deluxe professional kneepads and gang-fellate developers?!?
May 30th, 2015 at 7:09 am
And if Leonard farber or my maternal uncle who had a business here when he did would have lived here and died where would the Jewish services be held? ft Lauderdale has NO TRADITIONAL SYNAGOGUES and one Small, “affiliated with the Reform Moment” Temple on the outskirts of the city unlike any other place in the Western World I can think of. Oh yes, one or two Prsyer rooms” sponsored by Hassidic factions. Ft Lauderdale in rare for an American or European or even Floridan city in that boards in Ft.Lauderdale seem to be as Judenfrei in cultural matters as Nazi Germany n the few Jewish board members one meets always live outside the city. maybe this is why the latest publicity from what most of us still call the Ft Lauderdale Museum of Art from Its glory days of the great Egyptian Exhibition Miami and Palm Beach did not get but it got for us is now the Nova U Museum with NO MENTION of Ft. Lauderdale! The historical society and bonnet house (2 boards) are like city boards full of non-entities with holes in their pockets looking for public funding n lobbying jobs. While West n Sourh Broward not to mention muami-Dade n palm beach counties gets literally tens of millions in Jewish donations IN CAsH for art, culture, and education, our Judenfrei cultural clique gets tax credit modern junk at best!
May 31st, 2015 at 12:54 am
@22 count …..
Most fort lauderdale properties had deed restrictions AGAINST ownership by Jews.
Found that out in 1980’s. do some homework.
May 31st, 2015 at 5:47 pm
The issue of “restrictive covenants” against Hebrews was something I wrote about during the 1960 kennedy/nixon race as then Senator Richard Nixon had purchased a family home with such a provision. Ham Forman n my Christian Father served together at mac dill in 1944/1945 where I was born. He suggested my Father should come to fort Lauderdale but my Jewish Mother put her foot down as she did with my Stepfather in 1972 saying after my grandmother n uncle had to use my maternal grandmother’s Christian family name to get into decent hotels n clubs (my uncle had a boat) until he sold his business here in 1967 she’d move to Muenchen first – at least they were reformed anti-Semites!
June 9th, 2015 at 3:04 pm
People really should be looking at what the traffic impact will be!!!!
June 9th, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Maybe if the people who care about the traffic conjestion would attend city commission meetings they would like me hear members of the city commission say they hate the traffic conjestion and overdevelopment but only Fred Carleton. John weaver and sometimes Steve Glassman ever show up to complain and they have no votes to back them up but the lobbyists lead by toothache turn out to meetings with voters and campaign checks. I mean what keeps all the people who claim they want decent concurrency from showing up at public meetings?????