Today the $250 million renovation project for the Bahia Mar area of Ft. Lauderdale Beach received City Commissioner approval. The plans call for a new five-star Waldorf-Astoria hotel, renovation of the existing Bahia Mar hotel, a permanent home for the International Boat Show and a waterfront park. All of which are good for the Beach. The International Boat Show draws huge amounts of tourists and visitors each year and brings a lot of money into the area. The hotel upgrades can help expand Ft. Lauderdale's transformation into a more mid-upscale resort location.

The plans call for NO use of taxpayer money and the overall plan is more 'scaled down' than originally submitted due to the economy and neighborhood activists. The developers still need to negotiate the specific terms of the long-term lease for the city-owned plot. The final rezoning vote will be held in two weeks and commissioners want to add restrictions that would not allow any development on the western area of the land. It's currently set aside for a park and public promenade along the Intercoastal. If the zoning change passes, the next hurdle will be the land lease.

Some information on the pans:
-The Waldorf-Astoria hotel (LXR Resorts) would be a 'tiered' tower, standing 22 - 26 stories with a total of 290 rooms and 28 luxury condos. This is quite smaller than the original plans submitted last year. The luxury condos are needed to fund the planned public parks and promenades.
-An acre of the property along the Intercoastal will become a park with a 20-foot wide promenade.
-Developers will pay for a Beach Community Center, a Police Command Center, a Trolley stop and Boat Show facility improvements.
-If all goes well and everything is approved..work could be completed by 2016.