Adventures In Real Estate

In the Mid 80’s the Flagler Heights section, as it was called back then, was not the place to be, to say the least.

The neighborhood was run down and forgotten. The historic neighborhood once called Flagler Heights, renamed Flagler Village, is undergoing a major revitalization that will make it one of the most desirable neighborhoodsin all of Broward County. The Flagler Village area consists of 151 acres of Fort Lauderdale’s East side community redevelopment area. The boundaries of Flagler Village are Broward Boulevard on the South End, North to Sunrise Boulevard on the North end, and from US-1 to the railway corridor. Developers with a vision began purchasing the land years ago while it was still in despair hoping to develop affordable “urban living environments“. That vision has since paid off. Many “mixed use” projects are now in the works and being offered at very reasonable prices!

The following are a few of the ongoing unique developments that I will be blogging about in the upcomming weeks. They are all currently available in the Flagler Village area:

• The Foundry and The Mill Lofts
• The Exchange Lofts
• The Heights at Flagler Village
• Strada 315
• Bamboo Flats

Flagler Village is less than 5 minutes from most of Fort Lauderdale’s entertainment and fine dining. There is a real “neighborhood feel”to Flagler Village. Quaint cafes and restaurants are within walking distance. Flagler Village is very pedestrian friendly, offering trolley service throughout the village by A & E trolley. There are plans for a light rail system that the city just received funding for. The proposed rail system will include Andrews Avenue, 2nd Street, 3rd Avenue, and Las Olas Boulevard.

Flagler Village truly marches to its own beat. In the weeks ahead I will feature some of the many ongoing communities that are emerging within this bohemian feeling neighborhood. Do you have a story to tell about the emerging Flagler Village? Let us know about it!

Tarragon Corporation, the developers of the Las Olas Riverhouse, has announced its recent sale of 100 E. Las Olas Boulevard for $15 Million to Simmons Vedder & Co.

100 E. Las Olas was originally planned to be a 25 story high rise adjacent to the Riverhouse. The tower was to be adjoined to the Riverhouse by a sixth floor terrace. The first two floors of the tower were designed for mixed use which would have included a day spa and fine dinning to name a few. The prices were to range from $600,000’s to over $900,000.

The tower upset many of the current Riverhouse owners since 100 E. Las Olas would be blocking some of their views. The Riverhouse owners will not be able to breath an early sign of relief just yet. The new owners Simmons Vedder & Co. do plan to have involved discussions with Riverhouse owners and neighboring commercial owners to make sure the building will be in context of its urban setting. Simmons and Vedder has not yet released how tall the new building will be but it will contain a mix use of retail, office, and hotel options.

The sale of the property by Tarragon was spurred by their need to become more liquid to reduce their dept in the current market. Tarragon Corp also sold the following two properties :

• The Vintage at Abacoa in Jupiter, Florida
• Kennesaw Farms Apartments development in Gallatin, Tennessee

The sale of all three properties totaled $91,367,000

We are seeing a renaissance happening in various areas of Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The diversity of different types of housing options being offered at this time is huge. The city is starting to develop unique neighborhoods with very different feels such as Flagler Village, The Himmarshee area, and the Las Olas ( Colee Hammock) areas. The buyer sits firmly in the drivers seat in this market and it will be very interesting to watch as buyers start to reemerge and developers begin to move forward around the downtown area.