A court has dismissed a difference in building heights for a proposed 10-storey apartment project at Hillsborough Beach by Dezer Development and related groups.
The Fort Lauderdale court’s move quashed Hillsborough Beach’s development order for the 1174-1185 Hillsborough Mile site after the town council approved the height difference.
“It is clear that the fundamental requirements of the law were not followed in granting the subject difference,” Judges John Bowman, Ernest Kollra and Mariya Weekes of the 17th Circuit in Fort Lauderdale wrote in last week’s ruling.
The impact on development is unclear. “Our policy is not to comment on ongoing litigation,” related group said in a statement. “We would like to stress that the court’s opinion is not final. We therefore cannot comment at this time.”
Sunny Isles Beach-based Dezer Development, led by Gilderzer, acquired a two-lot development site on the Hillsborough Mile section of State Highway A1A from bankruptcy protection in 2016 for $28.5 million. It then sold the portfolio to a joint venture with Coconut Grove-based Related, led by Jorge Pérez and Jon Paul Pérez, for $30 million in late 2020.
The 11.8-acre development flanking the Hillsboro Mile is bounded by the Intracoastal Waterway to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The site is in an area of town that limits building heights to 35 feet (or three stories). After winning the height difference in January last year, Related and Dezer planned to build a 10-storey, 130-foot-tall apartment building on the east site and a three-storey apartment building on the west site.
Earlier this month, Dezer and Related began marketing the 92-unit boutique condominium development and partnered with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.
but three residents Hillsborough Beach Residents living within 500 feet of the development filed a complaint challenging the legality of the developer’s request for a building height change on the east parcel.
new pelican first reported ruling.
Related and Dezer Development argued that this difference was justified, as 2.8 acres of lush sand dunes, part of a 6.4-acre eastern parcel, posed difficulties. Broward County has designated the dunes as a protected area since 1992.
However, “there is no indication on record that the applicant [Related Group] Without this discrepancy, there would be no reasonable use of the property,” the court said in its ruling. “In fact, a valuation conducted for Hillsborough by a real estate consulting and valuation service indicated that the Hillsborough Code requirements Low-rise buildings are entirely feasible and profitable. “
