Hollywood?

No Holly Will!

With major revitalization projects underway and a wide variety of new housing options being approved all over the city, Hollywood is quickly becoming the place to be. City revitalization projects include refurbishing the boardwalk, widening the beach sand and creating the ArtsPark at Young Circle. New housing development projects include condo-tels, high rise condo towers, low-rise condos, mixed use urban villages and townhomes – most below, or well below, Fort Lauderdale prices. 

The Hollywood beach boardwalk is getting a $14 million dollar facelift to transform the aging stretch into a 1920s-style beach village.  The boardwalk itself will be repaved into three sections with colorful pavers in the pedestrian area for walking, a tabby concrete area for biking and a crushed shell path for jogging.  An 18 inch LED lit wall is planned to separate the sand from the boardwalk, while more palm trees and old fashion lampposts will further beautify the area.  There will be new public bathrooms and showers along with drainage and utility improvements.  Many of the old, dilapidated buildings that now line the beach will soon give way to luxury hotels and mixed use space that combine residential and commercial establishments.

In addition to the millions being spent by the City of Hollywood to improve the beach, Broward County will spend $23 million on the Beach Renourishment Project.  Starting at Hollywood’s John Lloyd State Recreation Area and heading south into the City of Hallandale, the placement of approximately 1.7 million cubic yards of sand will expand the 6.2 miles of beaches up to 200 feet.  The entire project is expected to be completed by early 2006.

Scheduled for completion in the fall of 2005, the Hollywood ArtsPark will transform the 12 acres of Young Circle at the intersection of US1 and Hollywood Blvd.  Along with a playground, sculpture garden and a 2000+ seat amphitheatre, public artist Ritsuko Taho will create three unique interactive sculptures which will use light, water and sound.  The sculptures are inspired by and used to illuminate one of the huge Baobab Trees already in the park.  The Baobab tree, known for its mythical powers in Western African folklore, can live to be 1,000 years old thanks to their capacity for storing hundreds of gallons of water in its trunk.  The ArtsPark will also be host to community events such as art classes, concerts and festivals – including the annual Hollywood Jazz Festival.

Immediately west of Young Circle is downtown Hollywood with its pedestrian friendly, tree-lined streets full of shops, restaurants, boutiques and galleries.  While it is easy to meander down Hollywood Blvd stopping for gelato or sushi, there is also ample parking along the road and in neighboring garages.  At night, there are a variety of pubs and restaurants with outdoor and indoor dining, many offering live music. 

Sprouting up all around the downtown Hollywood area is a wide variety of new housing options.  There are 4-5 high rises planned for on Young Circle along with a few mid-rise projects just off the circle.  Townhomes are popping up in the 4-6 blocks surrounding the circle.  A few of the projects are already underway while most are still in the planning stages.  Many of the pre-construction prices are less than in Fort Lauderdale with 1 bedroom condos starting in the mid-200’s and 3 bedroom 2.5 bath townhomes starting at just $284k.

Some sample new construction projects

To find out more about these or other projects and learn more about the Hollywood area, please email me for information.  You can also visit my website, www.WhySouthFlorida.com, for a list of pre-construction developments throughout Broward County.  Thank you.

Written by James Loftis