New Hotel Slated for Pompano Beach

The Pompano Beach City Commission took another step towards a new 178-foot hotel at 101 South Ocean Blvd. at a commission meeting last week. The 220-room hotel is in the early stages of development after overcoming its first hurdle of getting the site rezoned from B-2/AOD to B-3/AOD.

The rezoning allows any future buildings to take up to 60% of the lot instead of 45%, allowing for a “short and fat” building. The difference in zoning doesn’t change the allowed height of the proposed project. Both zoning classifications allow for a height of 210 feet. 

The AOD classification allows hotel uses in all commercial land use districts regardless of zoning.

The project had faced some blowback from residents in the area; many were concerned over an increased demand on an already busy area and the addition of another tower to an evolving skyline.

A representative from the developer, Andrew Schein, said at the meeting that the property owner is paying around $100,000 per year in property taxes and that something will be built at the currently vacant lot regardless of the zoning change.

Schein said, “we have the right to go up to 210 feet with zero parking here, but we heard their concerns so we didn’t go up to 210 feet and we added 200 parking spaces, which we didn’t have to do.”

Vice Mayor Andrea McGee, whose district the parcel is in, said, “I think this is a needed project on the beach; I think we need another hotel.”