A revamp is envisioned for Hollywood’s beachside Diplomat Landing, with plans for a new 42-story tower featuring 500 hotel rooms and 4,000 square feet of retail space.
Also expected is an adjacent 37-story condominium building with 350 units of luxury housing; 344 in the high-rise building and six townhouses.
These plans for the mixed-use development gained some additional approvals by the Broward County Commission on Tuesday.
The redevelopment would happen on the west side of State Road A1A, across the street from the Diplomat resort.
“They’re making a $100 million investment in the beach club,” said Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy, calling the new development an important economic driver for the city. “It’s been a legacy site for Broward and Hollywood for decades.”
The plans have already been approved by the Hollywood City Commission and there are no environmental or traffic objections. “The existing and proposed commercial, hotel, and residential uses … are in compliance with the (city of Hollywood’s) effective land use plan,” said Barbara Blake Boy, executive director of the Broward County Planning Council, writing in a June memo signing off on the project.
Developers anticipate the project will bring a dozen new students to local schools.
While most new residential developments in the county set aside some units for affordable housing, the Diplomat projects are considered resorts and do not require such a set-aside, Levy acknowledged. A member of the county’s Planning Council, Levy said officials may at some point want to revisit the idea of setting aside beachfront units for working families because they will provide these resorts with their workforce.
“We are a leading city in the development of affordable housing,” Levy said.
The existing Diplomat Beach Resort opened in 2002 under the Westin umbrella, with 1,000 guest rooms in two towers right on the beach. The new towers will be on the Intracoastal side of State Road A1A. The Westin name was dropped in 2014, and the new developments are spearheaded by the Miami-based Related Group and BH Group of Aventura.
The initiative took shape after the Trinity Investments and Credit Suisse Asset Management acquired the Diplomat Resort for $835 million in February 2023. They sold to the current developers the following year.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.
