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Jackie Mason on movie set outside Riverside Hotel, Friday.

On the Fort Lauderdale set of In A Pickle with Jackie Mason, Steve Moskovic (One Angry Man) directing- - with a host of cameos from established actors such as Havana born action movie star Steven Bauer (Scarface).

Producers told this blog today that they want "no publicity".
No worries there then -they spoke to the right blog for that.

Mason demonstrated many years ago that he too believes in the My Fort Lauderdale credo by standing up to blowhard Ed Sullivan on his eponymous hit TV show. Cost him half-a-lifetime at the top.

Bauer's maternal grandparents were Jewish refugees from Germany which one might conclude are excellent credentials for being in a pickle.

Shooting in Fort Lauderdale will continue for another four days at two locations.
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Middle River Sculpture Event - Sunday May 16, 2010

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What's your big idea for Bahia Mar, Fort Lauderdale, City Commission?

Imagine the wonder of the boat show inside this auditorium.
Choose one -
#1 - A neighbor friendly hen, but not a good layer.
#2 - 10 year gestation + 100 year land giveaway = four fat hens laying a few more eggs or,
#3 - 10 year gestation + 100 year land giveaway = a Trumpeter Swan covering the city with golden feathers.

Bahia Mar renovation clears hurdle in Fort Lauderdale

By Scott Wyman, Sun Sentinel

10:18 a.m. EDT, May 19, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE

Plans to renovate the aging Bahia Mar on the city's beach with a five-star Waldorf-Astoria hotel, high-rise condos and a long-term home for the International Boat Show have cleared a major hurdle.

City commissioners and developers agreed* Tuesday to the basic outline of a new 100-year lease of the city-owned land. The decision came despite continuing questions about whether such a deal violates the city charter and the concerns of some nearby residents about the immense size of the project.

*The 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM City Conference is for discussion purposes only - no agreements can be made implicitly or explicitly.

LXR Resorts, owned by equity group Blackstone, has been working with city officials for four years to craft the $500 million upgrade of the Bahia Mar and hopes to have the final terms drawn up by fall. Even once a new lease is inked, the details of what to build would still have to clear the city's rigorous land-use approval process.

"We made progress today and are optimistic," said Peter Henn, who is the managing director of the development. "We have invested a lot of money and are willing to invest a lot more to make this a reality. We are here for the long run."

One of the main hang-ups has been how the city should be paid for any redevelopment, and the sides decided to base revenue on the fair market value of the property using regular appraisals and to pay the city a cut on the sale of condos. The developers have estimated the city will receive $2 billion under the lease.

The developers had wanted a 100-year lease, but the city charter says that the Bahia Mar cannot be leased for more than 50 years without competitive bids. To get around the restriction, attorneys for the city and the developers told commissioners that they plan to draw up a 50-year lease that would then be followed by a second 50-year lease.

Fifty-two years remain on the existing Bahia Mar lease, but LXR has pressed for a new deal so they can refurbish the property.

The LXR project includes the renovation of the current 15-story Bahia Mar Hotel, a new 300-room Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and two high-rise condo buildings. There also would be restaurants and shops along State Road A1A.

Most important to city officials is that it provides a permanent home for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which has been held at the Bahia Mar since 1976.

The amount of space for the boat show would increase by a third, and the marina has already undergone $19 million in renovations. The boat show has an annual economic impact of $500 million, the equivalent of hosting the Super Bowl.

"To me, this is all about the boat show," Mayor Jack Seiler said. "It must provide a permanent home for the boat show, and it's an absolute non-starter to me if the boat show is not a component."

The project would be built in phases, with the current hotel being renovated in 2014, the Waldorf Astoria being built in 2016 and the condos coming after 2017.

The prospect of a new Bahia Mar has divided beach activists and nearby residents.

The developers have redesigned the project in recent months to make it more appealing after initial comments from the public. The condo towers would layer upward from 15 stories to 22 stories, flat roofs have been replaced with a more iconic sculpted design and balconies would be recessed to reduce the visual size of the development.

"Let's get the thing moving," said Fred Carlson, president of the Central Beach Alliance and a project supporter. "We need the development, and we need it to start right now."

But critics, including residents of the upscale Idlewyld neighborhood across the Intracoastal Waterway from the project, continue to object to its density and potential impact on traffic. They charge that condos should not be built on city land and that officials would be tying up a key piece of property for generations to come.

"Do we have other options?" said Christopher Beck, a resident of a condo building near Bahia Mar. "Are there other ideas for this most important piece of the city's real estate? We need something that brands the city, that gives the city identity."

Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4511.

Moot and erroneous passages highlighted in red. Comments below please.

- Here is the full text of Scott Wyman's e-mail response to my e-mail and my comments above -

Dear Mr. Beck -- The highlighted section is not inaccurate. The City Commission did agree in the outline of terms of the new lease. In fact, if you remember, the mayor asked the city attorney at the end of the discussion what the attorney needed from the commission and Mr. Stewart responded that he need concurrence with the general principles – which the commission then did with a handful of additions such as Commissioner Rodstrom noting she wanted shade issues addressed.





Scott Wyman

Staff writer
Sun Sentinel
954-356-4511

www.sun-sentinel.com/browardpolitics

- THE TUESDAY AFTERNOON CONFERENCE IS REBROADCAST ON FRIDAY EVENING MAY 21, 2010 AND IS THEN ARCHIVED BY THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE FOR INTERNET VIEWING - YOU CAN BE THE JUDGE -

I consulted several community leaders before posting this blog and they agreed with my take.

I understand what Scott Wyman is saying and there is some validity in his inference - but it can not be moot.

The Mayor firmly repeated what he had said at a previous evening meeting of the City Commission and that is that "the applicant is proceeding at his own risk".

This was an afternoon confereence meeting so the Commission has no power to approve. The oath of allegiance was not taken. No one was sworn in. The City Commission may not have had the quasi-judicial authority to make decisions.

Section 16 of the Term Sheet document says and I quote -

"NON -BINDING INSTRUMENT

This document does not constitute an offer by either party to the other party and may be withdrawn at any time."

Re: Sun-Sentinel Report May 19, 2010 -Bahia Mar Lease Term sheet - City Commission Conference Meeting May 18, 2010 http://lmyfortauderdale.blogspot.com/

				Fort Lauderdale to swyman, Tim, Charlotte, Brittany

Scott:
The problem with saying that the deal is now closer and passed "a hurdle" is that it creates an atmosphere in which the Mayor and Commissioners may be lulled into believing it is, when it patently is not.

It's just one small developer-centric short term idea for city owned land for which the City needs to have a long term vision that adds value and brands the city as a whole. The Commissioners are elected to champion the city - not the first idea that comes along.

LXR get to build and sell 180 condos and pocket most of the profit, put it in a bank at X% interest, and pay us 6% or so of the land value every year for a hundred years. If you want to give me your property on that basis, please call me now at (telephone number deleted). Leave a message and I'll get back to you day or night.

I feel Mr. Henn left the meeting in a box. For example, Sadler James said he supported the project and then shot in down with some very telling points.

But I'm told you talked to Peter Henn after and I'm sure he made light of it for your consumption. He would of course try to put a positive spin on it. I've know him over four years. He is used to reversals and finally learned to mellow out, be more polite and patient.

I don't know if Tim or Charlotte want to weigh in. They were both there. Am I missing something?

Here's my response to you today at my blog http://lmyfortauderdale.blogspot.com/

Agreeing with "the outline of terms" and " the general principles " of how a piece of paper is laid out does not constitute an approval of its contents.

It is if I were the Executive Editor and you came to me with a new design for the Sun-Sentinel concealing a copy of Allen Hutt's Newspaper Design in your back pocket. I might say I agreed with the principles you had adopted for the new design. But then I'm a big Allen Hutt fan. That's not an approval. Many others would need to be consulted. Many variations would be researched. The reading public might be sounded. We may have better ideas. An offer of more money - greater expertise. A new Berliner Zeitung press may become available with a new paper size. And we haven't even got around to content. It's like the ISHOF plan. Only one idea, and yet they still seem to believe they need Jim Blosser to mid-wife it. Might be nice if they consulted Brice Wigo. Similar facilities around the world do.

When I bought my new car I went to eight retailers across the USA and got it $4,000 under cost. And that's after driving every SUV made. The ISHOF Wave looks O.K. but I would always want to know what else I should have had. Call it expectation of buyer's remorse. Go through a lot of that.

Bahia Mar is ten times the size and we are only looking at the bird in the hand now and the four fat birds in the hand if we pay the heavy price ten years of mess and disruption and a 100 year land giveaway. Not to mention the risk of losing the Boat Show. If that's the price, why not look for a Trumpeter Swan? Just google video/YouTube "dynamic architecture" and it'll blow your mind. There's a 3-D animation tour of the Sydney Opera House. Imagine the Boat Show exhibits inside those halls?

And then there are buildings that actually change shape and color...Mind blowing stuff.

Great archictecture is too expensive?

Frank Gehry built the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao 1997 for $300.00 a square foot.

Let me know and I can give you the references.

What Blackstone is proposing is 50 year old technology. The architect has no idea how deep his pilings will need to be. And I wonder if anyone has bothered to work out the logistics of putting the best face on the Boat Show each year during ten years of disruption.

That's why Scott, like Bob Geldorf, I ask is that all there is?

C.J Beck

http://lmyfortauderdale.blogspot.com/

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What is your idea for the new Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner?

Here's just one great idea that would brand Fort Lauderdale on the world stage, and help build its marine, tourism and Latin America gateway industries. We need another wonder of the world.

A world class icon like the one pictured would give the marine industry, boat show and other industries we want to retain and attract, an instantly recognizable and permanent symbol to rally around - one that will add value to the Fort Lauderdale brand.

While no one can explain the business model of the boat show, we know it produces a modest level of direct revenue for the Bahia Mar, and more importantly that it is a sound branding vehicle for Fort Lauderdale, albeit year-to-year and vulnerable to market forces like the Sea and Air Show.

The opera house did not generate an immediate return for Sydney but over the years it has reaped dividends in world class recognition far above its original outlay.

Combined with the proposed investment of $ 2 Billion in Port Everglades over the next twenty years, getting the right project into Bahia Mar would set the stage right for Fort Lauderdale over the next 100 years. The objectives must therefore reflect the long term goals of the city, and not the short term goals of a public company and developer.

Post your comments or write to myfortlauderdale@gmail.com



Buy Beck's Sixteen Stories, No Pets
online from Blackwell, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Foyles, Waterstones or W.H. Smith.
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