In a few moments, you'll have the chance to read for yourself the 4 complete media accounts of what took place at last Wednesday's Hollywood City Commission regarding The Related Group's ridiculous plan, and some things for all of us to remember in advance of the next meeting on this subject, on Wednesday March 16th, the day before St. Patrick's Day.That'll necessarily include many smart, dumb, inarticulate, curious and incurious comments from our local elected officials, including two truly great "money" quotes, which make it seem like at least some of them were living in two completely separate worlds, no?
In one world, a cold-hearted look at the facts-on-the-ground where logic meets reason, the other, a kind of fantasy story that depends upon unicorns, dragons and a collective sense of amnesia among the citizens of this community, wherein, for the benefit of the developer, we all forget everything we have personally seen and witnessed first-hand with real estate development on Hollywood Beach the past 15-20 years.
"Do we sell our soul for just money?" Shuham asked. "Once we sign it, we're stuck. We don't get to walk away from this. This contract is not a good deal."
Commissioner Traci Callari, stating she had planned to vote yes on the deal, blasted Shuham for making the city "look like a fool" by airing her concerns at the 11th hour, in public.
Hmmm.. could it be because Comm. Shuham could NOT legally talk about it with her or any other commissioners if Shuham wanted to stay on the right side of Florida's Sunshine Laws, so often ignored in South Florida city halls, and a subject that I've written about dozens of times over the past 14 years here on my blog, Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog?
Yes. Something that Callari should know something about given that she was recently the President of the Broward League of Cities, the Broward politico lobbying group that over the years has received hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from Broward citizens to employ attorneys and consultants to further their power grab in Tallahassee and continue to put citizens, taxpayers and Small Business owners at a further disadvantage, while trying to carve out more power and privileges for politicos.
I also wanted to single out those of you who have been telling me for years that I made a real mistake a few years ago when I decided to be more open-minded to what Comm. Callari said, and that I would judge her in the future by her words AND actions, and not just her often hostile or antagonistic attitude towards citizens or common sense or both.
I also wanted to single out those of you who have been telling me for years that I made a real mistake a few years ago when I decided to be more open-minded to what Comm. Callari said, and that I would judge her in the future by her words AND actions, and not just her often hostile or antagonistic attitude towards citizens or common sense or both.
You all are looking more and more correct right now, given what Comm. Callari said in front of everyone at the public meeting.
There's really no need to impugn her, since all we have to do is take her at her word that she REALLY believes the nonsense she spouted last Wednesday.
Yes, my days of giving her the benefit of the doubt are.. Gone With The Wind.
And for the record, Comm. Callari caring whether the Hollywood City Commission looked "like fools" at that meeting is hardly a reasonable measurement barometer on this specific issue, given the fact that neither Mayor Josh Levy or Commissioner Callari or any of the other 5 members of the City Commission ever did the right thing over 19 very long months, and publicly chide The Related Group and their execs for Related's repeated, abject failure to meet with the community at an in-person meeting as required by the city's very own rules.
That's a very low bar to surpass, and yet...
Yes, a public meeting where the actual neighbors of such a prospective building could speak, much less, the rest of the Hollywood community -and the South Florida news media- that genuinely loves that quiet and natural ambiance, and who'll fight to ensure it stays that way, could look Related Group execs, attorneys, architect, and transportation consultants in the eye and ask them to defend what they claim, and then point out its many self-evident holes and flaws in logic.
Though a plan so devoid of logic and common sense, and which fails to properly judge both public sentiment and human behavior, will not suddenly transform in one month.
Just because the Hollywood City Commission itself, collectively, was not showing proper diligence -or any curiosity!- in their thinking and judgment, and instead chose to act more like cheerleaders for the plan, via their softball questions publicly for two years -save Comm. Shuham- doesn't mean that we could not throw fastballs at a public in-person meeting when we got the chance to let them know that this deal was NOT a fait accompli.
Or, as I said in my last blog post before last Wednesday's meeting, here:
By the way, again, for the record, the Miami Herald has said nothing about this preposterous, incompatible Related Group plan since they first sent word of their unsolicited bid to City Hall 19 months ago, and the city, in their failed decision-making process, decided that it was both a love letter and a promi$$ory note.
Nor has the Herald EVER mentioned Caryl Shuham by name since the day after she was elected on Nov. 6th, 2018. Really.
I checked and then double-checked their archives before I posted this.
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Bisnow South Florida
Vote Delayed On Related Group's Controversial Condo Project
Deirdra Funcheon, Bisnow South Florida
February 3, 2022
Read the rest of the article at:
https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/commercial-real-estate/hollywood-florida-related-group-condo-111743
February 3, 2022
At the end of a meeting that lasted from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday, city commissioners in Hollywood, Florida, delayed a vote on whether to allow Florida's most prominent condo developer to build a 30-story condominium on part of a taxpayer-owned, beachfront site that now includes a public park.
Commissioners are now scheduled to vote on March 16 whether to authorize city officials to execute a comprehensive agreement, a ground lease and easements between the city and PRH 1301 S Ocean Drive LLC, a subsidiary of The Related Group.
Read the rest of the article at:
https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/commercial-real-estate/hollywood-florida-related-group-condo-111743
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South Florida Sun Sentinel
Hollywood delays vote on condo deal - Vice mayor skewers plan as too risky in marathon meeting
Susannah Bryan, South Florida Sun Sentinel
February 4, 2022
Read the rest of the article at:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/hollywood/fl-ne-condo-tower-hollywood-beach-vote-20220203-iiikon4pkjb27a4u6swijk7fq4-story.html
Hollywood delays vote on condo deal - Vice mayor skewers plan as too risky in marathon meeting
Susannah Bryan, South Florida Sun Sentinel
February 4, 2022
HOLLYWOOD - Go big or go home.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the folks who want a private 30-story condo built on a prized piece of taxpayer-owned beach in Hollywood went home without a deal.
But the proposal, skewered around the midnight hour by Vice Mayor Caryl Shuham, is not dead.
The commission agreed to resume discussions on March 16 to give city staff and The Related Group time to come up with a revised deal. The 5-2 vote came just before 3 a.m. Thursday, ending a marathon - and sometimes snippy - debate that began Wednesday afternoon.
The 10-hour meeting, compared by some to a filibuster, began with a two-hour presentation by city staff hyping the deal as a boon for Hollywood that could bring the city an estimated $1.4 billion over the course of a 99-year lease.
Read the rest of the article at:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/hollywood/fl-ne-condo-tower-hollywood-beach-vote-20220203-iiikon4pkjb27a4u6swijk7fq4-story.html
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South Florida Sun Sentinel
Editorial
Hollywood puts off vote on condo on public land, but problems remain
February 4, 2022
Editorial
Hollywood puts off vote on condo on public land, but problems remain
February 4, 2022
Residents speak during a meeting at Hollywood City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 to vote on the building of a condo tower on a section of taxpayer-owned beachfront land. John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS
Hollywood is trying to make better a deal that the city can’t make good.
We have 10 hours of new evidence. That’s how long it took Wednesday night and Thursday morning for the city commission to discuss and hear comments on the proposed lease of oceanfront property to Related Group of Florida.
The company would build a 190-unit, 30-story condo on roughly one acre of the four-acre site. In return, Related would pay for a new, upgraded Harry Berry Park, a larger community center, a plaza and a sculpture garden. Hollywood officials say the project also would bring the city money from rent and increased property tax revenue.
After that marathon debate, the commission voted 5-2 to continue the discussion on March 16. Given the level of opposition, we’re doubtful that the city and Related can refashion the deal enough to gain more support.
Read the rest of the editorial at:
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South Florida Sun Sentinel
Editorial
Hollywood gets reality check on Related condo deal
By Randy Schultz
February 9, 2022
Read the rest of the editorial at:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-op-col-schultz-hollywood-commissioner-beach-high-rise-related-20220208-w3p5mfkub5hoxfwf3qdaojl36e-story.html
Editorial
Hollywood gets reality check on Related condo deal
By Randy Schultz
February 9, 2022
Caryl Shuham is not a prosecutor. But shortly before midnight last Wednesday, the Hollywood city commissioner delivered a forceful indictment.
For roughly 45 minutes, Shuham - a construction lawyer - picked apart the proposed deal under which Related Group of Florida would build a 30-story condo on a public oceanfront site in return for building a park and community center. Supporters call it a great example of public-private partnerships, known as P3s.
Such partnerships, however, must strike the proper balance between public and private. Shuham argued that the deal would have been very unfair to Hollywood. "It began on Related's terms" after the company approached the city, Shuham told me, and stayed there.
Shuham called the projected revenue to the city "speculative" because Related based it on inflated sales prices. The contract, she said, "guarantees nothing" to Hollywood. After Related sold the 190 units, the city would be dealing with a condo association. Nothing prevented the project from becoming rental.
Read the rest of the editorial at:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-op-col-schultz-hollywood-commissioner-beach-high-rise-related-20220208-w3p5mfkub5hoxfwf3qdaojl36e-story.html
Dave
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