The proposition of a 24-hour emergency room near Fort Lauderdale’s Galt Ocean Mile sparked fear and fury in condo residents who warned of squealing sirens and ghastly gridlock.
In light of the intense opposition, Commissioner John Herbst says he is now backing off from plans to build a Broward Health emergency center next to the city’s Beach Community Center near A1A and Oakland Park Boulevard.
Nearly 300 angry seniors showed up en masse to a town hall meeting on May 11 to protest the idea. A few threatened to vote Herbst out of office if the deal went through.
On Thursday, Herbst sent an email to residents letting them know the plan is dead.
“After carefully considering the concerns and feedback raised by the community members at our in-person workshop, as well as in emails and phone calls, I have made the decision to inform our partners at Broward Health that we need to cancel the project,” wrote Herbst, who represents District 1. “The city and Broward Health will continue to evaluate other locations to gauge their suitability, but it will not include the Galt or North Beach Shoppes area.”
Some residents who live along the Galt suggested the freestanding emergency room be built near Las Olas and A1A.
Commissioner Steve Glassman, who represents that area of the beach, says he’s not been approached by Broward Health officials about building an emergency center in District 2.
“First thing I would do is check with my constituents,” Glassman said. “I would make sure this was something the neighborhood really wanted. To be honest, there’s been no clamoring for a facility like that on the barrier island in district 1, 2 or 4.”
Commission Warren Sturman, a cardiologist who represents District 4, could not be reached for comment Friday.
Residents who live near the Beach Community Center feel like they dodged a bullet, said Fred Nesbitt, president of Galt Mile Community Association.
“I think people are relieved,” Nesbitt said. “A couple people liked the idea and were asking where else it could go on the barrier island. I said I didn’t know, but we don’t want it in the Galt.”
Nesbitt and other critics argued the 24/7 emergency center would have ruined the peace and quiet of the neighborhood and hurt business at nearby restaurants, bars and shops.
“It would have been like opening an emergency room in the middle of the Galleria mall,” Nesbitt said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Fort Lauderdale officials have other plans for the site anyway.
Current plans call for a rooftop park to be built on the parking lot next to the Beach Community Center.
Commissioners approved the park concept in July 2022, before Herbst won office in November. The $200 million parks bond approved by voters in 2018 would pay for the park, which is expected to cost at least $3 million.
Herbst says he plans to hold a workshop after the commission’s summer break to seek input from residents on what they’d like to see in the park — and whether it should be built at all.
Some residents have already contacted him with concerns that the park might become a magnet for the homeless, Herbst said.
“Some of the elderly folks were concerned about finding homeless people sleeping in the elevator,” he said. “They were in agreement with the feeling that it not become a homeless encampment.”
Nesbitt echoed those concerns.
“A park sounds nice, but I think there are a lot of concerns that need to be answered,” he said. “I don’t want us to build a park that no one is going to use. To sit under an awning on a hot rooftop is not all that exciting. We need to survey people and find out what would really draw them there.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan