How does one define the lap of luxury? Around South Florida’s growing roster of resort enclaves, there are a variety of showcase elements from which to choose: seamless waterfront access, cabanas, elegant restaurants, infinity pools, soothing spas, or maybe superyachts quietly bobbing dockside on the Intracoastal Waterway.
As 2024 draws to a close, Tavistock Development Company of Orlando, owner-developer of the historic Pier Sixty-Six resort in Fort Lauderdale, is on the cusp of reopening its landmark property after a dramatic $1 billion redevelopment project that started in 2020.
The 32-acre destination, located at 2301 SE 17th St., on the east end of the high-arching 17th Street Causeway bridge, will boast a revamped version of its iconic 17-story tower with Pier Top Lounge, a 10-story hotel addition, two condominium projects called Azul and Indigo, residential resort units, as well as 30,000 square feet of commercial office and retail space. Condo prices start at $3.85 million.
Tavistock Development Co. / Courtesy
A rendering looking east from the marina of the Pier Sixty-Six redevelopment project at 2301 SE 17th St. in Fort Lauderdale. (Tavistock Development Co. / Courtesy)
A Tavistock spokeswoman has confirmed the resort is now booking hotel rooms for occupancy starting on Jan. 1, 2025. But the room price list is eye-popping, analysts say, suitable for a business model designed to chase big-spending travelers who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars per night for premium service
“Grand opening” rates start at $854 a night, according to a spokeswoman. By the time mid-January rolls around, the lowest rates will dip to around $630.
And then there’s the newly added 3,000-square-foot presidential suite on the 15th floor of the iconic tower building. Guests who reserve the suite will start the New Year at a discounted $9,855 a night. The suite, with a wrap-around balcony on the original tower’s 15th floor, has two bedrooms, two baths, a media room, private workout space, and a dining area for eight. The suite normally goes for more than $10,000 a night, according to the hotel’s online price listings.
“They’re coming in hard and strong,” said Peter Ricci, director of the hospitality and tourism management program at Florida Atlantic University. “The industry people all wonder how they’re going to pull it off.”
Ricci equates the remake with the aspirations of The Boca Raton (formerly known as The Boca Raton Hotel & Resort), which reinvented itself in a similar manner under the ownership of technology titan Michael Dell.
“I hope Pier Sixty-Six is in that sweet spot between Miami and Boca where they can accommodate those rates,” Ricci said. “They’re going after that super-high-end traveler. The hotel is 350 plus rooms. It’s doable. But the Presidential Suite suite at $10,000 night is high.”
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood can pull off $800 to $1,000 a night rates, he added, but largely because of its casino clientele.
Prices aside, signs of the property’s old allure in the community appears to be taking hold, according to management.
“We are seeing so much excitement from the local communities,” said Jessi Blakley, Tavistock’s vice president of marketing and communications. She affirmed that would-be vacationers and other short-term visitors are not the only ones booking rooms. Organizations are signing up to stage events within the resort’s 40,000 square feet of ballrooms and other meeting spaces well into 2027.
The resort’s famous revolving Pier Top lounge is coming back. The preservation of the tower itself was actually a demand put forth by some city officials.
A decades-old destination
Founded in 1957 as a fueling dock and gas station for Phillips 66 Petroleum, the resort is being redeveloped as a luxury destination that bears little resemblance to what vacationers in the immediate post World War II period experienced through multiple decades. Two years later, a marina with 100 berths was added as well as a motel called, “Waterway Wonderland.”
The 17-story hotel tower with its rotating Pier Top lounge was added in 1965. It sported 66 spires; the lounge rotated every 66 minutes.
The revamped Pier Sixty-Six will open with 325 rooms and suites, a 13,000-square-foot fitness and spa, and 12 culinary venues including restaurants along the waterfront promenade. The tower’s 17th-floor observation deck is back offering 360-degree views of Fort Lauderdale and the Atlantic Ocean.
The marina, which remained open during the construction project, will again be a host to “superyachts” during the forthcoming Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in late October. The marina contains 164 deep water slips for yachts up to 400 feet, 5,000 linear feet of dockage. It is a launch point for fishing charters, diving excursions and kayaking.
Upping the game
All of this speaks to an evolving luxury tourism renaissance for the section of the city bordered by Port Everglades, which is adjacent to the Broward County convention center expansion project on the west bank of the Intracoastal and on the southern edge of the causeway.
There, an 800-room Omni Hotel is on the rise with aspirations for a 2025 opening. A major international travel convention is booked there for 2026.
“With the reopening of Pier Sixty-Six Resort and the grand opening of the Omni Hotel, Greater Fort Lauderdale is entering an exciting new chapter,” Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, the county’s tourism promotion agency, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“These premier properties not only elevate our luxury accommodations but also significantly enhance our ability to attract and host world-class conferences and events,” she said. “This investment in our hospitality landscape is a testament to Greater Fort Lauderdale’s growing reputation as a top-tier destination for both leisure and business travelers, further boosting our convention and conference business and driving economic growth throughout the region.”
Besides Pier Sixty-Six and the Omni, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina on the Intracoastal has undergone a major remake, while the waterfront Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa is engaged in a renovation project scheduled to be completed before the end of this year.
Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Steve Glassman, whose expansive district includes Pier Sixty-Six, the convention center and the seaport, said Friday he likes what is unfolding at Pier Sixty-Six.
“I think this is a whole new level for Fort Lauderdale,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. It’s really taking us to that next level.”
Glassman was an advocate for the property receiving a designation as an historic site, which was declared earlier this year.
“It’s a beautiful site,” he said. “I’m not surprised bookings are into 2027. People want to be here. people want to come to Fort Lauderdale.”
The road to progress, though, has been uneven. The project was delayed shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out; more recently, fire alarm testing among the buildings caused a racket that rattled neighbors in nearby multimillion dollar residences. The developer refined the hours of testing.
South Side again a boat show venue
It remains unclear what will be in store for the land Tavistock owns on the south side of the 17th Street causeway, site of the old Sails Marina. It has served previously as a construction staging area for the redevelopment project and as a host site for boat show superyachts.
In 2021, Tavistock retained the global architectural firm Arquitectonica to design three 480-foot residential towers for a future phase of the redevelopment project. Two were to be placed on the causeway’s south side while another would rise on the north side. But the idea was dropped as impractical given height restrictions related to the nearby airport.
Top of the line service
At the moment, Tavistock is focusing on ramping up the operations of the initial redevelopment phase. The resort is loaded with amenities, including a la carte concierge services, “priority restaurant reservations and marina arrangements, as well as in-residence services including catering, entertaining, and housekeeping,” according to a brochure.
A sampling of its extensive list of offerings: a Club Room for entertaining and socializing, three pools with lounges and dining, an exclusive VIP pool with private cabanas and chaise lounge service, and a “rejuvenating spa.”
An adult pool contains “a refreshing water oasis with an outdoor dining pavilion overlooking the marina.” A resort pool contains a three-story slide and splash fountain, “plus a dedicated café, bar, and kids club.”
The options go on and on. But the key to success is to maintain a high level of services that luxury travelers and upper-income residents come to expect for the money they’ll pay, Ricci said.
To do that, Tavistock has retained a respected, top-of-the-line management firm called CoralTree, which is based in Colorado.
“They’re trying to do it by the combination of service and a unique project,” Ricci said. “I’m super positive, but I do think it is going to be a tremendous challenge.”
Timeline to redevelopment
- 2016: Tavistock Development Co. acquires the 32-acre property.
- 2017: Hurricane Irma damages the property, including rooms in the tower building.
- 2018: Fort Lauderdale commissioners approve 15-year development agreement with Tavistock.
- 2019: Company lays off 213 workers in preparation for the project. Pier South property (formerly Sails Marina) transformed into Superyacht Village for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
- 2020: Ground is broken for redevelopment project. As work crews move in, the longtime Grille 66 and Bar steakhouse closes.
- 2021: Project delayed largely due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2024: Reopening set before year’s end as future visitors book rooms for 2025 and organizations schedule dates for conferences and other events.
