Nautica, an ambitious three-tower project that would bring even more flash to Fort Lauderdale’s growing skyline, sailed through a required nod from the city’s planning board this week.
The project still needs a green light from the city commission, which could come as soon as October.
If approved, the towers would rise on 4 acres on the south side of the New River at 400 SW Third Ave., just east of the already approved Raintree Riverwalk Residences and on the west side of the railroad tracks.
Both projects are the work of developer Asi Cymbal. Together, they will make up his proposed 6-acre Nautico district.
Raintree Riverwalk, named for Fort Lauderdale’s historic rain tree, calls for two cosmopolitan towers with a total of 678 luxury apartments. The East Tower will have 29 floors; the West Tower will have 26. Restaurants, bars and shops will line the ground floor and the century-old rain tree has a primo spot on the riverfront property, right by the water’s edge. The project is expected to break ground early next year.
Nautica calls for a 37-story condo tower with 200 units; a 30-story apartment tower with 360 units; and a 30-story hotel with 119 rooms. Similar to the neighboring Raintree towers, shops and restaurants will line the ground floor. The site is currently home to the Pirate Republic restaurant and the Riverfront Marina dry boat storage facility. The restaurant will remain and the marina will be renovated.
The Nautica project, first unveiled in 2022, originally called for a 50-story condo tower with 241 units; a 39-story apartment tower with 454 units; and a 32-story hotel with 155 rooms. All three towers would have exceeded the neighborhood’s 30-story height cap.
Stephanie Toothaker, Cymbal’s high-profile attorney, shared details of the new plan with the planning board Wednesday night.
“The project itself is called Nautica,” Toothaker said. “But we’ve called this district Nautico because it’s an homage to the water and to the marine industry and of course the preservation of the marina that is there, although it is going to be upgraded and will be state-of-the-art.”
The condo tower sits higher than the hotel and apartment tower, creating a terracing effect of the buildings and adding to the skyline drama, Toothaker said during her presentation.
Under the current design, the Nautica project needs approval for several zoning deviations, including the height of the 37-story building, the height of the 9-story podium height and a proposed parking reduction.
Only the commission can grant approval for those deviations, Toothaker told the planning board.
The city’s code requires 1,940 spaces, but only 1,320 are required when accounting for shared parking, internal capture and multimodal deductions, Toothaker said.
The current plan calls for 1,599 parking spaces, including 35 handicapped spots.
After a two-hour discussion, the planning board approved the project 5-2.
Before voting in favor of the project, board member Jay Shechtman praised the eye-catching design as being a standout compared to newly built towers nearby.
“There are three new towers that are topping off right now and they’re all the same,” Shechtman said. “Not only are they the same, they’re the same color. So there’s three gray buildings. Now when you’re driving up Fourth Avenue and you’re going over the bridge, all you see is a gray wall. There’s nothing different. It’s all concrete block and there’s no glass. There’s no design.”
John Barranco, one of two board members who voted against the project, also praised the design, calling it beautiful and iconic.
Yet Barranco, an architect, said the project failed when it came to neighborhood compatibility.
“The reason I say that is, when you look at this neighborhood, it is connected to the river,” he said. “This is the river neighborhood as far as I’m concerned. Once you get into those bigger structures, it’s just not a comfortable place to be. And it’s been proven again and again. I can’t vote in favor of this project as it stands right now.”
The meeting drew both supporters and critics.
Fans argued Nautica would bring new life to the neighborhood and give people another gathering spot south of the New River.
Critics argued the project needed more parking and objected to a plan to take out more than a dozen oak trees on the west side of the property.
“I’m strongly opposed to the decrease in parking for this development,” resident Thomas Ernest told the board. “I live in a 19-story building built in 1965. During season, we don’t have enough parking. Residents of the (Nautica) building will probably want more parking that won’t be available. Plus patrons of the restaurants and other retailers will be challenged by the lack of parking.”
Resident Fred Stresau said he’d like to see all the oaks left standing.
“What disturbs me more than anything is that we’ve been romanced about how beautiful the building is, how unique it is, how it’s providing services for everybody,” he told the board. “And the trees on the west side of this project are absolutely magnificent. I just don’t think, if you strip out the few trees they’ve got on the rendering, that this looks any different from … New York City.”
Toothaker told the board her client would be willing to donate the trees if the city or another party were willing to cover the cost of relocating them.
The Fort Lauderdale commission will have the final say on whether the project moves forward.
The commission vote is expected in October.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
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