Swimming Hall of Fame complex in line for stunning $190 million makeover
A major $190 million makeover of the International Swimming Hall of Fame complex is on the way, with plans for an aquarium, rooftop restaurant, new museum and even a FlowRider surf simulator machine.
The project will spruce up the city-owned peninsula south of Las Olas with a modern five-story building on the east side just a block from the beach and a six-story building on the west overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.
The project is expected to break ground in late 2023 and open in 2025. When it’s done, two new buildings both over 100 feet tall will sit like bookends on either side of the Hall of Fame pools and dive tower.
Fort Lauderdale’s Aquatic Center has already undergone a successful renovation to the tune of nearly $50 million, reopening to great fanfare a year ago. The center boasts one of the highest diving platforms in the world at 89 feet.
This new venture, the product of a developer’s unsolicited bid three years ago, will usher in a dramatic transformation of the Hall of Fame complex that will draw scores of locals and tourists in search of a new attraction with great views of both the ocean and the Intracoastal, supporters say.
The project is just what the barrier island needs, Commissioner Steve Glassman says.
“This has been a long time coming,” he said. “People are just waiting for this.”
Fort Lauderdale will be required to contribute $11 million a year over the course of a 30-year lease.
In the west building, visitors will be able to explore a new International Swimming Hall of Fame museum with an expansive display of aquatic sports history and an aquarium that will make you feel like you’re on the bottom of the ocean floor. They’ll also find an upscale rooftop restaurant, a cafe catering to the yachting community, a teaching pool, dryland training, diving grandstand seating and office space.
The east building will house a welcome center, FlowRider, rooftop terrace, shops and office space. Visitors will also find a cafe that serves lunch and dinner and turns into a bar in the evening, said Mario Caprini, CEO of Capital Group P3 of Florida.
The developer — CGHP Developments, a partnership between Capital Group and Hensel Phelps — also plans to build an Ocean Rescue headquarters for the city’s lifeguards.
Seawall improvements to protect the 5-acre peninsula against climate change are also planned.
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Commissioners approved the deal with Hall of Fame Partners on Tuesday in a 4-1 vote.
“Your approval of this project represents a rebirth of the International Swimming Hall of Fame,” Bill Kent, chair of the Hall of Fame board, told commissioners before the vote. “Our best is yet to come.”
Commissioner Warren Sturman, who cast the lone dissenting vote, says he agreed with critics who wanted the vote delayed to give the public more time to review hundreds of pages of documents released just days before the meeting.
Commissioner John Herbst said he had concerns about the agreement, which might leave taxpayers on the hook for another $3 million a year if the project flops.
“The city is taking on substantial risk in terms of guaranteeing the debt (on this project),” Herbst said. “If the rents are insufficient to cover the debt service, the city is responsible for that.”
Local activists also urged caution, saying the three-phase project will bring even more traffic to the already gridlocked barrier island.
“There’s a lot of wonderful things about this plan,” said longtime activist Mary Fertig. “But it’s also a potential outlay of $11 million (along with a potential) net loss to the city of $3.45 million a year. What is before you is a contract … the city will have to live with for decades.”
But Glassman predicts the project will be a rousing success.
“This is going to be an attraction that we really have not seen on the barrier island,” Glassman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday. “These two buildings are going to bookend this peninsula in a spectacular fashion. It’s really going to bring the whole project together and that’s why it’s going to be so successful.”
The five-story east building will stand 108 feet high and the six-story west building will stand 134 feet high, according to plans submitted by the developer.
Last year, residents were told the west building would be five stories, said John Burns, president of the Venetian Condo Association.
The plans now show it’s six stories and 134 feet high, he told commissioners. Burns objected to the height of the buildings, saying they would impact neighboring views.
But Bill Brown, president of the Central Beach Alliance, urged the commission to move forward with the plan. He referred to the days when the Hall of Fame’s leadership was threatening to pull up stakes and leave for California.
“We almost lost it once,” he said. “Please, please let’s not put ourselves in the position of losing this again.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan