A loud outcry led Fort Lauderdale to backpedal on a plan to transform popular beachfront basketball courts into pickleball courts as part of a deal the city made with the developer of Bahia Mar.
The new plan — set for a commission vote Tuesday night — would renovate the basketball courts and keep them where they are.
Critics, however, are still fuming.
They don’t want four pickleball courts built on the sand. They don’t want sections of sand lined with artificial turf. And they don’t want the new fitness equipment, grills and picnic tables moved south along the beach.
“Some folks just don’t want to agree to any change,” Commissioner Steve Glassman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Sunday. “We see that happen all the time. Change is hard for some people.”
Glassman, the district commissioner, says he’s baffled as to why people aren’t thrilled with the $2.5 million redesign.
Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, located several blocks south of Las Olas Boulevard and directly across from Bahia Mar, was targeted for upgrades as part of the $200 million parks bond approved by voters in 2019.
“If you look at this plan holistically, it has something for everyone,” Glassman said. “The basketball is staying. Pickleball and new fitness equipment are being added. It has lush landscaping. The AstroTurf is not the AstroTurf of 20 years ago. It’s eco-friendly. It’s all made with organic material. You wouldn’t know that if you read all the comments on social media.”
The deal, part of the $2 billion makeover of Bahia Mar, won commission approval in January 2024.
In exchange for a 100-year lease, developer Jimmy Tate and his partners have promised to turn the taxpayer-owned peninsula into a mini-Monaco paradise with a five-star St. Regis hotel and four sleek condo towers.
The Bahia Mar Community Development District has agreed to contribute $1 million to the redesign of Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. Another $1.3 million will come from the parks bond. Another $200,000 will come from a grant or park impact fees.
The redesign will take three years or more to complete, city officials say.
Ted Inserra, president of the River Oaks Civic Association, has been one of the redesign’s most vocal critics.
“Originally it was two pickleball courts,” Inserra said. “Now it’s four. We don’t want more concrete poured on the beach sand. And we don’t want fake grass either. We don’t even want real grass. It’s a beach.”
The public outcry has not died down partly because they feel as though their input has been ignored because of a deal the city made with the developer of Bahia Mar more than two years ago, Inserra said.
“For us locals that grew up here, that part of the beach was always for the residents,” Inserra said. “This area with the parking lot and the grills and the basketball courts was always our beach. For them to come along and totally disrupt our beach by adding the pickleball courts and moving the fitness equipment to the south is unacceptable. They’re going too far.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan