How high is too high?
Several residents — Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis included — are raising concerns about a controversial plan to build four ultra-luxury glass towers that would rise 270 feet high on Fort Lauderdale’s landmark Pier Sixty-Six property.
Some of those same people say they love the new Pier Sixty-Six resort and its $1 billion makeover. But they are not so eager to see Tavistock Development Company, the developer behind the makeover, break ground on the project’s next phase.
Joseph Maus is one of those people.
Maus says he and quite a few of his neighbors do not want towers as tall as Tavistock is planning built east of the Intracoastal Waterway along busy Southeast 17th Street. Three towers would perch on the south side of 17th Street. The fourth is planned on the north side near the Pier Sixty-Six resort.
They worry the towers will bring more traffic, strain local infrastructure and disrupt their tranquil neighborhoods. Another key concern: They say the three towers on the south side would cast shadows on the homes in nearby Harbour Inlet, a neighborhood that sits southeast of the 17th Street Causeway Bridge.
“I live three blocks away to the east,” said Maus, president of the Harbour Inlet Association. “At 4 p.m., I won’t be able to see the sun. I’m going to see a 270-foot building. It’s just way, way too much for that property.”
Tavistock officials say they are planning a high-end project that will be compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods and elevate the entire area. Some nearby residents do in fact back the project, but are not broadcasting that fact to avoid possible backlash from neighbors, the developer says.
To move forward with the project, Tavistock will need commission approval to build four mixed-use towers standing 270 feet high in a neighborhood with a height cap of 120 feet.
The vote to approve the Planned Development District rezoning for Phase Two of the Pier Sixty-Six redevelopment will require a thumbs-up from at least four members of the five-member commission.
“We’re hoping that at least two people on the commission are against it,” Maus told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “It’s going to take a supermajority vote.”
That commission vote is likely several months away.
An artist’s illustration showing what’s planned next for the Pier Sixty-Six property in Fort Lauderdale. The developer plants to build four new towers. All would stand 270 feet high. (Tavistock Development Company/Courtesy)
Tavistock was subjected to public backlash just five years ago, when it proposed towers four times as high as the current 120-foot height cap.
The proposal, floated in late 2021, called for three towers rising 480 feet high. Two would have been built on the south side of the 17th Street Causeway Bridge and one on the north side.
To make it happen, Fort Lauderdale would have had to raise height caps all over town.
Residents blasted the idea, saying it would ruin neighborhoods, lead to more gridlock and overwhelm the city’s network of underground pipes.
City leaders dropped the zoning change proposal, forcing Tavistock to come up with a new plan.
‘New level of luxury’
Earlier this year, Tavistock unveiled the new plan for four 270-foot towers with a total of 339 residences.
On Wednesday, Mayor Dean Trantalis declined to say how he planned to vote, but questioned whether the new plan was scaled back enough.
Trantalis said he has heard from residents who think 270 feet is still too high.
“They’re up in arms over it,” he said. “They are not happy about it — and for good reason. No one in the city wants to see overdevelopment. And this is a classic example of overdevelopment.”
Trantalis paused before his next comment.
“Let me say this,” he said. “I think Tavistock brought a new level of luxury to Fort Lauderdale when they reimagined the hotel and brought in great restaurants and a great public area. It wows you when you walk in. And we’re thankful for that. But to take a giant leap into a project that is going to overshadow the quality they’ve already created on this site, I think they need to take a second look at this.”
The newly remodeled Pier Sixty-Six, shown on Jan. 23, 2025, has brought a new level of luxury to Fort Lauderdale, according to Mayor Dean Trantalis. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
For now, the project is working its way through the city’s entitlement and review process.
As part of the process, the developer is required to hold three community meetings with its neighbors.
In late September, close to 100 residents flocked to the Aviva Ballroom at Pier Sixty-Six for the second of three meetings hosted by the Tavistock team, complete with hot coffee and supersized chocolate chip cookies.
Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer, and two Tavistock executives shared details and renderings with the audience, speaking for more than an hour.
Toothaker explained that the project is still undergoing review by the city’s Development Review Committee, a process that can take several months.
Chris Gandolfo, senior vice president of Tavistock, provided an overview of what has already been built as part of Phase 1, including the updated Pier Sixty-Six resort with 325 hotel rooms; four buildings with a total of 88 residences; 30,000 square feet of commercial space and 8,000 square feet of office space.
Gandolfo then shared what’s in the works as part of Phase 2.
A total of 339 condos would be split between four towers.
Building A on the north side would have 101 residences.
On the south side, Building B would have 90 residences; Building C would have 75; and Building D would have 73.
The project would also include 25,000 of retail space; 29,000 square feet of office space; 17,000 square feet of restaurant space; a boutique grocery store that’s 14,000 square feet; and a 1.5-mile waterfront promenade open to the public.
An artist’s illustration showing a waterfront view of the new towers proposed for the Pier Sixty-Six property in Fort Lauderdale. (Tavistock Development Company/Courtesy)
With renderings on display behind her, Toothaker touted the design of the towers.
“One of the things we worked really hard to do is to make these buildings feel open,” she said. “Some of the older buildings in Fort Lauderdale tend to be very concrete heavy. It’s just a wall of concrete that goes up with some metal balconies.”
But the Phase 2 towers, Toothaker said, have a lot of glass.
“Very expensive to build, but always preferable,” she said. “A lot of glass gives you a lot of visibility and makes the buildings feel fluid and open. And that’s a really important design element that we included here. You’re not just looking at a wall of concrete.”
Even the parking garages look beautiful and interesting, she said.
“We really tried to give them a wow factor,” Toothaker said. “It’s rare to see that. It’s hard to make a parking garage beautiful. But we really made an effort. There are elements to them that are beautiful. We did spend a lot of time on the garages because this is such an important site. It is a gateway site to our beach.”
Toothaker explained that Tavistock owned 6.59 acres of land on the south side that’s not submerged.
“You could definitely fill it in,” she said. “I want to make it clear that that is permissible.”
Instead, Tavistock has decided to take 1 acre of dry land to create a water basin. That acre of land could have been used to build one or two more towers, Toothaker said.
“They decided to take some of that land and give it back to Mother Nature,” she said. “It’s not a marina. It’s just a water basin. That’s a really huge opportunity and benefit.”
The newly redesigned Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, shown on Jan. 23, 2025. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Spreading the word
Maus was in the crowd, watching in silence.
So was Christine Winkelvoss, a fellow Harbour Inlet Association board member who has launched an online petition opposing the project.
Ahead of the meeting at Pier Sixty-Six, Winkelvoss sent out a media alert saying that neighbors were mobilizing a unified presence at the meeting.
“Rather than negotiating compromises, our resident coalition is standing firm, demanding that the developer respect the law and stick strictly to the area’s existing 120-foot height limit instead of building the proposed 270-foot high-rises,” she wrote.
“We are deeply concerned about the dangerous precedent this sets for building heights, traffic gridlock along SE 17th Street, and public safety within a designated Coastal High Hazard Area.”
The crowd who came out to Tavistock’s ballroom meeting was quiet and polite, Winkelvoss acknowledged.
“But I can assure you there is a lot of outrage,” she told the Sun Sentinel. “And I think there was a lot of shock. I think some people were getting first eyes on it. I just think a lot of people have had their heads in the sand.”
Winkelvoss, who left Philadelphia for Fort Lauderdale three years ago to enjoy the beach, says she is doing her part to spread the word about what might be in store if the Phase 2 project wins approval.
Her petition, titled “Protect Fort Lauderdale Neighborhoods: Stop Giant Towers Next to Single-Family Homes,” had 545 signatures as of Wednesday.
The petition urges the Fort Lauderdale commission to reject Tavistock’s request to rezone the land to a Planned Development District to make way for towers taller than 120 feet. “Giant towers don’t belong next to single-family neighborhoods,” the petition says.
Winkelvoss says she enjoys going to the restaurants at Pier Sixty-Six, including Pier Top, the rotating cocktail lounge on the resort’s 17th floor.
“I see Pier Top from my kitchen and it’s lovely,” she said. “I do go there. And I can see my home. But I don’t see into my backyard.”
If Winkelvoss had her way, the developer would build towers that stand 120 feet high.
“We understand they were granted these land rights,” she said. “But 120 feet is the max. Those zones are there to protect neighborhoods and act as buffer zones. They bought it knowing that and now they want to make this massive deviation.”
World-class design?
In the days following Tavistock’s community meeting, some residents sent emails to Tavistock praising the project, said Jessi Blakley, Tavistock’s vice president of Marketing and Communications.
“Hi Jessi and Stephanie, I just wanted to thank you and your team for doing such a spectacular job with the event on Tuesday evening,” said one email Blakley shared with the Sun Sentinel. “The designs are world-class, and IMO (in my opinion) will be an overall positive for the neighborhood.”
Blakley declined to reveal the resident’s identity, citing the controversial nature of the project.
Some people are sharing their enthusiasm for the project, but more behind the scenes, she told the Sun Sentinel.
Toothaker said the project as currently proposed is a low-density project.
When Tavistock made a development agreement with the city in 2018, it agreed to cap the total density to 575 units on the entire 31-acre site, Toothaker said.
“That works out to 18.5 units per acre,” Toothaker said. “That’s extremely low density. On top of that, when we came out with this Phase 2 plan, the total number of units is 444 not 575. That works out to 14.3 units per acre.”
Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen, the district commissioner for the neighborhood, says he had serious concerns about the density of the project years ago — and those concerns remain.
“I believe when we develop we have to do so in collaboration with the neighborhood,” he said. “Residents are worried about the traffic impacts. They’re worried about the height of the towers. They’re asking what this means for the roads, the water pipes, the sewage pipes.”
Some residents might be jazzed about the project, Sorensen said. But they’re not the ones calling him.
“No one has told me they’re incredibly excited about the project, but that does not mean there are no residents who support the project,” he said. “There’s a lot of residents I see when I’m at the Pier Sixty-Six property who are there and enjoying it. I’m sure there are people who are excited about it. I have not heard from them.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan