![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TFL-L-HOLLYWOOD-CHANGES-1-050126.jpg\")
A man on Friday walks past 21 Hollywood, a 13-story apartment building going up on the west side of Federal Highway a few blocks south of Sheridan Street. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\nHollywood could one day have a big city skyline with dozens of new high-rise residential towers \u2014 and city leaders want to do their part to make it happen.<\/p>\n
Come Wednesday, commissioners are expected to sign off on a plan that would make way in the coming years for up to 25,100 mid-rise and high-rise residences along Federal Highway, from Sheridan Street all the way south to Pembroke Road. The current cap on dwelling units in the city\u2019s high-density zone, known as the Regional Activity Center, is 17,100. The plan is to increase that by 8,000.<\/p>\n
A second proposal would allow for up to 9,688 dwelling units along State Road 7. The current cap on dwelling units in Hollywood\u2019s transit-oriented corridor along State Road 7 is 5,309. The plan is to increase that by 4,379.<\/p>\n
The news might not go over well with residents, despite the urgent need for affordable housing.<\/p>\n
Urban planners argue that higher density caps can help boost the stock of affordable housing and potentially lead to lower rent costs. And according to Broward County, there is currently a shortfall of 6,800 affordable rental units in Hollywood.<\/p>\n
But critics see the downside.<\/p>\n
Thousands more cars can translate into even worse traffic gridlock.\u00a0All those new toilets and faucets can put a strain on underground infrastructure.\u00a0And the influx of tens of thousands of new residents usually means the city needs to hire more police officers and firefighters, whose salaries and guaranteed pensions can result in higher costs for the taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Ann Ralston, a frequent critic of City Hall, skewered the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m imagining I\u2019m in Sunny Isles right now,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just lost all the charm of this city. I\u2019m not in New York City. There I expect it. Not in Hollywood. The roads and pipes can\u2019t handle another 8,000 apartments. Just look at the flooding and the sewer backups during a hard rain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ralston also questioned whether there would be enough people to rent all the apartments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have vacancies everywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cSo who\u2019s going to fill them? Keep building and you\u2019re going to have so many vacancies. I\u2019m shocked. It\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
All those new apartment towers won\u2019t go up overnight, Mayor Josh Levy told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an instant issue of suddenly 8,000 additional units in the RAC,\u201d Levy said. \u201cUpdating our land-use plan helps to steer the growth. It tells the market where we want growth to take place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t change the fact that the population growth rate will remain the same. And remember, the market needs to be there as well. These are aspirational plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
A man on Friday walks past 21 Hollywood, a 13-story apartment building going up on the west side of Federal Highway a few blocks south of Sheridan Street. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Hollywood\u2019s vision for both Federal Highway and State Road 7 calls for a vibrant, mixed-use urban core that preserves surrounding neighborhoods while also promoting pedestrian-oriented development, public-transit use, mixed-use buildings and aesthetically cohesive communities.<\/p>\n
So far, nearly 6,000 residential units have been built or are in the pipeline along Federal Highway, said Hollywood spokeswoman Joann Hussey. Another 1,000 or so have been built or are planned along State Road 7.<\/p>\n
By increasing the allowed density in both corridors, Hollywood is responding to evolving market conditions and ensuring continued residential growth within the city\u2019s urban core, Hussey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese types of updates are needed in mature cities as the economy and growth pattern shifts and the cities grow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"High-rise](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TFL-L-HOLLYWOOD-CHANGES-3-050126.jpg\")
High-rise buildings on the north side of Young Circle in Hollywood stand tall near the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce on Friday. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Far north of Young Circle, a 13-story apartment tower is on the rise at 2100 N. Federal Highway<\/a>, just a few blocks south of Sheridan Street.<\/p>\n The project, dubbed 21 Hollywood, calls for 200 apartments along with 10,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The apartments should be ready to rent next year.<\/p>\n The building is the tallest on the block \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks huge because there\u2019s nothing else around it,\u201d said Dick Blattner, a former Hollywood commissioner who serves on the city\u2019s Planning & Development Board. \u201cBut this new amendment will enable more projects like that to be built going from Sheridan to Pembroke Road.\u201d<\/p>\n If the city\u2019s visionaries are right, more towers like this one will be built along Federal Highway in the coming years.<\/p>\n While several taller towers have gone up around Young Circle, the city\u2019s land-use map anticipates development will be focused up and down Federal from Sheridan Street all the way to Pembroke Road.<\/p>\n Over on State Road 7, an apartment building named Pinnacle 441<\/a> opened at the Johnson Street intersection, a few miles south of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.<\/p>\n Phase 1 of the eight-story project called for 113 apartments with rents as low as $1,100, built for residents earning 60% or less of the area median income. Phase 2 called for 100 more apartments.<\/p>\n![\"Tall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TFL-L-HOLLYWOOD-CHANGES-7-050126.jpg\")
Tall towers, shown Friday, dominate the landscape on Young Circle in Hollywood. City leaders expect more to rise on key corridors like Federal Highway and State Road 7. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
![\"Hollywood's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TFL-L-HOLLYWOOD-CHANGES-5-050126.jpg\")
Hollywood\u2019s Young Circle, shown Friday looking south, has undergone a development boom in recent years. Will that development growth extend up and down Federal Highway? Hollywood leaders think so. (Amy Beth Bennett\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n