{"id":270846,"date":"2026-05-14T13:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270846\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:33:08","slug":"inside-the-feud-over-weston-jewelers-las-olas-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270846\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Feud Over Weston Jewelers\u2019 Las Olas Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

A family jewelry business wants to build a luxury retail building on Las Olas Boulevard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the five-story, canal-front project has cracked open a familiar dispute that comes with development\u00a0\u2013\u2013 pitting supporters of the growth against longtime residents alarmed by traffic, parking and height. The fault line is especially pronounced in Fort Lauderdale<\/a>, a city experiencing growth that proponents say is necessary for it to catch up after it was overlooked during South Florida\u2019s boom in the past half-decade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weston Jewelers, led by the Dikes family, wants to develop the Arquitectonica<\/a>-designed building with floor-to-ceiling windows along the Himmershee Canal. It paid $7 million last year for the two-lot property spanning just over a quarter acre at 221-229 Southeast 12th Avenue and 1117-1121 East Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale, records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"RenderingRendering of 1117 E. Las Olas Blvd (Arquitectonica)\"RenderingRendering of 1117 E. Las Olas Blvd (Arquitectonica)<\/p>\n

Ed and Tracey Dikes opened their first Weston Jewelers 25 years ago at Weston Town Center, eventually adding two outposts at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino<\/a>. The three locations will remain open, and the Fort Lauderdale store would be the flagship, legacy building, with brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Breitling and Chopard, as well as spaces for independent jewelers and a fourth-floor Dikes family office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the project got the green light from the planning and zoning board, which voted 4-3 in favor last month, it\u2019s headed to the city commission for a preliminary vote on Tuesday. Final commission vote is expected on June 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u201cmuch too massive for this small piece of property,\u201d Anthony Battista, president of Villaggio Di Las Olas Condo Association, said at a community meeting on the project this week. \u201cI think we all want first-class business on Las Olas Boulevard. That\u2019s not the question here. The question here is the size of the building. It is massive for the piece of property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weston Jewelers said it\u2019s already worked with neighbors, scrapping two previously planned restaurants and lowering the height from 90 feet to 74 feet. The project would rise to 88 feet total, including mechanical equipment on the roof.<\/p>\n

But Weston Jewelers\u2019 plan for zero parking spaces at the project site, even though the code requires 119, has riled neighbors.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearby condo buildings are strapped for parking, residents said. It\u2019s an \u201cendemic\u201d problem, Battista said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Ed Dikes and his attorney Stephanie Toothaker have argued that public parking lots in the area have enough spaces to accommodate what\u2019s needed for Weston Jewelers, pointing out that the building\u2019s use won\u2019t create demand for very many spots at once. The maximum number of people recorded inside a Weston Jewelers store at once has been 35, including employees, Dikes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn what world would there ever be 119 people in a jewelry store at one time? It doesn\u2019t even make rational sense,\u201d Toothaker said at the meeting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other projects along Las Olas have received parking reductions, which speaks to the city\u2019s recognition that the street is largely pedestrian, Toothaker said. The parking code hasn\u2019t been updated to reflect growing use of ride shares, she said.<\/p>\n

Jackie Scott, president of the Colee Hammock Homeowners Association, countered that one of those businesses was a restaurant opening in a former eatery\u2019s building, meaning there was no change in use, and that another project actually also built parking for its residential and hotel portion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toothaker said she\u2019s negotiating with private parking providers in the area for an agreement to accommodate \u201cmore than 40\u201d parking spots for the store. A previous parking agreement fell through, she said, due to \u201cpressure from the community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s proposed rezoning of the north lot from \u201cresidential\u201d to \u201ccommercial\u201d has residents worried that it could portend future similar rezonings, potentially encroaching toward the residential area near Las Olas, neighbors said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Without the rezoning, Weston Jewelers can build a 150-foot tall highrise by-right on the southern lot, though the five-story building is a better fit for the neighborhood, Toothaker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s design draws inspiration from and mirrors the architecture of some of the Colee Hammock homes, Dikes said during the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some neighbors suggested the first-floor retail is substituted with a garage or the top floor cut. This can\u2019t be done because the space already is committed to brands and it wouldn\u2019t work for the first-level of a retail building to be parking, Toothaker and Dikes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although it was reported<\/a> that the jewelry store planned to host brand-sponsored cocktail parties on the third floor of the development, Dikes said all parties and functions hosted by the brands will be off site.<\/p>\n

Weston Jewelers picked downtown Fort Lauderdale for its flagship partly because many of its brands suggested the location, and the area\u2019s been attracting more wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are calling it the \u2018Monaco of Florida\u2019\u201d Dikes said after the meeting, pointing to the city\u2019s growth as a more upscale residential and retail hub. \u201cEveryone wants to see this change occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the meeting, Battista echoed residents\u2019 notion that they would have liked to partake in the building\u2019s design before it was finalized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The area, he added, \u201cis not meant to be an overpowering Madison Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRead more
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Inside\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDevelopment\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSouth Florida\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Map: Here is Broward County\u2019s condo development pipeline<\/p>\n

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