By Kiri Blakeley | Realtor.com <\/p>\n
Located between Fort Lauderdale<\/a> and West Palm Beach<\/a>, the former \u201csleepy fishing village\u201d of Pompano Beach, FL<\/a>, has transformed into a haven for luxury-branded residences<\/a>, while still retaining much of its old-world charm.<\/p>\n More than a dozen major real estate projects are currently underway in the city (population of 118,000), spanning branded luxury complexes, commercial development, and even a $2 billion 70-acre transformation of the downtown area.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an area that I wouldn\u2019t say was overlooked, but is more like a sleepy town that has woken up,\u201d Patrick Campbell, senior vice president of Related Group<\/a>, tells Realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Group, founded by billionaire developer Jorge Perez, has poured roughly $2.5 billion into luxe oceanfront developments in Pompano Beach. Projects include the recently completed Solemar<\/a> and Casamar<\/a>, and the forthcoming Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach<\/a> and W Pompano Hotel & Residences<\/a>.<\/p>\n Campbell says it wasn\u2019t always easy to convince major brand names that the \u201csleepy town\u201d was worth investing in. Related Group snapped up the land for Solemar in 2011, at a price he says was a \u201csteal,\u201d then sat on it for many years, waiting to \u201csee some signs of a market there.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the Ritz-Carlton Residences<\/a> broke ground in late 2022, Campbell knew that Related had been onto something.<\/p>\n While the first development, Solemar, was sold for an average of $900 per square foot, a price now considered a bargain, the Waldorf, which is 90% sold (including the two penthouses) is going for $1,600 per square foot.<\/p>\n And Campbell considers even those presale prices to be a deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThat major brands are finding the area attractive lends credence to the fact that we stumbled upon something, showing everybody we were right all along,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n By the time the Waldorf Astoria opens in July 2027, Campbell says, there is a good chance the complex will be sold out.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants to live on the ocean in South Florida<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd if you can provide a luxury lifestyle, there\u2019s a market there.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s still a value compared to everywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell, who grew up in another \u201csleepy beach town\u201d in Central Florida, says that Pompano Beach has long been a popular place for Canadian snowbirds, as well as a vacation spot for those who couldn\u2019t necessarily afford the prices of Palm Beach or Miami.<\/p>\n He says the area began its transformation about a decade ago, but the city has been strict about making sure the town\u2019s growth didn\u2019t destroy its charming character, a place where anglers still regularly cast their lines off the pier and shoreline.<\/p>\n There are limits on building height, and developments must be set back at least double what they are in similar growing coastline cities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will never be Sunny Isles or Miami Beach,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cThe city has been very good about controlling growth with their zoning codes, and you can\u2019t do anything much taller than a 20-story building.\u201d (The Waldorf Astoria is 28 stories and The W is 24 stories.)<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry about it becoming something overwhelming and changing the character,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a measured growth that keeps the old-town charm and adds in a bit of the new.\u201d<\/p>\n The result is not only a beach town with less traffic and density than the popular shoreline cities to its south and north, but also a more \u201cnatural\u201d coast, says the developer. The city has \u201ca whole group all about protecting the dunes.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, along a significant section of the beach, a boardwalk threads between the ocean and the developments, lending a more open, less hemmed-in, feel to the shoreline. There is also a city-created \u201cfishing village\u201d<\/a> at the base of the Pompano Beach Fishing Pier, with casual dining, shops, and live events.<\/p>\n And, yes, there is real fishing happening. Campbell swears that anglers actually eat the fish they catch.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the type of stuff you won\u2019t see in Miami Beach,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n While the fishing village charm of the area is valued, Campbell says there was also an untapped market for an upscale lifestyle, as proven by the swift sales of the Waldorf Astoria and W Hotel branded condos.<\/p>\n At the Waldorf, both penthouses have sold, at $17.1 million and $18.1 million price points. Still available are four Sky Residences, ranging from 2,097 to 3,557 square feet and $4.3 million to $8 million in price.<\/p>\n The penthouse sales set local records for both total sale price and price per square foot, with the higher sale exceeding the city\u2019s previous residential record by more than $9 million.<\/p>\n Still, the sales are a relative value to what the equivalent would have cost in Palm Beach or Miami, where a penthouse in a branded luxury tower would have easily run $30 million or more.<\/p>\n In fact, a penthouse in another ongoing Related Group project\u2014the St. Regis Residences in Miami<\/a>\u2014was sold in July for $47 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n