News that developer Aimco is planning to sell off real estate assets across the country has city officials wondering whether that includes the former Searstown site in Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
Aimco bought the 5.7-acre property at the busy corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Federal Highway for $64 million in June 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe word on the street is they are going to look to sell it,\u201d local developer Charlie Ladd told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dean Trantalis said he met with Aimco officials within the past month and asked whether they planned to break ground on the project in early 2026 as planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey met with me recently to discuss refinements to their site plan,\u201d Trantalis said. \u201cI\u2019ve asked them multiple times if they are moving forward. And they have said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aimco\u2019s 901 North project<\/a> calls for three residential towers with 797 apartments and a 188-room hotel. Towers 1 and 3 would have 30 stories. Tower 2 would have 21. The towers would be connected by an eight-story parking podium lined with offices, shops, restaurants, along with a gym and grocery store.<\/p>\n A shareholder vote on the planned sale of Aimco\u2019s real estate assets is expected in early 2026, a spokesman with Aimco told the Sun Sentinel on Friday. If shareholders approve, all of Aimco\u2019s real estate assets would be sold.<\/p>\n The board of Aimco unanimously came to the decision to shut down after \u201cthoroughly (exploring) various strategic alternatives\u201d with other entities, Pat Gibson, chair of Aimco\u2019s investment committee, said in a statement released on Nov. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cThe voluntary and orderly liquidation of the company\u2019s remaining assets is most likely to result in the greatest value for shareholders as compared to other alternatives,\u201d Gibson said in the statement.<\/p>\n High interest rates and exploding construction costs are taking a toll<\/a> on the real estate market, said Ladd, who serves on the board of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Downtown Development Authority.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s aren\u2019t many cranes left downtown,\u201d Ladd said. \u201cI think there\u2019s only two. At one time a few years ago there were probably 15 of them.\u201d<\/p>\n If Aimco were to end up selling the Searstown property, it\u2019s likely to slow down redevelopment<\/a> of the site, Ladd said.<\/p>\n