A surge of new residential high-rises, reaching possibly as high as 21 and 24 stories, are poised to grow Pompano Beach’s beachside skyline, and many more new beachside businesses are expected, too.
New condos, hotels and restaurants are envisioned for the coastal destination frequented by visitors, which already has seen much growth through the years. Some residents have long opposed the sheer amount of change, while newcomers have flocked there. What was once a quieter stretch of the beach off Atlantic Boulevard only has grown livelier.
Lou Moshakos, a developer, is among those who sees the region’s potential. He already opened The Oceanic at Pompano Beach, a restaurant with an ocean liner-inspired design, and Lucky Fish Beach Bar and Grill, which replicates a Keys-style open-air tiki bar right nearby. Beachgoers tend to go there, too.
“I love Pompano Beach,” Moshakos said. “The beach is one of the best beaches you can ever find. It’s up and coming, look at what’s happened to Pompano Beach in the last five years.”
Pompano Beach Mayor Rex Hardin said many of these projects are growth rising from older buildings. “Some of it’s redevelopment of projects that were already built there that were torn down and rebuilt in a modern fashion,” he said. “That’s good for the property values, that’s good for the tax base. The tax base helps pay the bills for the services residents want.”
“Pompano Beach is undergoing a renaissance and it’s showing. We are a great place to build.”
The new developments are in various stages of readiness, ranging from proposals to being under construction. Here’s a look at all the plans afoot.
Condo/hotel approach
One of the larger beachside proposals is what’ll ultimately become Oceanside Pompano Beach, at 20 N. Ocean Blvd., city records show.
It is on a 3.7-acre waterfront site acquired by The Related Group and BH Group, the current developers, for $47.5 million. The Oceanside Pompano Beach project that is in site-plan review has two parcels. Developer Related Group is city-approved for a 24-story condo-hotel on vacant lot and a 22-story hotel. It will include two buildings with 380 condos and include residential, hotel, recreational and retail spaces. The retail component along Atlantic Boulevard will connect to the public beach access to the east.
But it hasn’t gone smoothly.
Craig Fadem, a condo board member for Sea Monarch, an 18-story condo just north of the project, said residents are concerned about the new project’s plans for Northeast First Street, which condo residents have used for 54 years for trash pickup and loading and unloading deliveries.
“It’s a lot of development,” he said of the beachside. “That’s what happens. And that’s what the city of Pompano Beach wants. There’s not much we can do about it.”
Other projects also have drawn pushback. Some residents said they were worried when the zoning was approved for a new hotel at 101 S. Ocean Blvd. in July.
For now, the plan is known as “Pompano Hotel” and envisioned as a 252-room hotel and more than 7,000 square feet of ballrooms and meeting rooms, and a 2,000-square-foot fitness center, and more space for a restaurant and bar. After an outcry from neighbors and an accompanying city request, the developer agreed to widen the footprint and only go up to 18 stories, although it could have risen as high as 21 stories.
Allison Janse, a longtime resident, wrote in an email to elected officials, “I am now considering moving because of the traffic gridlock around Atlantic and A1A, which will be made exponentially worse due to the number of high-rise developments our elected officials have approved in a very short time and in very close proximity to one another.”
Still yet to come
Many developments are undergoing the review process, including Pure Residences Resort, a 21-story, mixed-use condo-hotel located at 3300 S.E. 1st St.
That project will feature 219 apartment-style suites, ranging from traditional hotel rooms to two-bedroom units with kitchens and living rooms, “catering to a diverse extended-stay market,” according to city records. Along Southeast First Street will be a retail gift shop and a coffee shop. The building design “will have a modern maritime theme with wave balconies and glass rails,” according to city records.
Another hotel-condo plan, which consists of two towers, is called Atlantic 3350. Located at 3350 E. Atlantic Blvd, it will be prominently located by East Atlantic Boulevard and State Road A1A. It’s currently in the site-plan review process.
One of its buildings will be 19 stories at the northwest corner of the site, a hotel that will have 110 suites with 180 rooms. The other structure will be a 21-story residential building with 77 units, located at the southwest corner of Atlantic Boulevard and State Road A1A. It includes mostly two-bedroom units. At the base of the towers are shared hotel-and-residential amenities, such as a pool, Jacuzzi, pool bar, and hotel restaurant.
Replacing older buildings
Some projects already are under construction. That includes Casamar, a 21-story building at 900 N. Ocean Blvd., which will consist of 119 residential condo units ranging from one to four bedrooms.
Casamar used to be the 46-unit Pompano Beach Villa Condominiums, which was built in 1979.
When it came time for the building safety inspection in 2019, the property owner “instead elected to demolish the old buildings and proceed with their planned construction of the new 119-unit condo building,” said Christopher Feltgen, the city’s Chief ePlan Technology Administrator, which entails electronic plan review.
With growth, “there’s not a whole lot of empty land” left, Feltgen said. Soon the expectation is developers will seek to “redevelop older properties into new property” as older buildings are knocked down.
One plan, just west of State Road A1A, is called Ocean 723, a three-story residential development with 12 units planned for 723 N. Ocean Blvd. An existing office building will be demolished to accommodate the new residences.
Each of the 12 units will feature two bedrooms and will range in size from 1,430 to 1,625 square feet.
Demolishing old to build new is the likely future for the beach.
Developer Adam Adache has built projects in Pompano Beach’s downtown, and his last beachside venture in the city was the 3-story, 21-unit townhome project called “14th and Ocean” in 2016.
But that’s not for a lack of effort. He said he has made offers to purchase aging apartment buildings and even timeshares where all the owners might want to sell so that he could build anew. Generally, “there’s no land left on the east side of town,” he said. “For the most part, land is out west or up north.”
He expects the growth in Pompano Beach to continue, as will redevelopment projects.
“The east is on fire right now,” he said of Pompano’s beachside. “It has nice, real wide, beautiful beaches.”
Developments under construction include the “Entourage in the Sun,” which will rise at 407 N. Riverside Drive at 10 stories. There will be 42 units, ranging from two to four bedrooms, each with direct water views, and private elevator access. Amenities include a pool, jacuzzi, club room, gym, and a dock with space for two boats.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences will be two buildings, on both sides of State Road A1A with 205 move-in-ready homes and 14 private boat slips. It is expected to be completed in 2025. The Beach Tower will be 32 stories with 117 homes. The Marina Tower, which is 14 stories high, has 88 residences. Each primary bedroom has a walk-in closet, and select residences also have service quarters. The penthouses feature garden terraces, a private pool, a summer kitchen, and 360-degree views spanning the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway.
And as luxury brands like the Ritz rise in the city, Adache thinks that will create a “snowball.”
“It’s going to encourage more,” he said.
Places to eat
There also are more eateries expected to open within walking distance of the beach, along the Intracoastal Waterway.
A 350-seat indoor-outdoor Italian restaurant will open this fall in the 3100 block of East Atlantic Boulevard. It will be called Miraggio Italian Grill. The same developer is also building a seafood steak restaurant with 150 seats that will open in 2025 in the same area.
The 120-seat Yellow Yolk, a breakfast and lunch spot, opened in the spring.
And Moshakos, with The Oceanic at Pompano Beach and Lucky Fish Beach Bar and Grill, says he’s embarking on his next project.
He plans to lease beachfront land from the city that now has a concession stand, at 20 N. Pompano Beach Blvd., to replace it with “Pompano Sunbar,” which will be a counter-service bar and grill with tables on the sand. The new one-story building will have a 1,233 square feet kitchen and a 2,010 square feet cafe tiki bar with a dining deck. The project is in the permitting phase now.
Facing reviews
Other developments will be more residence-oriented.
Right next to the beach, just a few blocks south of Atlantic Boulevard, is a proposal for 580 Briny, a 10-story multifamily development of 17 homes. The name coincides with its address: 580 Briny Ave. That proposal is in the site-plan review process.
Other projects in the pipeline for their building permits:
— Hillsboro Shores, 2507 N. Ocean Blvd., will be up to 10 stories and 121 homes with a minimum of two bedrooms. There will also be more than 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Amenities will be on the fifth floor, including the pool.
— Duet Ocean Residences at 1550 N. Ocean Blvd., will be two 19-story buildings with 28 luxury residential condominium units and 3,000 square feet of commercial space. The project is at the southeast corner of the intersection of State Road A1A and Northeast 16th Street.
— The Waldorf Astoria Residences, at 1350 S. Ocean Blvd., will be on a 2-acre oceanfront site. There will be 92 homes with “a hospitality infused amenity package,” according to city records including a beachfront cafe with room service, resident lounge, pool, jacuzzi and cabanas with poolside dining, wellness facilities, and 19 boat slips that can fit boats up to 45 feet.
— Salato, at 305 Briny Ave., is a 40-condo project featuring units with 14-foot deep terraces facing the ocean. Amenities include a wellness lounge with daily coffee and tea service, gym, beach showering area, and pool, spa, and saunas. Set to open during first quarter of 2026, the building will also include 2,700 square feet of retail space fronting State Road A1A, planned to house a high-end restaurant serving the public and offering poolside service for residents.
Salato’s developer, John Farina, president and CEO of New Jersey-based U.S. Development, said the land was previously two buildings of one-story rental apartments.
“Pompano was always overlooked, nestled between Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale,” he said. “Pompano was always a sleepy little beach town that has transformed into a destination for locals but also for people out of state. It has created opportunity for developers because there was beachfront land to be developed.”
Farina said the “popularity of Boca Raton for decades drew people there” but its price escalation in Boca and other hot spots “drove people and developers to look for new areas.
“It was only a matter of time before Pompano came into its own for redevelopment. It was prime for development.”
Amid the growth, city officials say they’ve been mindful that the projects don’t completely take over the beach.
“We’re very careful everything is done tastefully,” said city spokeswoman Sandra King. “Our intention is to do everything slowly with smart growth.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
