Real Estate Pros React To Federal Interest Rate Cut

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The Federal Reserve’s long-awaited announcement Wednesday that it is cutting its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% drew measured reactions from real estate attorneys and professionals, who said the move definitely provides reason for optimism but had already largely been factored into markets and does not represent the major step some sought.

In comments shared with Law360 Real Estate Authority, these professionals in a variety roles and locations across the country said they expect the rate cut will get some projects moving and encourage investment and transaction activity. That will especially be the case in stronger markets, such as South Florida, and sectors such as multifamily, prime office and industrial.

However, many also pointed out that they still have their eyes on a number of other factors, such as tariffs, a weak labor market, and high construction costs and insurance rates, as well as long-term rates and Treasuries.

Ultimately, the biggest impact may depend on whether this cut and the Fed’s indication that it expects to make two more cuts this year provide enough of a boost in confidence, which several sources noted is a key factor for investors, buyers and lenders across the price spectrum.

Eric Rapkin

Practice group chair, real estate, Akerman

“Any reduction in interest rates is a terrific thing for the commercial real estate industry. Lowering borrowing costs always spurs activity, in all sectors of the CRE world. Although a 25-basis-point reduction is for sure a positive thing, I don’t think it means the floodgates are open or that other factors affecting the market are now irrelevant. For example, construction costs, insurance rates, potential effects from tariffs, a weakening labor market and other factors still exist. But the rate reduction is very welcome news.”

Rich Traub

Partner, Smith Gambrell & Russell

“With today’s quarter-point rate cut, the Fed made a clear bet on job creation, but it didn’t go all-in. This was the bare minimum markets expected — more of a strategic jab than a knockout swing. [Fed Chairman Jerome] Powell’s message is that labor market strength still matters more than inflation fears — at least for now. Equities responded with a short-lived boost, but yields barely moved, signaling that investors see this as a cautious, possibly one-off move rather than the start of an easing cycle. The Fed may be trying to buy insurance against a slowdown without spooking inflation hawks. But this fight is far from over. Inflation could still punch back, especially if demand picks up. Round one goes to labor, but the next moves from both the Fed and the market will tell us whether that lead holds.”

Michael Lee

Partner, HKS Real Estate Advisors

“The Fed’s decision to cut rates by a quarter point was widely anticipated, with markets already pricing it in. The latest jobs report underscored the challenges facing the economy, coming in more than a third below expectations and continuing a trend of steady declines. Payrolls are shrinking, unemployment is edging up, and yet the stock market just hit a record high, reflecting investor confidence in monetary easing.

“The real question now is what comes after this cut. If Treasury yields bounce back up as they did last fall, the commercial real estate market will once again be caught in a cycle of volatility. Treasuries have already plummeted in recent days, putting more downward pressure on yields than the cut itself. That dynamic will be critical in determining how capital flows into CRE in the months ahead.”

Isaac Toledano

Founder and CEO, BH Group

“Investors have been cautious while rates remain high, but even this modest cut could quickly change that. Lower borrowing costs restore confidence, spur capital deployment, and accelerate transactions already underway. South Florida’s market for income-producing commercial and mixed-use assets is already active, and this rate shift could further energize demand.

“Political developments in New York could add another layer beyond the Fed’s decision today. If [Zohran] Mamdani becomes the next mayor, we could see more companies and executives relocating to Florida, increasing the need for modern mixed-use developments that combine offices, upscale residences, retail and lifestyle amenities. That momentum could spark new construction and redevelopment, reshaping the region’s commercial landscape.”

Daniel Diaz Leyva

Partner and chair, Florida real estate practice, Day Pitney

“Today’s rate cut and the Fed’s signaling of two more cuts by year end marks a pivotal shift for real estate. For the past two years, higher borrowing costs have slowed transactions, sidelined buyers and forced developers to rethink projects. A clearer path to lower rates restores confidence and should begin to unlock both capital markets activity and buyer demand. In Florida, where population growth and business migration continue at historic levels, these cuts could provoke a wave of investment across residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The timing is critical as developers, lenders and investors now see an opportunity to move from defense to offense.”

Rayni Williams

Co-founder, The Beverly Hills Estates

“Today’s quarter-point rate cut marks the beginning of a gradual process rather than a one-time shift. Even before the move, anticipation of lower rates had already fueled consumer confidence and spurred activity, with the market picking up noticeably in recent weeks. The impact is unfolding differently across price points, but overall momentum looks promising with growing optimism about where the market is headed.”

Noah Breakstone

CEO, BTI Partners

“This quarter-point rate cut represents an important first step toward addressing the housing affordability crisis that’s currently impacting both homebuilders and potential buyers. While this initial reduction is meaningful, continued cuts will be essential to truly unlock the financing environment needed to make housing more accessible. We’re optimistic this signals the beginning of a sustained effort to open the door to improved housing affordability across the market.”

Alexandra Hack

Partner, Cedar Street Partners

“A 25-basis-point cut won’t change underwriting overnight, but it should improve forward rate expectations. We expect bid-ask spreads to narrow and transaction volume to pick up — especially in multifamily — while construction lending remains selective amid elevated materials costs and persistent skilled-labor constraints. Cap rates are unlikely to reset immediately; the real catalyst is a clearer, less volatile rate path. If the Fed signals that path, rate and credit spreads should compress, and more projects will clear return hurdles into 2026.”

Tessa Hilton

Co-CEO, Hilton Hilton

“In Los Angeles’ upper-tier market, interest rate shifts shape more than financing. They influence confidence and negotiation power. While many luxury deals are cash, affluent buyers still weigh the cost of capital. Rising rates often bring caution and price pressure; when rates ease, urgency and competition return. With the Fed’s quarter-point cut, we anticipate renewed buyer engagement and optimism, which are both key drivers of momentum at the very top of the market.”

Ivan Sher and Brad Malkin

Founder, IS LUXURY; and owner, Noble Home Loans

“The Fed cut its discount rate on Wednesday. That directly affects HELOCs, credit cards and the $27 trillion Treasury market tied to short-term credit, but the impact on mortgage rates is less direct since they respond more to market sentiment than Fed policy.

“Employment has weakened, with one measure of unemployment at 8.1%. Inflation is less of a concern as tariff fears have faded, but if the Fed creates uncertainty around it, bonds could suffer and mortgage rates could rise even as equities gain. Rising equities boost confidence, especially among high-net-worth buyers, supporting more transactions. Rates should trend below 6% in the coming months, which will fuel demand and push home prices higher as limited supply collides with stronger buying activity.

“Reports of higher inventory are misleading since much of it reflects sellers holding back, and the months-of-supply metric is driven by weaker sales, not more listings. Lower rates will give prices an initial bump, and with even less inventory ahead, a second bump is likely. If you are considering buying, this is the moment. The price you pay is the one constant in real estate. The question is who captures the equity upside, you or the seller?”

Kyle Early

Managing director, residential, PEG

“Even before today’s quarter-point rate cut, we were seeing commercial real estate valuations stabilize, renewed optimism in the capital markets, and increased lending activity, particularly from banks. The Fed’s move is likely to accelerate that momentum, leading to reduced borrowing costs, greater capital flows, and more transaction activity, all of which will bolster commercial real estate values. The reduction should also help stimulate business expansion, hiring and consumer spending, driving increased demand for rental housing and hotels.”

Calixto “Cali” Garcia-Velez

President and CEO, Banesco USA

“Over the past few years, South Florida has outperformed national trends. Thanks to our strong regional footprint and deep market knowledge, Banesco has confidently doubled down, even as many other banks have scaled back their exposure in the region.

“With the Fed now delivering its most recent rate cut, I don’t expect an immediate surge in activity, but it does send a powerful signal that a soft landing is achievable, restoring confidence across both real estate and business lending markets. The rate cut reduces short-term borrowing costs, with multifamily and industrial sectors likely seeing the benefit immediately, aiding developers and investors in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“The more meaningful impact will come if additional cuts take hold, creating conditions for previously shelved projects and business investments to re-enter the pipeline and become financially viable once again.”

Lisa Colon

Partner, Saul Ewing

“Contractors and developers welcome the Fed’s rate cuts. Commercial lending has slowed noticeably over the summer, stalling many projects. Lower borrowing costs could change that dynamic, allowing projects that have been on hold for financing or economic reasons to finally move forward.”

Alyssa Soto Brody

Co-founder, Powered by DMT

“As the market looks to the Federal Reserve’s next move, any rate cuts could provide welcomed momentum — but it’s still important to remember that real estate is driven by more than interest rates alone. In South Florida, while condo supply remains high and insurance premiums are creating some hurdles, buyers now have more options than ever and the ability to be selective. For new development, tariffs and broader policy shifts will play a role, but ultimately buyer confidence is the real driver. If the Fed signals stability, that could be the spark that brings more buyers off the sidelines and helps move inventory. With more choice in the market and the potential for improved conditions, it’s an exciting time for those looking to make a move.”

Keith Poliakoff

Managing partner, Government Law Group

“While the recent rate cut is the first in nearly a year, its immediate impact on the real estate market will be minimal. Lenders and developers are focused on long-term rates, particularly the 10-year treasury, not short-term federal rates. Although this rate cut will provide some relief for those with high-interest debt, it will take a full one-point reduction for it to make a real impact on the real estate market. Until then, it’s unlikely to make a significant difference for real estate transactions or construction projects, as it was already expected by the industry.”

Cary Cohen

Executive vice president, Blanca Commercial Real Estate

“With today’s Fed rate cut, and signals of more to come, we anticipate an immediate impact on the South Florida market. Lower financing costs are a factor, but it’s important to note that optimism here has remained strong regardless, as South Florida continues to buck national trends. The Fed’s commitment to supporting real estate investment will attract additional capital from local, national and international buyers. Coupled with Florida’s pro-business environment and significant infrastructure projects, the region stands out as one of the most compelling markets in the country. Investors are clearly taking notice, and we expect that momentum to accelerate as financing costs ease.”

Zack Simkins

Managing director, Vaster

“Today’s rate cut was widely anticipated, but it carries meaningful weight as it sets the stage for renewed demand in the coming quarter as buyers, investors and borrowers look to capitalize on a softening rate environment. Ultimately, this will eventually lead to more transactions, which is what will help rebound some slow real estate markets.”

Andrew Hellinger

Co-principal, Urban-X Group

“The Fed’s decision to begin cutting rates is a welcomed relief for the real estate market. Higher borrowing costs over the past year have slowed activity significantly, with many homebuyers and developers sitting on the sidelines waiting for conditions to improve. A sustained cycle of rate cuts should restore confidence, lower financing costs, and bring much-needed momentum back to acquisitions and development.”

Alan Hooper

Co-founder, Urban Street Development

“Rising interest rates, fast-rising construction costs, higher property insurance, and plateauing or even lowering rents had all contributed to a slowdown in residential development in downtowns. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alone, 30 to 40 entitled projects remained on the sidelines. The slowdown caused construction bids to come back down to reality, and policy moves by the state helped lower insurance rates.

“The Fed’s 0.25% rate cut and anticipated future cuts could help turn the tide, sparking a gradual and positive shift in the development cycle. We expect we will start to see the first wave of entitled projects in prime downtown locations over the next 12-18 months. Because large multifamily projects take two to four years to build and lease up, the impact of a renewal won’t be immediate, but at the same time, the lack of new supply and growing demand has helped stabilize existing inventory and strengthen the market.”

Article Link: Real Estate Pros React To Federal Interest Rate Cut
Author: Nathan Hale

Charting Florida Housing Affordability Stressors In Hollywood And Beyond

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Throughout Florida, cities and counties are struggling with achieving a balance between the development pressures that accompany growth and the need to retain housing affordability. Few municipalities from Key West to Tallahassee better reflect that tug-of-war than Hollywood. The city of 150,000 between Fort Lauderdale and Miami celebrates its centennial this year while staging a half-billion-dollar downtown revival.

The redevelopment at the city’s downtown circle will see BTI Partners replace a long-shuttered bread factory built more that 60 years ago with a new 362-unit multifamily tower and more than 16,000 square feet of retail space.

In a second phase, twin towers linked by a dramatic skywalk will rise on a parcel formerly occupied by a strip shopping center.

At the same time, local developer Pinnacle has faced an issue in developing its affordable housing community Pinnacle 441. Demand for housing affordability is so intense the company drew tens of thousands of interested renters for its limited units.

“Demand for affordable housing is off the charts, in ways not previously seen in my four decades in the industry,” says Timothy Wheat, partner in Pinnacle Partners. “We have had to implement a lottery system just to manage the volume . . . We resorted to using a lottery and received 21,000 registrants for 113 units. Since then, we’ve had to conduct lotteries for three additional communities because the demand continues to outpace supply at every turn. It is unprecedented and alarming. Solving this crisis will take sustained public-private collaboration, serious investment and the political will to clear roadblocks that prevent developments like this from being completed at a faster rate.”

Continued shortfall

While acute in Hollywood, the affordability crisis has impacted a great many other cities across the Sunshine State. So reports University of Florida News. According to the outlet, a dearth of affordable housing for the state’s workforce and fixed-income seniors is ongoing despite increasing multifamily and single-family home building. UF News reported the affordable rental housing shortage is severe for renters whose incomes fall below 80% of area median income (AMI), and especially severe for those below 60%.

Across the state an estimated 862,000 renter households whose incomes fall below 60% AMI are shelling out for monthly rent more than 40% of their incomes. One of the most worrisome harbingers of future affordability is that Florida added more than 700,000 units with gross rents higher than $1,200 monthly between 2012 and 2022. But over the same period it lost nearly 292,000 units renting for $1,200 or less.

The Live Local Act, a Florida state law in effect since July 2023, was intended to generate more rental housing by incentivizing developers and constraining the ability of municipalities to restrict height and density of qualifying affordable developments.

“Florida’s housing crisis is severe, driven by rapid population growth and a limited housing supply,” says Keith Poliakoff, a Florida government and municipal law expert. “The Live Local Act was a strong first step, but it hasn’t had the intended impact largely because of municipalities [that] have found loopholes to block new developments.

“To get the full benefits of this legislation, the state must tighten these regulations, strengthen incentives and hold governments accountable. Without these changes, the workers who keep our communities running will continue to be priced out of the neighborhoods they serve.”

Outdated zoning

Steven J. Wernick, partner at East Coast law firm Day Pitney, agrees that the Live Local Act will prove only as effective as local governments’ response. “Most cities and counties are still operating under outdated zoning frameworks that weren’t designed to accommodate today’s housing needs,” he says. “If we want to create real, lasting impact, we need to rethink how we use land, embracing mixed-use, higher-density development in areas that can support it and reducing minimum parking requirements that drive up costs. That requires not only updating local zoning codes but also shifting the mindset around what smart growth looks like in Florida’s urban and suburban communities.”

Article Link: Charting Florida Housing Affordability Stressors In Hollywood And Beyond
Author: Jeffrey Steele

Developer of twin condo towers wants lawsuit filed by neighboring building dismissed

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A developer building twin condo towers on Fort Lauderdale beach has requested the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a nearby condo claiming breach of contract.

Selene’s twin towers will be the tallest on the beach, rising 300 feet above sea level at 3000 Alhambra St. The towers are situated to the east of Alhambra Place, a 16-story condo on Fort Lauderdale’s barrier island located at 209 N. Birch Road. The twin towers are expected to open this year.

The project’s design was substantially altered despite a development agreement the builder made with Alhambra’s condo association in July 2020, according to a lawsuit filed on May 28 in Broward Circuit Court.

The developer dramatically altered the project’s exterior design without alerting Alhambra, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit seeks more than $10 million in damages.

Three defendants are named in the lawsuit: KT Seabreeze Atlantic GP, KT Seabreeze Atlantic LP and The Kolter Group.

KT Seabreeze Atlantic is no longer in business, according to the lawsuit.

Jack Seiler, attorney for the defendants, filed a motion last week urging the court to dismiss the case.

“The plaintiff does not state what the specific plan revisions are, or what provision in the agreement has been breached as a result of those plan revisions,” Seiler stated in the motion. “The notice of default does not state what provision of the agreement has been breached. Rather, it only provides a list of alleged deviations.”

The case has been assigned to Judge Keathan B. Frink. A hearing has not yet been set.

“We find absolutely no merit in the frivolous motion filed,” said Keith Poliakoff, attorney for Alhambra Place. “We have no doubt that after the judge reviews their motion that it will be dismissed and they will be forced to answer the complaint.”

Article Link: Developer of twin condo towers wants lawsuit filed by neighboring building dismissed
Author: Susannah Bryan

Local Restrictions In New Fla. Hurricane Law Cause Friction

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The Florida Senate hailed the signing late last week of a wide-ranging bill aimed at bolstering the state’s handling of hurricanes, but a legal battle could lie ahead, as Gov. Ron DeSantis provided his signature over objections that portions will trample on local governments’ authority to regulate land use and development in their own communities.

Senate Bill 180, which carries the title “Emergencies,” implements a multitude of new requirements intended to bring clearer and more streamlined processes in terms of how the state prepares, responds and recovers from the annual scourge of hurricanes.

But critics, including several local governments and advocacy organizations, called for the governor to veto the bill, arguing portions aimed at facilitating rebuilding include vague and overbroad language that would “effectively halt” local governments from pursuing any planning efforts that could be viewed as more restrictive or burdensome.

“It’s not just development regulations related to hurricane recovery. It’s anything. So it just kind of opens the complete door to development,” said Jamie A. Cole, a partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman PL who has specialized in home rule matters. “It’s an unbelievable intrusion into home rule authority for cities, because cities basically can no longer pass things that they think are in the best interest of their community.”

In a statement issued after the bill’s signing, its sponsor, Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, said lawmakers were fighting to help homeowners and other property owners rebuild without added bureaucratic delay or burdens. The Legislature mandated that counties and municipalities develop plans to expedite post-storm permitting and inspections while preventing them from increasing certain fees during these periods.

But the new law, now enrolled as Section 2525-190 of the Florida Statutes, also went beyond that, stating that for one year after a hurricane makes landfall, certain “impacted local governments” are prohibited from adopting a moratorium on “construction, reconstruction or redevelopment of any property,” as well as new land-use and development regulations that are “more restrictive or burdensome.” It also provides a path for private parties to bring civil suits for alleged violations.

Another section applies similar prohibitions retroactively to Aug. 1, 2024, and through Oct. 1, 2027, for all counties and municipalities within them that were covered by federal emergency declarations related to Hurricanes Debby, Helene or Milton, which struck the state last year.

Since the declarations for those three storms collectively covered every county in the state, that three-year window appears to restrict local land-use planning for every inch of the state for the near future, multiple sources said.

Cole’s fellow Weiss Serota partner Susan Trevarthen said it appears these provisions will result in a “loss of home rule or local government authority over land use and zoning that’s contemplated by the 1968 Florida Constitution.”

And while some parts reference damaged or destroyed properties, others are “completely detached from damage or impact,” Cole said. Given the annual cycle of the hurricane threat, the city of Winter Haven noted in its veto request letter that if storms continue to make landfall each year, that could effect a “rolling ban on local land-use authority.”

Cole and Trevarthen said they are advising clients to review all land-use and development regulations adopted since Aug. 1, 2024, but they also said they have been contacted by several cities about potentially filing lawsuits and are analyzing the situation and considering which legal theories they would use.

“There’s always potential legislative fixes a year from now, but that’s a year from now. That doesn’t really do much good for a year,” Cole said. “Since the governor ignored the veto letters and then signed it, cities are in a tough spot right now. And they’re going to have to decide whether to just abide by it or try to challenge it.”

In their veto request letters, cities and organizations cited a variety of concerns.

Several brought up the threat to measures they spent considerable time and money — including state grants — to develop and enact within the retroactive reach of the new law. Many of these were implemented with broad public support or in response to public demands, they said.

Winter Haven cited a new forestry plan it said it adopted with broad community support in September, and New Smyrna Beach brought up new stormwater master plans aimed at addressing chronic flood risks resulting from the city’s bowl-shaped topography. Lake Alfred in Polk County noted it had made substantive changes to its land development code, mostly including elements aimed at clarifying and streamlining processes but also some compromises that in isolation could be viewed as more burdensome.

“[M]any of these balanced provisions within our code may need to be repealed to revert to an earlier version of the code,” Lake Alfred’s city manager wrote. “This could put pending residential developments that are already in the planning process back into custom zoning processes which on net may be more burdensome to development.”

Cutler Bay, in Miami-Dade County, and the Florida Floodplain Managers Association both expressed concerns that the prohibitions could undermine municipalities’ efforts to implement floodplain management policies that have helped improve their ratings in the federal National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System and saved resident policyholders hundreds of dollars in policy costs each year.

Winter Haven’s city leaders said the lack of definition of the terms “more restrictive” and “burdensome,” coupled with a one-way attorney fee provision for plaintiffs filing legal challenges to local government regulations, could lead to more speculative lawsuits. And they suggested the prohibition on any development moratorium is “short-sighted” and “irresponsible” for not considering critical situations such as a local water supply being at risk after a storm.

They also pointed out that given the annual cycle of hurricane season, the law may be “essentially creating a rolling ban on local land-use authority,” as any storm that passes within 100 miles of a county could trigger a year-long prohibition even if the community experiences no actual damage.

Making a similar point, Weiss Serota’s Trevarthen noted these kinds of regulations take time to go through the process of identifying an issue in the community, writing legislation, publishing notices, and holding public hearings and multiple readings at government meetings.

“So what that creates is a perpetual situation where it’s chaotic and unpredictable when local governments will ever have the local land-use powers again,” she said. “It just doesn’t work to try to use your government when it’s like some kind of child’s game where you’re running for a minute, and then you have to stop, and then you run.”

How this will play out and what the exact impact of the law will be on development across the state remains to be seen, several attorneys said. Several of the objecting cities did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did the governor’s office or the bill sponsor DiCeglie.

As Trevarthen noted, the cities and counties that already have tighter regulatory regimes will have fewer reasons to adopt more restrictive or burdensome policies, so the law is likely to have a more dramatic impact on areas that have not been as affected by hurricanes in the past and with local governments that are still learning what they need to do to mitigate risk and better protect their communities.

Barbara Blake Boy, executive director of the Broward County Planning Council, said that because of S.B. 180, the council paused meetings for the summer to review updates being drafted for the county’s land-use plan, which they revise every seven years, to see what might potentially be more restrictive or burdensome and need modifying.

She said most of the proposals so far are incentive-based and, she thinks, should not run afoul of those provisions. The council’s review of everything adopted since Aug. 1, 2024, reached similar conclusions, she said, while adding there’s always a chance an attorney might claim any provision is more burdensome.

Rebecca Wilson, co-chair of the land-use, zoning and environmental group at Lowndes, said how various local governments choose to handle the situation could depend on their particular regulations or processes.

“For those local governments which adopted moratoriums after the hurricanes, it is clear those are void,” she said. “For other regulations, such as changes to a land development code, there may be some argument about the definition of ‘burdensome.’ It may also be the case that a new regulation as applied to one property is not more burdensome, but when the same regulation is applied to another property, it is more burdensome. In that instance, the property may be able to claim that while the entire regulation is not void, it is void as applied to their parcel.”

Keith Poliakoff of the Government Law Group said he thinks the legislation — similar to the comparable Senate Bill 250 that was passed in 2023 in the wake of Hurricane Ian — is aimed more at the actions of a few governments along the state’s west coast, which has suffered the most severe damage from hurricanes over the past several years.

Poliakoff said he disagrees with statements made by the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association and others that the law eliminates the ability of the state and its communities to learn from storms and make changes to protect against future ones.

While several critics pointed to the example of how the Florida Building Code and several local building regulations were revamped after the devastation of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew — changes that have been credited for the strong performance of newer buildings in recent storms — Poliakoff said those codes are regularly reviewed and considered among the strongest in the country.

He also suggested this new law is in line with a clear priority the Florida Legislature has set to protect private property rights, adding he thinks it will hold up in court.

“This is not the first time in the modern era that the Florida Legislature has imposed mandates and has clawed power from local governments who they believe to be overreaching,” he said. “So while a local government could attempt to challenge the law based on constitutional grounds, after practicing for nearly 30 years, I believe the law as written has merit in that the Florida Legislature’s bill, as written, will prevail.”

But Poliakoff also acknowledged the language in the law is “written incredibly broad[ly]” and said that while everything is written under the guise of hurricane recovery, local governments may be founded in their concerns that the language and retroactive application can apply to properties that have not been impacted by storms and “a whole slew of redevelopment, which, quite honestly, is probably what the Florida Legislature wanted.”

With fundamental issues and real life impacts at stake, these issues bear watching, Weiss Serota’s Trevarthen suggested.

“You don’t have power if you can only use it to say yes,” she said. “So it’s that fundamental — it’s that big of an impact on local government power and on the power of communities to decide for themselves the kinds of communities they want to be.”

Article Link: Local Restrictions In New Fla. Hurricane Law Cause Friction
Author: Nathan Hale

Affordable housing vs. local control: Suits test state plan’s strength

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Palm Beach Post USA TODAY NETWORK

Will Live Local survive legal challenges?

All eyes are on two South Florida lawsuits, one in Hollywood (Broward County) and another in Bal Harbour (Miami-Dade County). Both towns have been sued by developers that argue that they are now entitled to build their mega-developments despite what local zoning codes say.

The lawsuits represent initial challenges to the new law. The outcomes could determine how municipalities and counties balance local zoning codes against Live Local, designed to make it easier to build affordable and workforce housing. Live Local projects can be approved administratively, with no public input from elected officials or local residents.

The Bal Harbour case is the more contentious of the two.

For the past 50 years, the Whitman family has operated the Bal Harbour Shops on a parcel in the village’s only commercial district. Its efforts to expand the high-end shopping plaza have been rejected several times, including in a 2021 referendum, when 90% of voters rebuffed a proposal that would have allowed the mall to exceed current height limits.

The family’s latest effort, invoking the Live Local Act, calls for a development of four 25-story towers that would house 528 residential units; 40% of them would be restricted for affordable and workforce housing. Also planned is a 70-room upscale hotel.

At issue, though, is the size of the proposed expansion, as the towers would be five times taller than existing

height limits. Lawyers for the Whitmans argue the project’s height and density are consistent with the highest height and the greatest density of projects within a mile of the Bal Harbour Shops, which means it can be built under the Live Local law.

So how close is the project to another high-rise development? It is across the street from the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, a beachfront condo-hotel built in 2011. It would be a few inches shorter in height than the St. Regis, according to land-use lawyer John Shubin, who represents the Whitmans.

The lawsuit argues that the village is simply trying to prevent low- and moderate- income residents from moving in. It cites a staff memo that says the construction of workforce housing should be viewed as anathema to its “quality of life,” and a risk to:

  • Their “standing as a unique and elegant community.”
  • Their “role as a luxury destination.”
  • “The safety and security of our residents and neighborhood.”

Village Manager Jorge Gonzalez, in a post on the village website, angrily accused the Whitman family of believing that the new law allows them to build whatever they want without respect for local ordinances. In the post, he said the Whitmans have vilified Bal Harbour by alleging that it is an inherently anti-Semitic and racist community, and that this antisemitism and racism has led to an unspoken policy of opposing affordable housing at all costs. He called on the Whitmans in his post to refrain from further accusations and provocations.

The median income for two-person households in Bal Harbour is $270,000, more than double the countywide figure, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures. Of the 3,093 residents, 33, or 1%, are Black and 81% are White.

Shubin said the Gonzalez post on the village website “exposes some very delicate sensitivities that are being felt in the village. One can draw their own conclusions as to why they are so sensitive to these issues, especially when they they have done everything in their power to thwart this project.”

Hollywood project also being closely watched

A developer has sued the city of Hollywood, accusing it of blocking a proposed 17-story, $80 million beachside project that would include workforce housing.

Beachfront buildings are limited in height to six stories. Condra Property Group argues it is entitled, under the new law, to build a 17-story, $80 million development with 282 units, 114 of them affordable, because other buildings of comparable height are within the mile required by Live Local. The project would include more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space, a two-story beach club, a sixstory parking garage and a rooftop pool.

The city’s position is that the local zoning code does not permit a project of that size.

Keith Poliakoff of the Government Law Group, who represents Condra, noted the height of the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort is eight inches taller than his client’s project. And, more importantly, it is located within a mile of it.

Unlike the Bal Harbour case, Poliakoff said there is no allegation that Hollywood is trying to keep affordable housing residents out of the city. Hollywood, he acknowledged, has historically supported affordable housing initiatives.

“This is a height issue,” he said. “Based on the law, my client is entitled to build to the same height as Margaritaville.”

Both sides are expected to prepare legal motions calling for a judge to rule in their favor without the need for a trial.

Author: Mike Diamond

Condo next door sues developer building tallest twin towers on Fort Lauderdale beach

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Can you sue over a view?

Alhambra Place, a condo tower in Fort Lauderdale with a view of the beach, is doing just that — alleging breach of contract and seeking more than $10 million in damages.

For 24 years, residents of the 16-story condo tower at 209 N. Birch Road have enjoyed an unfettered view of the ocean.

Then along came Selene, twin 26-story condo towers going up to the east of Alhambra Place.

The project’s design was substantially altered despite a development agreement the builder made with Alhambra’s condo association in July 2020, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Broward Circuit Court.

The lawsuit lists The Kolter Group and KT Seabreeze Atlantic as defendants, claiming they submitted a slew of plan revisions “aimed at cutting costs and increasing profits” without the knowledge or consent of Alhambra’s condo association. The revisions dramatically altered the exterior design of the project and were “solely made to enhance (the developer’s) bottom line,” according to the suit.

“It’s a totally different project,” said Keith Poliakoff, one of the attorneys representing Alhambra Place. “Alhambra had no idea. Some of those changes affect the view corridor for Alhambra.”

The Kolter Group has not yet filed a formal response to the lawsuit. KT Seabreeze Atlantic is no longer in business, according to the lawsuit as well as state records.

Bob Vail, a high-ranking official at Kolter, referred questions to Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer.

Toothaker told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday: “From its inception, and all throughout the development of the iconic Selene project, Kolter has enjoyed a very positive and collaborative relationship with its neighbors and we look forward to continuing discussions to resolve any issues, particularly as we have a previously scheduled meeting with their counsel next week.”

‘Things didn’t seem right’

Jim Novick lives on the 11th floor of Alhambra Place, where he serves as president of the condo association.

In March, Novick said he noticed the towers going up across the street didn’t quite look like the renderings he and his neighbors had been shown before construction began nearly four years ago.

“It was pretty far along when we noticed things didn’t seem right,” Novick said. “There was equipment in the way. When the cranes came down, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not supposed to be there.’ They took out the glass. They added more stucco to save money. They made the one balcony on the sixth floor bigger.”

Novick says he contacted the developer with his concerns.

“I was telling them to take the balcony down,” he said. “I told them my board’s not going to be happy with this. See what you can do to fix these things. They said they’d get back to me on all these changes. And they never got back to me.”

That’s when the condo board decided to sue, Novick said.

‘The end of our universe’

Selene’s twin towers will be the tallest on the beach, rising 300 feet above sea level at 3000 Alhambra St.

Residential projects built on that part of the beach have a height cap of 200 feet.

But in late 2020, Fort Lauderdale commissioners signed off on special zoning that allowed the builder to go higher.

An earlier design called for a shorter and blockier set of towers that would have stood 200 feet high, with nearly 100 more condos and three times the space for restaurants and shops.

But residents at Alhambra Place preferred the developer build taller, thinner towers to help preserve their views.

“If they build a big giant box in front of us, it’s the end of our universe,” Novick told commissioners at the time. “We had one unit owner say, ‘We’ll never see the sun if they build this.’”

The project won commission approval in October 2020.

Less than two years later, the developer returned to the commission to request approval for what it called an administrative amendment to the approved site plan.

Alarmed by the proposed changes, Novick said he flew down from his second home in Boston to speak at the July 2022 meeting and voice his objection.

During the meeting, Toothaker told the commission her client was requesting changes to the project’s dimensional standards and architecture.

‘Approved behind closed doors’

That night, the developer withdrew the request for changes related to dimensional standards and architecture, the lawsuit states. The only changes requested — and approved — involved a reduction in the number of condo units from 215 to 196; an increase in the restaurant and retail space by 500 square feet; and a corresponding reduction in private parking spaces from 497 to 480.

“I came back on July 4 from Boston, left my family, got on the plane and went down to City Hall to testify,” Novick said. “And they withdrew the proposal. And I thanked them.”

But the developer came back later on to ask city staff to sign off on several modifications identical to those that had been withdrawn at the commission meeting, the lawsuit alleges.

“They submitted changes and got them administratively approved by city staff with no one knowing,” Poliakoff said. “City staff said they were minor modifications. These were not minor modifications.”

On April 23, 2025, Alhambra’s condo association sent the developer a notice accusing them of breach of contract.

The notice claims several design changes were made in violation of the development agreement the developer made with Alhambra Place. Among them:

East tower deviations

1. The elegant, round columns that floated outside of the façade at the L-shaped indented building corners were eliminated and replaced with a 90-degree building corner and integral corner edge column. The elimination of this feature detracts from its appearance and makes the building look wider.

2. The north façade of the east tower, level 5, was constructed with a balcony that extends well beyond the balcony line of the tower to the edge of the amenities deck.

3. West-facing level 4 of the east tower is constructed with large expanses of concrete, inconsistent with renderings that depict all glass and an open, unobstructed balcony.

Amenities deck deviations

1. The one-story spa extending from the west tower was reduced on the second administrative revision, adding about 30 feet more north-south open area.

2. The portion of the dog park west of the stair tower was eliminated and walled off from the reconfigured dog park. This is inconsistent with unit-view renderings.

3. The fourth level of the east tower is only partially glass, inconsistent with unit-view renderings that show an all-glass façade.

West podium façade deviations

1. On the unit-view renderings, glass comprises between 65% and 70% of the west-facing podium façade’s vertical section of levels 1.5, 2 and 3, but only about 47% as constructed.

2. The unit-view renderings show no exposed columns other than at the corners, whereas an exposed middle column was added to the constructed product.

3. The agreement calls for frosted glass on the west face of the parking structure. The actual construction appears to show tinted glass.

The towers are expected to open later this year.

“Plaintiff believes that there are additional violations and defaults of the terms of the agreement and shall, hereafter, seek a complete inspection of the property,” the lawsuit says.

Article Link: Condo next door sues developer building tallest twin towers on Fort Lauderdale beach
Author: Susannah Bryan

Trouble in Florida’s real estate paradise

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The Sunshine State has a grim warning for America’s homebuyers

Zach Janik had all the makings of a Florida lifer. Born and raised in West Palm Beach, he spent most of his adult years in St. Augustine, a small beach town on the state’s northeast coast. In 2018, just shy of 30, he purchased a tidy three-bedroom house for $195,000. Life was good.

A few years into the COVID-19 pandemic, though, he no longer recognized the place he had long called home. The area around St. Augustine was bursting with new arrivals and vast expanses of cookie-cutter homes to meet the growing demand for housing. All those new residents clogged the roads, forcing Janik, who worked in sales, to spend long hours sitting in traffic to visit clients. Even if he wanted to move to another place in Florida, he couldn’t afford it — real estate prices had climbed so much that even a humble starter home like his was most likely out of reach.

Such tales of trouble in paradise are common these days. An undisputed winner of the pandemic relocation boom, the Sunshine State lured millions of movers with its siren song of beaches, balmy weather, and absence of a state income tax. Now it’s nursing a hangover. Residents across the state are experiencing an affordability crisis, hurricane-fueled insurance nightmares, and eye-watering property tax bills. Net migration to Florida has plummeted from the heady days of 2022. Owners of aging condos can’t find willing buyers. Home prices just dropped by their biggest percentage in more than a decade, with economists and analysts projecting a prolonged slide in property values.

It’d be easy to dismiss these challenges as unique to the curious appendage on the continental US, but the state is actually a solid bellwether for the rest of the country. Other markets, like the Southwest and the rest of the Southeast, show similar signs of softening. Climate risks are no longer solely a concern for the coasts. And of course, no place is immune to the broad trends quashing homebuyers’ dreams: mortgage rates that refuse to drop, prices that remain well above their pre-pandemic level, and general hand-wringing over the economy. Florida isn’t some anomaly. In fact, it’s as if all the forces driving the country’s real estate market converged there and got cranked up to max volume.

Most people I spoke with for this story were still bullish on Florida in the long run — the state’s natural appeal hasn’t gone anywhere. But the comedown from the pandemic-era highs will be messy, and some may choose to dodge it altogether. That includes Janik, who in 2023 moved out of his home state to Hershey, Pennsylvania. He was happy to trade what he described as the “overdevelopment” of St. Augustine for cheaper real estate and mountain views. Even though he eventually got fed up with Florida, his financial windfall is a testament to the state’s wild arc over the past few years: He sold his property for $345,000, a stunning gain of 77% in less than a five-year span.

“I miss the beach. I miss my friends,” Janik tells me. But at the end of the day, he says, “It just doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

The recent turn in Florida’s housing market may sound complex, but it boils down to principles straight out of Econ 101: supply and demand.

First came the demand. With white-collar workers liberated from their office desks, baby boomers cruising into retirement, and a general desire for easy living sweeping over the country, Florida made for an obvious destination. Plus, it was pretty cheap, especially for city slickers tired of their shoebox apartments or cramped homes sitting on million-dollar lots. Between April 2020 and July 2024, Florida saw a net gain of roughly 1.8 million residents, according to Census Bureau estimates, consistently jockeying for the title of fastest-growing US state. Florida continued to welcome plenty of snowbirds, sure, but it also lured venture capitalists, crypto speculators, and pretty much anyone who was sick of COVID restrictions or was just chasing that “vacation” feel. As one Business Insider headline read in late 2023: “Young people are flocking to Florida.”

All those transplants needed places to live. The lower half of the US, otherwise known as the Sun Belt, has traditionally been a hotbed of home construction, helping keep prices in check despite the region’s population growth. But even by the Sun Belt’s development-friendly standards, builders in Florida were busy. They completed more than 760,000 new homes between April 2020 and July 2024, the census estimates, a nearly 8% increase in the state’s housing stock. Only five states saw bigger building booms on a percentage basis, though with the exception of Texas, all have far fewer residents than Florida. The Sunshine State is home to about 6.8% of the nation’s population, but it accounted for nearly 12% of new home construction permits issued last year, an analysis by Realtor.com found. In both Texas and Florida, homebuilding activity “got close to or exceeded subprime, crazy construction days,” Rick Palacios Jr., the director of research at John Burns Research and Consulting, tells me, referring to the heady times just before the 2008 collapse. But even the most ambitious builders couldn’t keep up with the influx of transplants, investors, and vacation-home buyers in Florida. As more people angled for homes, prices soared. According to data from the real estate search portal Redfin, the median home price in Florida peaked at $423,000 in April 2024, up 61% from the onset of the pandemic.Many of those fresh arrivals eventually soured on paradise, though: too hot, too expensive, or just not home. Even a vacation, it turns out, can get a little old. And when lots of new housing supply hits just as buyer demand is waning, the stage is set for prices to drop — just ask builders in Texas. Last year, I wrote about the cooling of the Austin market, where home prices are now down about 14% from their peak, per Redfin. In many ways, the story there is repeating itself in Florida: A bunch of people moved in, home prices shot up, and builders responded by putting tons of shovels in the ground. Then interest rates jumped, home loans got more expensive, and buyer demand hit the skids. Cue the price cuts.

“It just doesn’t feel like home anymore.

Zach Janik, former Florida resident

There are, of course, some more Florida-specific factors at play. Back-to-back hurricanes tore through its western coast late last year, adding to the existing home insurance quagmire. Premiums have skyrocketed in the past few years, and multiple home insurers have abandoned the state entirely. The average cost of home insurance in Florida climbed 45% from 2017 to 2022, according to an analysis by the Florida Policy Project. Steep HOA fees, along with the hefty insurance outlays, have made it difficult for owners of aging condo units to offload their properties. Florida has also lost some of its luster among US movers. Four of its biggest metros — Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale — were among the 10 areas around the country that saw the steepest dropoff in net domestic migration from 2023 to 2024, Redfin found.

So far, the about-face in Florida’s housing market has put only a small dent in headline property values. Sales prices in Florida are down roughly 3% from their high point in spring 2024, per Redfin — hardly even “correction” territory, let alone a bust. But Florida could still have a ways to fall. Builders and agents in Texas — where the pandemic frenzy has cooled off considerably — seem to have found an equilibrium, Cara Lavender, a senior research manager at John Burns, tells me. Sure, they’re selling fewer homes each month, but they’ve slashed prices enough that they’re able to keep things moving.

“It doesn’t feel like we’ve hit that point in Florida,” Lavender tells me. “They haven’t found the bottom.”

Parcl Labs, a real estate analytics firm, recently looked at the supply and demand dynamics in 42 metros around the country to deliver a “bullish” or “bearish” rating for each one — basically, whether they think prices will rise or fall over the next year. Miami and Jacksonville got positive ratings, but Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland, Deltona, North Port, and Cape Coral all got slapped with the bearish tag. The key in those places, Parcl’s CEO, Trevor Bacon, tells me, is the number of homes sitting on the market.

“There is a ton of supply,” Bacon tells me. “Like, a ridiculous amount of supply.”

Homebuilders are an optimistic bunch by nature, but even the ones in Florida are now saying they expect to end the year down slightly on their prices. “For a builder to even report in a survey that they’re going to be negative year over year on pricing is incredibly meaningful,” Lavender says. During a call with analysts in late March, Jon Jaffe, the president and co-CEO of Lennar, one of the country’s largest builders, said buyers in Florida and Texas generally needed more help than those in most other places around the country. Builders in the state are dropping prices, lending a hand on closing costs, and chipping in thousands of dollars to help buyers get lower mortgage rates, all in an effort to keep sales moving. Even then, Jaffe said, the company didn’t see the typical pickup in nationwide sales that usually comes with the start of the spring selling season.

I’ve found that real estate agents, like builders, tend to see the sunny side of things — after all, it’s pretty much their job to preach the gospel of homeownership even when the market is less than accommodating. But when I talked to Laurie Rose, a real estate agent and longtime resident of Naples, in southwest Florida, she was clear-eyed about the challenges facing buyers in her chosen state. Rose and her husband moved down from New Jersey in 2003, mostly for the weather. For a while, it felt like the move was paying off: Gas was cheaper, and groceries didn’t stretch their budget. The lack of a state income tax kept more dollars in their pockets. Now everything is more expensive, she says, including everyday items like food and clothing. On the plus side, home values are way up since she and her husband bought their place. But even if they sold, she says, there’s no way she could buy back into the area in which she’s now living. Rose still says Florida is a “great place to live,” but the state’s natural draws aren’t always enough to keep people there. She tells me several of her friends have recently moved to Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas in search of the cheaper living that Florida once promised.

Sellers have been caught up in this thing of, ‘I can put whatever price I want on my home, and someone’s going to buy it. Now all of a sudden they’re going: ‘Oh, crap.’

Rose’s work as a real estate agent has also given her a front-row seat to the mounting challenges for both sellers and buyers in Florida. Buyers are leery of all the costs that come with homeownership — not just the higher mortgage rates and steep sticker prices that have eaten into affordability, but also the insurance premiums, property taxes, and HOA fees. With more homes sitting on the market and prices starting to drop from last year, there’s no rush among buyers to get in on the action. Sellers, meanwhile, will have to come to grips with this new state of play if they want to get their properties sold.

“Sellers have been caught up in this thing of, ‘I can put whatever price I want on my home, and someone’s going to buy it,'” Rose said, “Now all of a sudden they’re going: ‘Oh, crap. People aren’t buying, and people aren’t even looking.'”

his isn’t just a Florida story. Large-scale housing trends often obscure the quirks that make each local market unique, Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, tells me, but Florida offers a neat microcosm of the national numbers. Around the country, supply is back up to levels we haven’t seen since the start of the pandemic, handing more power to buyers who now have the luxury of choice (provided they can afford it). Homes are sitting on the market longer, and sellers are coming around to the fact that they’ll have to cut asking prices if they want to see some offers. The softness in Florida’s market appears to be spreading to the rest of the Southeast and Southwest, where metros such as Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, and Raleigh now show negative prices year over year in John Burns’ data.

“The Southeast and the Southwest aren’t as weak as Texas and Florida right now, but they could very well be on their way there if supply continues to increase and buyer demand stays where it is,” Lavender tells me.

I want to be clear that the sky isn’t falling here. The pandemic-era frenzy couldn’t last forever, and a pullback in demand was to be expected given just how many people bought and sold homes before rates went up in 2022. If builders hadn’t delivered all that supply to Florida over the past few years, the affordability picture there would be all the more dire. Just look at the Midwest and the Northeast, where fewer homes were built and the supply remains tight. They may not be seeing a drop in prices now, but that means buyers aren’t getting any relief, either.

Florida’s growth during the pandemic was “unsustainable,” Nelson Stabile, a principal and cofounder of the Miami-based development firm Integra Investments, tells me. But he’s still a staunch believer in the state’s future.

“I think we’re at a healthy pace now, and I think the whole country has woken up to the fact that Florida is not just a retirement destination,” Stabile tells me. “It’s a place where folks can raise their families, where they can have an incredible quality of life. Is it perfect? No. But is it better than most areas? Probably, yes.”Keith Poliakoff, a real estate attorney in Florida, is similarly bullish on his state. But he also says other states should learn lessons from Florida’s saga — to cut red tape that gets in the way of building affordable housing, as the state legislature recently did through the Live Local Act, and strengthen building codes to withstand climate disasters.

“Florida generally hits the wave before the rest of the country,” Poliakoff tells me. “It’s a good indicator of what’s to come.”

Article Link: Trouble in Florida’s real estate paradise
Author: James Rodriguez

Live Local developers eye outcome of civil lawsuits and latest bill

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Florida Legislature unanimously passed developer-friendly amendments to the workforce housing law

Florida lawmakers recently strengthened the Live Local Act’s state control over municipalities, aiming to crack down on cities and counties that try to block applications filed under the workforce housing law.

The amendments, unanimously approved by the House and Senate, which now await Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, are geared toward encouraging more Live Local Act projects. While significant, some experts say that developers are waiting for the pending outcome of civil litigation with cities that have denied or held up applications. How the judges in these cases interpret the law will likely set precedents that developers and cities will rely on.

Among the cases is Whitman Family Development’s ongoing suit against Bal Harbour, filed in early 2024.

Attorney Keith Poliakoff of the Fort Lauderdale-based Government Law Group said he believes “there will be an immediate onslaught” in applications submitted if the owner of Bal Harbour Shops is successful in its lawsuit against the village. Poliakoff is not involved in the litigation.

“A lot of developers are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if the test cases are successful before taking that risk and shelling out a million dollars,” Poliakoff said, referring to the cost of putting together and submitting an application that meets all the requirements.

Poliakoff represents Condra Property Group, a developer that’s suing the city of Hollywood over what it alleges is an illegal denial of its application for a 17-story tower with workforce housing.

Live Local, enacted in 2023, incentivizes developers that set aside at least 40 percent of their residential units for workforce housing. It provides developers with major tax breaks, density and height bonuses, and reductions or eliminations of parking requirements. It mandates that local municipalities may not restrict the height of a proposed project below the tallest currently allowed commercial or residential building within 1 mile of the project.

The latest bill Poliakoff said, “still does not resolve issues municipalities are using to their advantage.”

Live Local 3.0

Live Local requires cities and counties to administratively approve applications for such projects, in some cases bypassing city and county boards and stripping them of their authority.

The amendments are geared toward helping developers get their applications approved faster to ultimately create more workforce housing.

The latest tweaks direct the courts to prioritize Live Local lawsuits over others, and cap attorneys fees at $250,000. They also reduce parking requirements by 15 percent, up from 10 percent, require local municipalities to approve Live Local projects on land owned by religious institutions, and allow developers to include adjacent land in their projects. In a blow to preservationists, lawmakers also approved changes that will require only administrative approval of demolitions in historic districts. That creates a threat to areas like Miami Beach’s Art Deco district and weakens the city’s historic preservation board.

The state is also looking to track Live Local projects and related lawsuits. Beginning Nov. 1, 2026, local governments will be required to provide annual reports to the state with summaries of Live Local-related litigation and the status of those lawsuits, and a list of projects proposed and approved with details about the projects, including the number of workforce housing units and the targeted household incomes.

City vs. state

Dozens of applications for Live Local projects have been submitted across South Florida since 2023, and many cities are processing applications. Some developers are now getting their projects approved and listing their sites for sale with the added values, while others, like the Related Group, are expanding affordable housing developments with Live Local.

Only a few municipalities have engaged in a public battle over their interpretations of the law and local zoning codes. In its lawsuit filed in January against the city of Hollywood, Condra alleges that the city delayed approving the project at 2115 North Ocean Drive as Hollywood tried to change the law’s height provisions. The project, planned to include 282 condos and apartments, would set aside 40 percent of the units for tenants earning at or below 120 percent of the area median income. In Broward, the AMI is $89,100; 120 percent of that is $106,920.

Condra used the similar height of nearby Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. The city said that Margaritaville is not an allowable height benchmark because the building is in a governmental use zone, and projects in these zones are approved “through a specialized process,” according to its rejection letter. The city, in its counterclaim, also said that Condra’s application did not meet Live Local’s requirements.

The lawsuit is pending, and the first deposition is scheduled for Wednesday.

In Bal Harbour, Whitman Family Development sued the village early last year over Bal Harbour failing to process its application — and then, in an amended complaint —  over the village denying its application, according to the lawsuit, filed by attorney John Shubin of Miami-based Shubin Law Group.

Whitman submitted plans under Live Local to build up to 275-foot-tall towers at the 18-acre Bal Harbour Shops property. The project would include 528 condos and apartments, with 40 percent set aside for workforce rental housing. The tax credits, additional height and density are all “meaningful,” said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, president and CEO of Whitman Family Development.

Lazenby said the latest round of amendments “improves the language” of the law, but noted the “enforceability gap” if cities don’t comply. He said the village’s recent construction noise ordinance is an example of the retaliatory efforts Bal Harbour has taken, causing up to a year’s delay in construction that will cost Whitman more money in the long run.

“The impact to us is astronomical,” he said. “Most would-be litigants frankly don’t have the capacity to spend millions of dollars to get the government to do what they should have done from the beginning.”

Article Link: Live Local developers eye outcome of civil lawsuits and latest bill

Florida Escalates Fight For Workforce Housing Authority

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The Sunshine State’s latest Live Local Act update strengthens zoning preemptions and adds legal muscle, at odds with city governments that invoke home rule protections to resist affordable housing mandates.

After rents and home prices surged during the pandemic, Florida responded in 2023 by passing a law dubbed the Live Local Act to boost affordable workforce housing development with a state funding pipeline of over $700 million.

Although some development projects secured access to the funds, local governments have thwarted efforts when they have been able, peeved that the state overrode local zoning to allow affordable multifamily in areas zoned for other uses.

Obstructionist local municipal efforts have been buoyed by a “not in my backyard” crowd opposed to denser housing.

This tension — pitting state-level initiatives against local forces of resistance — is playing out nationwide as communities grapple with how to provide affordable housing for essential workers while balancing local preferences and planning priorities.

Meanwhile, would-be urban and infill developers don’t have much say in the outcomes of these power struggles. They can either wait on the sidelines – with significant entitlement costs at risk – or step into the fray, where they can get caught in the crossfire.

Florida lawmakers just passed a third update to their Live Local Act. The latest version of the law adopts a more aggressive approach than changes made the prior year, aimed at removing roadblocks. This year’s version closes loopholes that local governments exploited to deny projects and expanded tax exemptions, particularly those on missing-middle housing projects.

Keith Poliakoff, an attorney with Fort Lauderdale law firm Government Law Group, called the legislation Live Local 3.0.

It’s not the final version of Live Local, because it’s still going to be met with major resistance, where municipalities are going to still say, ‘I don’t know what this law means,’” Poliakoff said. The new law, however, is “another attempt to tell municipalities this is a state mandate that you must follow.”

The law clarified provisions in the existing law.

They also added some additional locations where you can build workforce housing as of right,” Poliakoff said. “And they finally put in a term requiring expediting lawsuits. It allows the winner to get up to $250,000 back in attorney fees.”

Live Local Act’s Intent

Rents and home prices had risen rapidly during the pandemic because of a flood of new residents who had moved into the state. Rent growth in some cities frequently had the highest rent growth in the country.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law in March 2023 to increase workforce rental housing and help workers buy homes.

“We want people to live in the community where they are working,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the time. And he was particularly focused on teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, and service workers.

He noted that the state’s cities and counties need those workers, but it’s difficult to attract them if they must drive an hour or more to work daily.

Local governments were required to allow multifamily and mixed-use residential projects on sites zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use if at least 40% of the residential units are affordable for 30 years to those earning up to 120% of the area median income.

For mixed-use projects, at least 65% of the total square footage must be used for residential purposes, and the 40% affordable component must be rental units.

Meanwhile, rent growth has slowed considerably because of record-high development. Housing prices have come down, too, because of supply, but also because of higher interest rates putting a chill on buyer interest. Hot markets have turned cold.

Still, the need for affordable housing persists and some projects have managed to get funded. In December, commercial real estate media site Bisnow found that 45 projects across the state received funding since that law first passed. However, 30 of them were existing and received rescue capital to keep them going.

Battling Local Governments

After Live Local’s initial rollout, local governments found ways to kill projects.

“We believe this needs to go to a public hearing,” Poliakoff said of local government thinking. “We don’t understand in the legislation what the word density means. That’s a confusing term. The word height, I’ve never heard that term before. What is FAR (floor area ratio)? That’s a new one.”

In 2024, amendments sought to close loopholes and strengthen the law’s preemption of local zoning, density, and height restrictions for qualifying affordable and mixed-use housing developments.

Changes also included permitting units in a mixed-use project to be for-sale, market-rate units, opening the door to mixed-income developments with condominiums and workforce rental products, and clarifying density bonuses.

Under the original law, qualifying projects with at least 40% of units set aside as affordable for 30 years were permitted at the highest currently allowed density for residential use anywhere in the municipality or county, as defined by local land development regulations.

The 2024 changes explicitly state that the Live Local Act does not preclude projects from also receiving local development bonuses for density, height, or floor area ratio if they qualify under local rules. If a Live Local project qualifies for a local bonus (for example, it provides additional affordable units or donates land), the bonus must be approved administratively, and no further action by local boards or commissions is required.

Those changes still didn’t deter local governments. “We don’t know what a bonus is,” Poliakoff. “We don’t know what a variance is. We don’t know what a special exception is, and it’s now led to more and more litigation concerning what the Act requires.”

Before the 2024 revisions, Whitman Family Development, owner of Bel Harbour Shops in ritzy Bel Harbour village, sued last January, claiming the village isn’t complying with the Live Local Act.

The developer alleged that the village was attempting to scuttle a plan to override local zoning and build 600 luxury residential units, 70 hotel rooms, and more than 45,000 square feet of retail space. To qualify for Live Local, 40% of the units would be workforce housing. It would be five times higher than Bal Harbour’s current height restrictions if built.

Bal Harbour is fighting the lawsuit but lost a bid last September to have the lawsuit dismissed. In November, the village denied the developer’s application based on a technical review. The conclusion was that the village’s height and use prohibitions were unaffected by the Live Local Act.

Poliakoff sued the city of Hollywood in January on behalf of Condra Property Group after the denial of its proposed beachfront 17-story mixed-use tower that included affordable housing. The city said it would be too tall.

The developer argues it should be allowed because the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, opened in 2015, rises 18 stories, and that set the benchmark. Both sides argue that the other has misinterpreted the provisions of the Live Local Act.

Poliakoff said the “reality is, these municipalities are not going to win their cases.”

The fights will continue, however. Fort Lauderdale may be typical of the angst among neighborhood advocates and politicians over the Live Local Act mandates.

Community meetings earlier this year reportedly were testy, with anger-filled comments. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Deal Trantalis told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the Live Local law doesn’t work for Fort Lauderdale or any city.

(State legislators) have violated our home rule by taking away our ability to enforce our local zoning laws,” Trantalis said.

That comment mirrors what local government officials, from California to North Carolina, have said when states have passed laws to preempt local zoning.

Battles will continue to rage as state governments try staunching NIMBYism to make housing development easier and more plentiful, leading to more affordable housing that addresses a national – and local – shortage.

Much of it will play out in courts. That, of course, will take time and impede urgently needed progress toward developing new workforce housing in the Sunshine State.

Article Link: Florida Escalates Fight For Workforce Housing Authority
Author: Richard Lawson

Pinnacle advances 196-unit Live Local affordable housing project in Fort Lauderdale

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Developer plans 96 workforce units at Pinnacle at Cypress, along with 100 units for seniors

Pinnacle Housing Group and its partners advanced its plan to build a 196-unit Live Local Act affordable housing complex with separate buildings for seniors and workforce tenants in Fort Lauderdale’s Cypress Creek area.

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission last week approved a $640,000 loan commitment to help the Miami-based developer finance construction of 96 rent-controlled, workforce housing units for the second phase of its Pinnacle at Cypress project.

The city’s loan is contingent on Pinnacle qualifying for an allocation of 9 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Florida Housing Finance Corp. which the company would provide to institutional investors in phase two of the Pinnacle at Cypress development.

Last year, the city commission approved a contingent $640,000 loan for phase one of Pinnacle at Cypress, which will be 100 apartments for seniors. But Pinnacle subsequently failed to qualify for a 2024 allocation of 9 percent tax credits. Last week, the commission reassigned the $640,000 loan commitment to phase two of the affordable housing development.

Though Pinnacle did not obtain 9 percent low-income housing tax credits last year, the developer landed other types of financing for phase one of Pinnacle at Cypress, including a State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL). In addition, “We’ve gotten a bond inducement from the Broward County Housing Finance Authority, and we’re in the process of applying now for some additional Broward County gap financing,” Timothy Wheat, a partner of Pinnacle, told The Real Deal.

The developer will break ground in the first quarter of 2026 for construction of 100 affordable apartments for seniors in phase one, Wheat said. Pinnacle will complete construction of the two-phased development in June 2028, according to a conceptual timeline the developer submitted to the city.

The total cost of the development is nearly $90 million, he said.

Eligibility to become a tenant of Pinnacle at Cypress is based on area median income. On average, tenants of the senior and workforce housing units will earn 60 percent of AMI. AMI is $81,900, according to the Broward Housing Council.

Pinnacle is led by partners Louis Wolfson III, David Deutch, Wheat and Coraly Rodriguez and Hugo Pacanins.

The 1.8-acre site of Pinnacle at Cypress at 6250 North Andrews Avenue is owned by Poliakoff Becker & Strietfeld LLP, led by Fort Lauderdale attorney Keith M. Poliakoff. He said that he and other owners of the site entered a partnership with Pinnacle to develop the affordable housing complex.

Poliakoff also said the development at Cypress Creek will qualify for streamlined city approval by city staff under the state’s Live Local Act, which encourages commercial-industrial multifamily developments with an affordable housing component in areas not zoned for residential property.

“This development will move much quicker than other affordable deals, because it generally does not require board approvals,” Poliakoff said.

Article Link: Pinnacle advances 196-unit Live Local affordable housing project in Fort Lauderdale
Author: Mike Seemuth