Icon Las Olas Tower - Impact on Downtown Fort Lauderdale? (Kendall: real estate, apartment)

[JohnD_fla]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

What bubble?

Are you serious? Many of those people over there who are showing off themselves and pretending to be wealthy don't really have any money. They are way over-extended and living on credit. All that it would take to ruin them completely is another big political crisis or another war overseas that makes the banks jittery. Take a look at what's going on out there beyond the USA. How far away do you really think we are from major crises?

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by JohnD_fla

Are you serious? Many of those people over there who are showing off themselves and pretending to be wealthy don't really have any money. They are way over-extended and living on credit. All that it would take to ruin them completely is another big political crisis or another war overseas that makes the banks jittery. Take a look at what's going on out there beyond the USA. How far away do you really think we are from major crises?

I was referring to a housing bubble. Not the general market. Current housing prices are supported by fundamentals, meaning supply and demand, compared to back in 2008. We haven't had any new construction since pre-2008, so supply is tighter relative to demand. Also, lending practices are much more stringent since 2008.

What preceded the '08 crash was years of easy lending to people for houses they couldn't afford based on prices going up forever. Shady lending practices, balloon loans, and other ticking time bomb instruments that basically were a recipe for disaster. Then those people borrowed against their homes to buy big SUV's. There was also a massive construction boom based on speculation that the market would keep rising forever.

None of those negative conditions exist today. So I do not believe we are in a real estate market bubble. The bubble you describe is with cheap auto loans, credit cards, and low interest rates. But nothing has really changed for years with credit cards. The current bubble is really auto loans.

As far as a major crisis, that could be said about any point in time. When the British were coming, War of 1812, Civil War, WW2, or during the Cuban Missile Crisis were far greater crisis threats than what we have now. Yes the economy could tank, but when has that ever not been the case?

[Papillons2]

I am not, nor have I ever been, connected to a downtown project aside from working for more than 20 years for a business that was based on Las Olas Boulevard for most of my career there.

When I moved here in 1987, downtown Fort Lauderdale was dowdy and tired. There were a few 25-story office buildings and little else. People came to work in the morning and left at 5 or 6 p.m., leaving a vacuum behind. There was no residential development, only a handful of restaurants, virtually no nightlife. Without the downtown workforce, weekends were even deader. Las Olas was just as attractive then as now, with many nice shops, but it was mainly populated by society matrons and elderly tourists. It rolled up the sidewalks at 5 p.m., like the rest of downtown.

Things started to pop around 1990 with the building of a few office towers. Then came the performing arts center and a new and expanded Museum of Science and Discovery just west of downtown. Restaurants and night spots started opening on Las Olas (my favorite was O'Hara's for jazz; I still lament its passing). Residential development, with the high-rise condos and apartments we see now, was in the planning stages. The arrow was pointing up.

And that general direction has continued, even though there has been trouble both far from and close to home over the years -- wars in the Middle East, the dot-com bubble, soaring (and then falling) oil prices, hurricanes, skyrocketing property insurance rates and taxes, several local real estate bubbles and an all-out crash in 2008, followed by the Great Recession. But even with a few down periods along the way, the downtown growth trajectory has been steady over the long term.

And I believe it will continue to be. Yes, there's more traffic and more people downtown. Urban planners need to be vigilant and proactive in dealing with what future growth will bring. But would I trade the downtown of today and the future for what I saw in 1987? No, thank you. Others obviously feel differently; I respect that and hope we can simply agree to disagree.

So, MrKnight, I am on your side in this one. Not that I don't get nostalgic over a few things, of course. Don't know if you researched the history of the Icon site, but I do miss the Hyde Park Market that used to be there until the late '90s. It wasn't accurate to call it a supermarket because it was about half the size of a typical modern-day Publix, but the employees and service were first-rate. When I worked down the street and had a break, I'd occasionally grab a sandwich to go from the deli, as did many of my co-workers. With the location steps away from the New River, it wasn't unusual for shoppers to arrive by boat -- something I'd never seen at a grocery store.

[Papillons2]

Posted this breaking news item in the Las Olas Riverfront thread, but also seems relevant here:

1,200 apartments proposed to replace struggling Las Olas Riverfront - Sun Sentinel

[BNBR]

I think it's a great idea. I'd love to see a lot more urban growth in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. It's exciting and fun to have that city vibe so close by.

I really like what is happening in Broward, especially the development of the downtown area by Sawgrass, like Metropica.