Kushner plans 4 high-rise towers in downtown Fort Lauderdale

New downtown skyscrapers are spreading west along Broward Boulevard, with another mammoth project in the pipeline to be developed by New York-based Kushner Cos., owned in part by the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.

The Broward Crossing project would bring 1,300 apartments plus offices and shops to the south side of Broward Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale, across the street from the Brightline station and the coming joint governmental campus that will serve both Broward County and Fort Lauderdale.

The spread westward signals more growth in a city that its leaders rank among the top destinations in America. But it also fuels a debate about growing traffic gridlock and a need for more green space downtown.

The Fort Lauderdale project follows several other Kushner projects in Wynwood and Edgewater in Miami, the company says its on its website.

The company was founded by Charles Kushner, father to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.

It’s too early to say whether the units will be condos or apartments, said Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer.

“That decision has not been made,” she said. “We know they will be mixed use. And mixed use is appropriate for this area.”

Will the market support all these extra units in Fort Lauderdale?

The developer thinks so, based on the influx of out-of-towners flooding the market, says Mayor Dean Trantalis.

“Fort Lauderdale is attracting people from the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Southern California, Texas and the Midwest. Chicago. Detroit. Ohio.”

The Kushner project is just another sign of the evolution of a growing downtown, the mayor said.

“It will completely transform that area of Broward Boulevard, and it will be a welcoming landmark,” Trantalis said. “Once this project is complete we’ll be able to see a downtown that is more inviting and adds to the commercial and social mix of a community that is unmatched by any city anywhere in Florida. Even Miami.”

Another ‘statement’ project

The final design is still being worked out, but Trantalis does not expect it to be boring based on the concepts he’s seen so far.

“I’ve seen a rendering that shows towers that are curvy at the bottom,” he said. “The city welcomes creative developers who want to be adventuresome and want to build a signature product. We’ve seen too many examples of boring designs.”

Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes the proposed Kushner towers, says there’s continuing interest in the Fort Lauderdale area for upscale housing.

“We know the market is hot,” Glassman said. “We know that anecdotally and by sales.”

The Kushner project will serve as another signature project helping frame downtown, Glassman said. He pointed to the joint government campus as another example of what’s to come.

“We’re framing out all of the entrances to the city,” he said. “We’re making all these statement projects at critical gateways to the city.”

Some who live nearby worry the new towers will only bring more gridlock, congestion and crowding.

That includes downtown resident Leann Barber.

“My view on this is that development is going to happen, but with increased density you need to have increased green space,” said Barber, president of the Flagler Village Civic Association. “I’m not opposed to development because I think it’s inevitable. I just want the green space.”

Christian Garay, president of the Sailboat Bend Civic Association, seconds that.

“We do need more parks, especially if we’re going to grow at this pace,” Garay said.

Like Barber, Garay is not opposed to development. Futuristic towers like the ones Kushner Cos. is planning will bring more attention to Fort Lauderdale as one of the nation’s major cities.

“I was reading that the rent is now higher in Fort Lauderdale than it is in Miami,” Garay said. “And I think it’s because of the desire people have to live here.”

But with growth comes gridlock, Garay said.

“As you bring in all these cars, people aren’t going to walk,” Garay said. “They’re going to drive or take an Uber. Either way, you’re going to have more gridlock out there.”

That gridlock may just help get people out of their cars.

“By creating density you establish that critical mass of population that’s necessary to support the variety of lifestyle amenities that you cannot sustain with a smaller, more dispersed population,” Trantalis said. “As long as you can find ways to keep people out of their cars and encourage them to walk to the grocery store and places of interest, then you’ve succeeded in establishing a lifestyle that everyone benefits from.”

Opening date: End of 2024?

There’s no completion date yet for the four-tower project, but it’s likely a few years away.

“When the final approval of the rezoning is done, the plan is to start immediately working on the architecture and development of the site,” Toothaker said. “Usually it takes a year to develop the site plan. Then it’s usually an 18 month build.”

Kushner has already gotten preliminary approval from the Fort Lauderdale commission for more intense zoning on two of three parcels, helping pave the way for the 4.2-acre project. Final approval for the rezoning of the parcels at 200 and 300 West Broward Boulevard is expected in the coming weeks, but approval of the site plan is months away. Rezoning of the parcel at 520 West Broward Boulevard would likely come later.

The mayor says this could be just the beginning of Kushner Cos.’ interest in Fort Lauderdale.

“We appreciate the Kushner family looking to Fort Lauderdale to invest,” he said. “And this is just the beginning of their investment in our community. They are bringing not only their own dollars, but they continue to draw attention to our city so that other developers are also looking to Fort Lauderdale to bring new designs and new standards of living and a new quality of life.”

Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka paid $30 million in December for a plot of land in exclusive Indian Creek, a guarded and gated island north of Miami Beach. The village is known as “Billionaires’ Bunker” for its affluent residents, including quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen, business tycoon Carl Icahn, real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer and supermodel Adriana Lima.

Jared Kushner stepped down as CEO of Kushner Cos. when he began working in the White House as senior adviser to Trump, yet retained a substantial ownership stake in the company.

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554 or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan