Il Lugano – A Community Anchor

IL LUGANO ON THE INTRACOASTAL

The Village at Galt Ocean Mile is a wide-paved, landscaped neighborhood filled with cafés and upscale boutiques. For years, the commercial district located between A1A and the intracoastal just north of Oakland Park Boulevard, evolved through multiple incarnations. Trendy restaurants opened and closed overnight. Curio shops, nail salons, thrift shops, popular night clubs and nostalgia-style antique merchants seemed to ride a revolving treadmill of intermittent success. Galt Mile residents responded to the community motto, “Patronize Galt Merchants!” Unfortunately, one couldn’t know whether a particular merchant would still be there for a second visit. Despite the area’s ever-changing composition, the eclectic combination of shops attracted visitors from all over the city. The Galt Mile Community Association attempted to find a formula that would bring stability to the neighborhood’s ephemeral identity. The area desperately needed some substantial enterprises to serve as anchors for the artsy establishments. Enter: The City’s Beach Community Center. The Center is a fantastic magnet for locals interested in classes and workshops in Taikwondo, computers, health, art and dozens of other disciplines. It serves as a meeting place for civic and neighborhood organizations. It’s also a terrific facility for business conventions and meetings. Unfortunately, the closest “appropriate” quarters for business travelers or visiting politicians are on Federal Highway or about 2 miles north on A1A. The community was still missing a critical piece of its “master plan” puzzle - a top-notch short and extended stay condominium/hotel. That piece is no longer missing.

IL LUGANO at 34th STREET

Developer Robert M. Couf spent the past few years diagnosing the Galt Mile’s “community planning” dilemma. Chairman of Fort Lauderdale-based Cartage, Inc, Couf has extensive experience with resort projects - both in the United States and the Caribbean - having built master-planned residential communities and mixed-used commercial properties. Realizing that a standard hotel would only address part of the neighborhood’s needs, he investigated cutting edge alternatives with the ingredients necessary to guarantee the area’s future stability. Couf’s unique prescription for the community was a condominium hotel residence catering to both business travelers and vacationers. The condominium hotel residence concept, which is becoming increasingly popular with both the business and leisure markets, combines the amenities of home with the management and convenience of a major hotel brand.

Barely heard-of just a decade ago, condominium hotels have recently become a hot concept in the hotel industry, with new construction now outpacing more traditional hotel accommodations. As this new phenomenon addresses a long-ignored need for flexibility in the hospitality industry, every major hotel chain is committing substantial resources to participate in this niche. To explain the formula components of his project, Couf summarized, “By having a world-class hotel management team, which emphasizes high quality and guest satisfaction, a prime waterfront location and the appeals of ‘The Village’, the hotel will attract residents and guests who want to visit and live in this desirable location.”

BRISTOL CONDOMINIUM in Miami

With the “vehicle” ascertained, Couf enlisted the services of a prominent Florida design legacy, Revuelta Vega Leon. An architectural group with a rich history in the South Florida area, Revuelta Vega Leon P.A. has been involved with several multi-million dollar projects located within historic districts such as South Beach (the 17 story Il Villaggio Condominiums) and the Brickell area in Miami (the 51 story Santa Maria Condominium, the 40 story Bristol Tower Condominium). In Fort Lauderdale, they designed La Rive at 525 Bayshore Drive and Alhambra Place at 209 N Birch Road.

The ATLANTIC on Fort Lauderdale Beach

Couf also secured the talents of Lynn Wilson Associates International, a world renowned 5 Star Interior Design firm based in Miami (116 Alhambra Circle) with affiliated offices in Paris, Los Angeles and Costa Rica. Her design credits include Queen Elizabeth’s Windlesham Moore Estate in Ascot, England, the Al-Bustan and Princeton Hotels for His Royal Highness Sheikh Hamden Maktoum in the United Arab Emirates and Taj Mahal in India. Prestigious local references include the Biltmore and Boca Raton Hotels, the Grove Isle Hotel & Club in Coconut Grove and the Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach. Along with Il Lugano, they count the Regent South Beach at 1458 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach and the Atlantic on Fort Lauderdale beach among the condominium hotels in their portfolio.

Local merchants, having seen the city put “its wallet where its mouth is” in the Beach Community Center, followed the city’s lead. Upscale restaurants and shops also put resources into renovation and expansion. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), while recently upgrading the entire southeast traffic access to the “Village”, adorned adjacent streets with pavered crosswalks, new landscaping and new traffic signals. When Couf revealed his plan, community redevelopment slipped into high gear. The prospect of a high-end condominium hotel across from the Community Center elicited a tidal wave of local support. It whizzed through Planning and Zoning despite an anti-development political environment. The Galt Ocean Shoppes neighborhood – “The Village” - a target destination for shoppers, strollers and tourists, was being prepared to provide serious competition to Las Olas Boulevard.

IL LUGANO IN THE GALT OCEAN VILLAGE

The 14-story Il Lugano Condominium Hotel, a $70 million waterfront property, offers 24 residential units and 105 condominium residential hotel suites. Resort style amenities include complimentary breakfasts on the waterfront, a 24-hour attended reception area, concierge, maid service, valet parking, business and conference facilities, on-site sundry shop, a state-of-the-art fitness center, an oversized 60’ lap pool, and deep-sea fishing excursions departing from Il Lugano’s dock on the intracoastal. For the buyer who prefers to come-and-go via water, twelve 50’ boat slip are also being offered for sale, available to purchasers of Il Lugano’s private residences. Il Lugano’s condominium hotel units will offer spacious suites with 9-foot ceilings, individual washer/dryers and high-end design kitchens with European style cabinetry, granite countertops, glass ceramic cooktops, full refrigerators, Kohler faucets, dishwashers, microwaves, and food waste disposals. Units sport large glass-balconied living rooms, marble baths, cable TV, wireless and high speed internet access. Of course, theatre size full-service meeting facilities are conveniently available directly across the street at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Community Center. Less than a 5-minute stroll (two-minute ride) to the world-class Galt Mile beach, it should easily monopolize local business travel and attract other high-end leisure visitors. “The intent is to provide residents and guests with a neighborhood experience. A shuttle to the beach will run all day, and water taxis to downtown Fort Lauderdale will leave from our dock. It’s exceptional in terms of location and convenience,” states developer Couf. Construction is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2006.

The concept invites residents to partner with the existing development team through the purchase of condominium units. On nights when the suite is not occupied by the purchaser, it can revert to abetting the hotel’s room inventory, returning substantial investment income to the owner. Owing to the development team’s strong track record, the project’s high-end design, and positive market factors that include a trend toward condominium hotel residence accommodations and Fort Lauderdale’s robust real estate environment, assorted business professionals and corporations have already gobbled up more than 50% of units.

The floor plans are flexible and can be connected to satisfy a need for larger accommodations. Prices allow for a wide range of participation, starting at $275,000 for residential hotel suites, $785,000 for private condominium residences. The Sales Center is located at 3432 N Ocean Boulevard (A1A) in Fort Lauderdale. From I-95 exit Oakland Park Blvd., east to A1A. At A1A make a left (north) to 34^th Street. The Sales Center is on the right (east side) just north of 34^th Street and is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sundays from 11am to 5pm.

Click To Top of Page