The builder was to pay $1 million a year rent on the land, going up to $2 million a year as construction proceeded at the rate of 100,000 sf a year.
Swerdlow blames political infighting for his failure to proceed. One published report says the cost to the county of repaying Swerdlow for the rent and taxes, as well as what he has spent on preliminaries to actually building, could go as high as $10 million.
For the moment, the county has walked away from the negotiations. Further clouding the project's future is Hollywood's complaint that it had not been notified first before Broward acted against the developer.
The city contends it has rights to develop the land itself or collect more than $10 million should Swerdlow default on his lease.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
