City Picks Amera Affiliate for Potential $260 Mil Development

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-Broward Barron Inc. has won the right to negotiate the acquisition an 18-acre parcel of city-owned land which could become the keystone to a 55-acre mixed-use office, retail and hotel project with a buildout value of about $260 million.

The affiliate of Coral Springs, FL-based Amera Corp., a company controlled by commercial developer George Rahael, beat out two other competitive bids for the right to redevelop the site at Interstate 95 and Broward Boulevard, Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s primary traffic artery.

In a 3-2 vote, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission approved the Broward Barron proposal over a city staff-recommended plan submitted by Novi, MI-based Crosswinds Communities Inc., which proposed a mixed-used residential project on the site. Another plans submitted by Broward Development, which proposed construction of government facilities, ranked third.