WEST PALM BEACH, FL-It takes a lot of confidence to plan a $100-million project in this challenging real estate environment, and local developer Hank Thomas has an abundance of optimism. His mixed-use project will be part of Dania Beach's planned city center and is to include a 130-room hotel, four buildings with about 180 rental apartments and approximately 20,000 square feet of retail space.

"Real estate is very local, and the location of this project is absolutely incredible," Thomas says Thomas, president and CEO of Green Hill Development. "Downtown Dania Beach is a mile away from the seaport and the airport. These are both huge employment centers and there is a huge demand for rental apartments right now."

Thomas says he is confident this city center will not fail like those attempted by other South Florida cities. Margate, Pembroke Pines, Miramar and Coconut Creek have invested millions of dollars in planning, assembling land and building downtown projects that are now mostly vacant or only partially completed.

Dania Beach's proximity to two major transportation hubs and the fact that it's a smaller scale project set it apart from other similar projects, Thomas claims. The rental units will target a mix of income levels and will include work force housing, he says.

"Our target market is employee-based -- county and city employees and the 40,000 to 50,000 employees who work at the port and at the airport and have to commute every day," Thomas says. His firm is negotiating with another local company to build some apartment units as affordable housing.

The project is planned for five acres on Dania Beach Boulevard west of Federal Highway. The city of Dania Beach owns four of those acres, while Green Hill owns the remaining acre.

Green Hill is leasing the city's portion of the site for $1 a year. Lease terms for the various parcels are for 49 years, with three 10-year lease options. The city also awarded Green Hill a $6-million contract to build a county branch library, a 495-space garage and a city hall that is expected to cost about $3 million.

Broward County is contributing about $3.1 million and the city is using a bond voters approved three years ago to contribute another $3 million. Dania Beach's city commission approved the project in late November.

Green Hill recently broke ground on phase one, which includes the library and garage, and expects to be finished by the end of the year. Thomas plans to break ground on the second phase, which will include the hotel, some of the 180 residential units and a portion of the retail space, in early 2011. That component is to be completed within two to three years. A third phase would include the remaining apartment units and addition retail space. The entire project is to be completed in about five to six years.

Thomas is launching the first stage of his project at a time when other developers are retrenching because of limited financing and weak demand for new residences and retail space. He has no construction financing in place for the project, but says his company is well capitalized and has taken on partners to help fund the development: "We have very high net-worth partners and we can self fund this project out of pocket if we need to."