Originally a marine fuel station on the Intracoastal Waterway in the 1950s, the landmark Pier Sixty-Six property will soon enter a new era as a marina resort and high-end residential enclave. Closed since Hurricane Irma damaged its structure in 2017, the 17-story hotel at Pier Sixty-Six is scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2024 alongside 92 new luxury condos, many of them featuring an outdoor terrace equipped with a private heated plunge pool.
The upscale redevelopment of Pier Sixty-Six hasn’t hampered activity at the property’s world-class marina, which has been fully operational throughout the redevelopment’s construction phase. Since acquiring Pier Sixty-Six in 2016 for about $163 million, Tavistock has added docks and lighting to the marina and dredged along its northwest corner to improve navigation. With 164 deepwater slips for yachts up to 400 feet long, the Pier Sixty-Six marina has remained a vital exhibition venue of the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Anyone headed toward the beach on the 17th Street Causeway can see the vertical transformation unfolding at Pier Sixty-Six, where two 11-story condo buildings on the west side of the property and two four-story condo buildings on the north side are under construction and nearing completion. One of the 11-story condo buildings, called Indigo Residences, has 30 units of similar size, ranging from 2,837 to 2,896 square feet. The other one, Azul Residences, has 31 units ranging from 2,718 to 2,878 square feet. The two four-story buildings, the Resort Residences, have 31 total units ranging from 1,645 to 2,205 square feet.
Prices for the remaining available condos start at $3.85 million. In an email exchange, a Tavistock spokeswoman said the Pier Sixty-Six condos have drawn domestic buyers from near and far. “We have attracted buyers from the Mideast, Midwest, Southwest, and Mountain [states]. Regionally, we have seen buyers from western and northern Broward County and neighbors of Pier Sixty-Six,” Jessi Blakley, vice president of marketing and communications at Tavistock, said in a February 2 email. “In many cases, Pier Sixty-Six will serve as a secondary home, and the marina will be a place for owners to dock their yachts.”
Blakley also said construction of Azul and Resort Residences is expected to conclude in summer and Indigo in fall, “with closings [of condo sales] taking place directly after” the buildings open for occupancy. “Construction started before sales ever started,” she said. “That was a differentiator for this project. Buyers were not waiting for a certain [sales] threshold to be met for construction to begin.”
Tavistock is selling a luxe lifestyle at Pier Sixty-Six, not just condos. The company designed its $1 billion redevelopment of the sprawling Pier Sixty-Six property with ample landscaping and amenities that include three common-area swimming pools (one for adults only), each with poolside food and beverage service, and one VIP pool with private cabanas and chaise lounge service. Among other amenities, Pier Sixty-Six will feature a spa, a fitness center, a yoga and Pilates studio, a marine-focused kids club, and a space for entertaining and socializing called The Club Room.
The new and improved Pier Sixty-Six will also have 12 restaurants to choose from, including the Pier Top Lounge, a rotating retreat on the top floor of the renovated 17-story hotel. Also planned are a poolside café, cabana lounge, marina restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, plus a lobby bar, terrace bar, outdoor dining pavilion and a waterfront restaurant to serve as the signature dining destination at Pier Sixty-Six.
Pier Sixty-Six is a venerable Fort Lauderdale landmark at the southern entrance to the city’s beach, well known for its cylindrical centerpiece, the towering hotel with a curvy, Midcentury Modern architectural style and a roofline topped by a halo of spires. Pier Sixty-Six’s redevelopment includes a top-to-bottom renovation of the existing hotel and construction of a new 10-story hotel that will boost the property’s total hotel rooms to 325.
Azul and Indigo, the 11-story condo buildings, will make their own marine-themed architectural statements. Indigo has sweeping curved terraces that collectively resemble rippling waves, while Azul has a more angular design intended to evoke piers and boat decks. These new additions to the skyline may be followed by others that visually redefine the city’s south gateway to the beach.
Looking ahead, Tavistock has additional land that could be developed on the Pier Sixty-Six property, which spans 32 acres on both the north and south sides of 17th Street. Tavistock has considered a plan to build a trio of 480-foot condos with 130 units each, one on the north side of the street and two on the south side. But for now, the company isn’t ready to propose such a project, Blakley said by email.
“Tavistock is currently focused on phase one of Pier Sixty-Six’s transformation, which includes the reimagined resort and introduction of the property’s first 92 residences,” she said. “We will continue to take a thoughtful approach to developing portions of the property – on either side of 17th Street – and have not submitted any new plans for the city to review.”
