A joint venture led by Richard Waserstein’s Waterstone Capital, along with Uri Bubil and Roni Avraham, advanced their proposal on April 14 to redevelop the Pillars Hotel & Club in Fort Lauderdale into a 15-story condominium tower.
The developers presented their plans for the Pillars Club & Residences at a meeting of the city’s Development Review Committee. The project is planned for addresses at 109 and 111 North Birch Road and would involve replacing the existing hotel, which currently has 18 rooms and seven condominium units, with a new building containing 43 condo units across fifteen stories.
According to representatives for the developers, Waterstone Capital is based in Bay Harbor Islands under Waserstein’s leadership. Bubil leads Mazalub Real Estate in Miami while Avraham heads SR Holdings Group. Property records show that Michael Landry’s Landry Trebbi Investment Corporation transferred ownership of one of the sites (111 North Birch Road) to the development entity earlier this year. The other site (109 North Birch Road) remains owned by Georgia Bedford and Jan Behnke of Michigan.
Kobi Karp has been selected as architect for the proposed condos, which are set to include two penthouse units on the top floor as well as amenities such as a pool, spa, and fitness centers. The developers said they received technical feedback from city officials during Tuesday’s meeting; once those comments are addressed and approved, they plan to seek further approval from the city commission.
Fort Lauderdale continues to attract interest from condo developers who view it as a more affordable alternative compared to Miami or West Palm Beach. Currently there are over 3,900 condominium units either planned or under construction in Fort Lauderdale and nearby Pompano Beach. Recent projects include sales launches for Ritz-Carlton Residences—an eighty-three unit development led by Diana Ulis and MICL—and Miki Naftali’s Viceroy Residences-Fort Lauderdale project scheduled to span forty-five stories.
