Vote on Hallandale project on hold

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Vote on Hallandale project on hold

Broward commissioners delayed voting on the Village at Gulfstream Park on Tuesday because of concerns about traffic.
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ
dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com

Broward County commissioners halted a plan to transform 66 acres in Hallandale Beach into condos, stores and offices Tuesday, fearing it would turn the city into another traffic-clogged Aventura.

Commissioners want more suggestions on how the developer would handle traffic from the proposed Village at Gulfstream Park.

The project may bring more than 4,000 vehicles during afternoon rush hour.

Several county leaders said they also would like to see more on affordable housing from the developer, Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland.

''These are the days we are supposed to correct the mistakes of the past, but I don't see that,'' Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said.

Hallandale Beach leaders had requested the county to approve the plan as is.

On Tuesday, City Manager Mike Good said commissioners' points were valid, especially about traffic.

Mayor Joy Cooper said the delay frustrating because traffic is a much larger problem in Broward, and can't be resolved by just one city.

''You can't hold traffic issues on just one development,'' she said, calling Broward County's traffic issues a ``global issue.''

The developer needs a county land-use change to build the Hallandale Beach project. If county commissioners vote yes, it would go to state officials for approval.

If commissioners vote no, the issue would not come up again for one year -- unless they granted an exception.

They will take up the issue again on April 25.

County Mayor Ben Graber, who supports the project, said the development, along with slot machines, would bring money into the area.

''Don't think of your street, your house. Think of the economic development of Broward County,'' Graber said.

The Village at Gulfstream Park would be built in phases on 66 acres. It would include 1,500 condominiums, 500 hotel rooms and 910,000 square feet of retail space.

If approved, developers say the project would be complete by 2014.

''There's no way this city can take anymore high-rise buildings and the Village at Gulfstream,'' former city mayor Arthur ''Sonny'' Rosenberg told commissioners.

The developer has proposed a bus ''super stop,'' walkways and bicycle paths.

Residents of upscale condos won't take public transportation, said Commissioner John Rodstrom.

''Those people are never going to ride mass transit,'' he said.