Fort Lauderdale Beach’s Orion Condo Project, Back on the Table

March 27, 2012

The Orion was an 18-story planned condo/hotel conceived in 2005, after Hurricane Wilma damaged the Howard Johnson property on A1A in Fort Lauderdale’s North Beach.  The building was purchased by Silvia Coltrane’s Transacta Prive Development for $20.6 million with the idea of building the $340 million Orion condo Hotel in it’s place.

After sorting through some minor setbacks, the project was facing a dying market and ultimately pushed aside in 2010, when the economy crashed.

The proposal is back now, and it has received resounding approval from the Central Beach Alliance.  The new concept for the Orion will feature 170 “all-residential” condos, over 60,000 square feet of retail space, a restaurant and a bar.  Pairing next to developer Par Sanda’s plans for an urban entertainment area on Breakers Avenue, Coltrane hopes to create a tiny boutique village of restaurants, shops and galleries to help revitalize the neighborhood.

Full Story: Sun-Sentinel