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Bahia Mar Redevelopment

By Martin Lenkowsky

Bahia Mar developer Jimmy Tate says the $7.5 million renovation project at the marina and resort property will be ready in time for this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Tate says the work is slated for completion by the middle of October. “We’ve been working around the clock,” he says.

The timing couldn’t be better, because the Marine Industries Association of South Florida recently signed a 30-year contract, with two 10-year options, to keep the world-renowned show at Bahia Mar.

The renovation project is just the start of long-range plans for a major overhaul of the property’s  hotel restrooms, common areas and meeting spaces, Tate says. Plans to replace the hotel towers are also on the drawing board. They will ultimately need city approval.

In addition, Informa Exhibitions, a British-based company, just purchased Show Management, which had been producing the show. Tate is optimistic about the change. “They’ve been incredibly helpful,” he says, adding they’ve designated money toward future improvements. “They’ll be taking the show to a new level.”

The short-term renovation will upgrade 181 guest rooms using a nautical white-and-blue color scheme with new headboards and furniture. A new, custom-designed chandelier will top the hotel’s atrium. Tate says the facility’s food and beverage service will also be upgraded. “We bought all new furniture,” Tate says. Plus, the facility is adding a music sound system in the pool area.

“We have excursions,” he says. “We have snorkeling, a pirate ship, a glass-bottomed boat and water taxis, and an overpass from the hotel to the beach,” he says.

Phil Purcell, the CEO and executive director of the Marine Industries Association, is excited about Bahia Mar’s future makeover, too. “They’ve engaged the expertise of EDSA, a Fort Lauderdale landscape and architecture firm that works with global facilities in design and engaging and moving people intelligently through developments,” he says. “The process ensured the show will have a permanent home for future generations of marine businesses and boaters.”

Tate says EDSA will consult for long-term planning.

Along with this renovation, other improvements are on the drawing board for Fort Lauderdale Beach. While they have been approved by the city commission, they will not be ready in time for the 2017 boat show. They are:

Oceanside Park, at the corner of State Road A1A and Las Olas Boulevard, will replace parking space.

A 670-parking space garage will be built on the north side of the Las Olas Bridge, replacing a parking lot.

Intracoastal Park, situated on the south side of Las Olas Bridge, will replace a city parking lot.

The Las Olas Marina off the Birch Road parking lot on the Intracoastal will be expanded. Two restaurants, one of them a tiki bar, will be added.

The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, open to the public at 501 Seabreeze Boulevard, will be renovated.

Public parking will be added near Sunrise Boulevard on a vacant property directly south of  the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.