Smarty

Spring Break 1983, 1984 I went to the Elbo Room, those were the days, (University of Maryland times), 30+ years later I am not Spring Breaker, bars change, owners change, ect.

SS930

Sad to see yet another great spot potentially closing soon.

Perlmudder

If anyone is interested I can send them the package on the property. Breaks down financials and what not.

Got Cigs

Cool bar. Was there for first time this past February.... Buddy and I got really torqued, no idea how we got back to room. Good times.

Jupiter Sunsation

Update: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...518-story.html

City commissioners have rejected Bahia Cabana's offer to build the city a new fire station as part of a plan its owners have for redeveloping the aging beach resort, but a different deal with the city is still possible.

Bahia Cabana's owners want the city's prime Seabreeze Boulevard site that houses Fire Station 49 on the north side of their property. They say it's needed for their plans to transform their tired-looking resort into an iconic, luxurious destination at the southern entrance to the city's beachfront.

They offered to replace the nearly new fire station, which opened in 2010, with a better one to be built only 250 feet away on Harbor Drive. But Fire Chief Robert Hoecherl said the change might make response times worse for the station's firefighting and emergency rescue squads, a risk commissioners were unwilling to take.

Instead, Vice Mayor Dean Trantalis suggested Tuesday there might be a better location for a new beach station, possibly closer to Las Olas Boulevard, that would improve response times and wouldn't negatively impact a residential neighborhood as Harbor Beach residents feared the proposed site would do.


Slower response times being 250 feet away? Really? These guys responding on foot or 200K trucks?

f_inscreenname

It's funny. These places started where they did because the area was cheap and undesirable. Then they make it something and then they get driven out becoming a victim of their own success.
If you build it they will come...and then move in and take over and drive you out.
Just like BFI (the trash company) did in a section of waterfront in Baltimore. They built a new home office in an area that was so bad they closed the city maintenance garage that was there just a year before. After a couple years BFI expands, more business move in and another office park opens, etc, etc. Now the place is turning back into a ghost town because the city now sees it as a desirable area and waterfront to boot so taxes are going up and they are trying to move residents into the area causing property values to go up also. Now it just came to light that Under Armor has been secretly buying up the area so they can make a world headquarters there. IMHO if BFI would have never made the first move the area would still be a crap hole. Now because they did they will have to move out when U/A takes over. A victim of their own success.

Jupiter Sunsation

Not sure Ft Lauderdale beach was ever "cheap and undesirable" but you are correct with the rest of your post. The condos they are pitching for the Bahia Cabana lot start at 7 million. Not sure who in their right mind wants to spend 7 million to live across from the Yankee Clipper Sheraton and the public beach! Pretty sure 7mm should get you directly on the ocean in most places!

partlowr

Yes, but if BFi is making a killing essentially flipping their headquarters then why is it a bad thing? Why not cash out while values are high, find the next sh!thole community to build another new facility, have others follow you, bump up property values yet again, then cash out again in another 10 years? Sounds like a smart move if you ask me.

f_inscreenname

It would be if they wanted to move but that is not the case. I helped build the place and unless things have changed they had every intention of staying forever. One of the reasons they picked where they did (all the big wigs offices faced the waterfront) and put so much over the top money in the place. The same way all the boat builders and bars and such were happy on 144th.
Just because your home goes up in value doesn't mean you want to move and cash out. A lot of us are happy just getting in cheap and being there. Some even depend on their location.
Just like my neighborhood. It was once nothing but beach houses that people came to, to escape the city heat. Pretty much you could buy the whole area for nothing but then they put in a few major roads and then some of the people realized they could live here full time and a few years later you have everything from beach houses to mic-mansions. Even though everyone who has been here more than 15 years could cash out for big bucks they don’t because it’s their home and they are happy to be there even though if they did cash out they could have a much bigger home/property elsewhere. If I was the head of BFI I wouldn’t want to move either. I often thought they should have built a 20 story hotel on the site it is so nice view beyond the trash and blight that was there. If I worked there I could have taken my boat to work. It’s got to be a kick in the balls to move into an area like that. Doing all the work and taking the risk on the area and then be driven out because you made it to nice.