Is the Hollywood Beach Resort getting demolished? Here’s what we know
Unconfirmed reports that the Hollywood Beach Resort is being demolished have had residents concerned about the future of the former hotel built by the city’s founder, Joseph Young.
But the fate of the nearly 100-year-old relic, which was evacuated last summer after the city deemed it unsafe to live in, remains uncertain. No formal plans have been submitted to the city to demolish the overall structure or to develop the existing beachfront property, which most recently was operated by a condo board.
What is confirmed: at least one small portion of the building will be coming down. Owners of the property filed for a permit in February 2023 to demolish the wood frame breezeway canopy in the back of the hotel and paid the $5,383 price tag to tear that portion down, according to online records. They received a demolition permit earlier this month.
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Hollywood spokeswoman Joann Hussey said a building official authorized a fence to be installed around the property to prevent unauthorized entry during the demolition.
The building has both an unsafe structures violation and a code violation for failure to comply with Broward County’s building code and inspection program. A 50-year recertification conducted in 2022 indicated the building needed structural and electrical repairs, according to the recertification report.
The Hollywood Beach Resort was built in 1925 by Young and consisted of 500 rooms and the world’s largest solarium at the time. Situated in the city’s historic district, the hotel played a pivotal role in World War II, serving as the United States Naval Indoctrination and Training School.
After the war, the hotel was refurbished and reopened under new management. Following its heyday, the hotel was the home of Florida Bible College, a movie theater and a mall before eventually becoming timeshare-operated condos.
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In recent years, the New York-based developer Chetrit Group purchased the condos but has not specified what it plans to do with the property. Efforts to reach representatives with the Chetrit Group were unsuccessful, and an attorney representing the developer said he could not provide any additional information on the property.
Clive Taylor, president of the Hollywood Historical Society, said the part of the building that is set to be demolished was an add-on completed in the ‘80s that is in “very bad shape.”
Taylor said the owners might face complications developing the property because the parking garage and the property in front of the hotel are each owned by separate entities.
“There’s a lot of components to this puzzle, but the land is valuable,” Taylor said.
