Developer Sues Hollywood To Force Approval Of Beachside Tower Under Live Local Act
A New York-based developer is testing the reach of Florida’s Live Local Act, suing the city of Hollywood to advance its planned 18-story mixed-use complex.

Condra Property Group filed a lawsuit this week in Broward County circuit court against the beachside city outside Fort Lauderdale after it denied Condra’s proposal to build a 183-foot-tall tower. The project is above the height maximum for the site's zoning, but under the provisions of Live Local, the city must approve the project if it offers at least 40% of its units as affordable or workforce housing.
The suit asks the court to overturn the project’s rejection and allow the development by right, potentially setting an early precedent for project approval under the Live Local Act’s provisions.
“We feel very confident that a circuit court judge will review this matter quickly and see it for what it is, which is a desperate attempt from the city to prevent height on the barrier island,” said Keith Poliakoff, an attorney at Government Law Group representing Condra in the suit.
The case hinges on the relaxation of height restrictions for developments built under Live Local Act, which allows developers to tie the maximum height of their project to the tallest allowed height for a commercial or residential development within a mile of the project site.
Condra is seeking to use the 183-foot-tall Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort to build to nearly the same height at its 2.4-acre assemblage located a few blocks away at 2007 N. Ocean Drive. Condra assembled the site for a combined $13M in January 2022, property records indicate.
The proposed $80M development would include 137 condos, a parking garage and ground-level retail space. To qualify for the height bonus under the Live Local Act, the proposal sets aside 91 apartments priced for tenants making no more than 120% of area median income, which would cap rents for a studio unit at around $2,200 per month.
A spokesperson for the city of Hollywood acknowledged that it had been served with the suit Wednesday but declined to comment further.
In an Aug. 29 letter denying the application, city officials disputed Condra’s interpretation of the Live Local Act. Officials argued that the Margaritaville resort was not a valid building to benchmark the maximum allowable height for a development because it was built on a site zoned for government use.
Development plans for parcels with government use zoning are approved on an ad hoc basis and therefore cannot be used to set the maximum height for a Live Local project, the denial letter said.
“The approval of any development in the GU zone is done through a specialized process to set site-specific zoning and land use controls that would not otherwise apply to other parcels,” the letter states. “To date, the applicant has not provided a compelling argument for the legitimacy of height.”

Circuit Court Judge David Haimes is being asked to overturn the denial and allow the Margaritaville to serve as the allowable maximum height despite its zoning status.
Condra first proposed a 10-story luxury hotel at the property site in 2022. But it was denied by the city because of that project’s size. After the Live Local Act became law in July 2023, the developer instead opted to incorporate the law’s workforce housing requirements to allow it to build even taller.
Under the law’s provisions, projects that set aside at least 40% of units for residents making no more than 120% of area median income are granted height, density and other zoning bonuses for their projects.
Condra Group’s proposal relies on the Live Local Act to secure its maximum height. Other developers across South Florida have been butting heads with municipalities over not only the height rules but also overall project density.
Jesta Group and Miami Beach are locked in a battle over the redevelopment of the Clevelander South Beach hotel and bar into an 18-story tower along a historic portion of beachfront art deco properties, many of which fall under historic preservation rules.
A few miles north, the owner of the Bal Harbour Shops is suing its namesake village in an effort to force the approval of more than 500 apartments across four towers at the property.
The Bal Harbour suit, filed by Whitman Family Development, was the first major test of Live Local to be filed, but Poliakoff said its broader scope meant it’s unlikely to be settled before the Condra suit.
“We expect this to be a fairly simple and quick case, and one that the judge will determine by simply looking at the law and realizing that the law does not allow the city to prevent the height on this development,” Poliakoff said.