Editor’s Note
Despite controversy over its five-story height, a high-end Weston Jewelers store, featuring Rolex and other luxury brands, received unanimous commission approval Tuesday night for a planned 2027 opening on Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard.
A high-end store selling Rolex and other luxury brands could be coming to Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard as soon as next year despite brewing controversy over the five-story height.
The project won unanimous commission approval Tuesday night before a packed room that included both supporters and opponents.
The Weston Jewelers store would open at 1117 E. Las Olas Blvd. as soon as December 2027.
A second and final commission vote is set for June 2.
Critics in nearby Colee Hammock and other surrounding neighborhoods have come out in force against the project.
They don’t like the height and mass of the building, saying it’s way too big for the parcel it will sit on. They don’t want the property rezoned, fearing it will drastically alter the character of the neighborhood.
They also worry the new store will create even more of a parking crunch along Fort Lauderdale’s most famous boulevard.
Under city code, the store is required to have 129 parking spaces. Instead of building parking, the developer has secured 100 spaces off site and predicts customers will park in other lots nearby.
Dikes described the project as a meaningful investment in Fort Lauderdale’s future and argued that the design and height are consistent with development already taking place.
Nearly 80 people signed up to speak at the meeting, including more than 60 who supported the plan to transform a low-key corner of Las Olas into a sophisticated high-end destination.
One fan urged the commission to say yes to the project, saying that Fort Lauderdale and Las Olas must both continue to change and mature.
Falsetto told the commission his steak-and-caviar restaurant Caviar Club will open on Las Olas in October and a second more casual restaurant called Pizza Queen will open in December.
Gary Wasserman, a resident of Las Olas Beach Club, also spoke in favor of saying yes to the luxury-branded store.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Board narrowly approved the project 4-3 in mid-April.
One of the no votes was cast by planning board member Jacquelyn “Jackie” Scott, who also serves as president of the Colee Hammock Homeowners Association.
Scott did not speak at Tuesday night’s commission meeting, but plenty of her neighbors did.
Patti Bloom lives at the nearby Villagio condo.
The property is split between two zoning districts.
The southern parcel facing Las Olas Boulevard is zoned business and capped at 150 feet. The northern parcel is zoned residential medium density and capped at 35 feet.
The store would rise 74 feet high, more than twice the allowed height cap on the northern parcel.
To make way for a higher building, the developer is seeking a zoning change from residential to community business.
The height cap for the portion of the property next to Las Olas is 150 feet, noted Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer.
During her presentation, Toothaker displayed side-by-side renderings of the project.
One showed a version of the proposed building standing 150 feet high. The other showed the current rendering of a building standing 74 feet high.
Original plans called for a building standing 90 feet high, Toothaker told the commission.