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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Hollywood CRA Regular Meeting – June 4, 2025

Hollywood Public Meetings — Wednesday, June 4, 2025

BodyHollywood, Florida

SessionHollywood Public Meetings

DateWednesday, June 4, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:08:12

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Larry?

0:00

So I just want to say I love the sign.

0:03

Um I think that really makes it stand out, so great job.

0:07

Uh just to add, I know you're making red eyes, but we know octopus always change color to their um environments.

0:16

So if there's some way that you can tweak it so that it changes colors to really exemplify what an octopus did, I think it would be an added bonus.

0:24

Orange for Halloween, you know, you can you can uh change the colors.

0:29

No, just eyes.

0:30

Just the eyes.

0:31

The LED LED ones and have them change because they, you know, to their surroundings.

0:37

You could have green for St.

0:38

Patrick's Day, you know, that kind of stuff.

0:40

Um we have a motion and a second to approve the resolution.

0:43

All those in favor say aye.

0:44

Aye.

0:45

Any opposed, you or not?

0:46

Item carries unanimously.

0:47

But Barrett, since you're here, you're finally here, we're giving you an opportunity to come up to the microphone and just say a few words on uh what it's like to own the octopus and and this project.

0:57

Oh my gosh.

0:58

Uh octopus has been amazing, smartest thing I ever did, or b smartest business thing I ever did.

1:03

So um I'm really excited that um uh I would normally say I'm completely excited, right?

1:09

But I gotta tell you it's scary um messing with something that already works.

1:14

But with um uh all the uh condos and and improvements coming to downtown, I've got one opportunity to expand over when pinchos became available.

1:22

So I think this is the right time to do it.

1:24

It's scary, but it's uh my head tells me it's the right time.

1:27

So I am excited to uh uh to get a bit of awesome.

1:30

Well, we love it when business owners like you see what's happening downtown and uh how that's compelling you to step it up on your business, other businesses already have through the assistance of the CRA and some without.

1:40

And for you to you know take octopus to the next level, uh keep its character, but make it you know more uh more uh larger and just uh more open is really uh a great uh result for us.

1:52

So thank you so much.

1:53

Thank you.

1:53

We're all excited.

1:54

Yes, you got it.

1:57

We'll be ready to cut that ribbon whenever it's ready.

1:59

Yeah.

2:01

All right.

2:02

Uh all right, that concludes uh the item.

2:04

Barrett, you're welcome to stay in because we're gonna have a presentation now on um on the occupancy and some of the empty storefronts downtown and talk about any building permit issues.

2:13

So if that is of interest to you, then we welcome you to stay and maybe you know spread the word uh with fellow business owners with what you might hear on the next presentations.

2:22

Uh executive director.

2:24

So as you said, Mr.

2:25

Chair, focusing on the downtown now, we regularly talk about the uh the occupancy and the permit issues um as new space becomes available, what the uses are, how the mixes and the vacancy rates are, and also some of the open and live permits and and any issues associated with that.

2:41

And Lisa's gonna do a presentation for us on it.

2:44

Also want to thank um since Russell's here, the uh the building division and all of the regulatory reviews and development services for having uh continue to make improvements on expediting not only downtown but throughout the city, um the the processes so that we can encourage more people to not only go through the process but get through the process sooner, get those improvements made, build the tax base and continue to do that in a more efficient fashion.

3:11

And and we're continuing to work on that uh even more as we go forward so that that's uh good news for everybody on all sides of the equation.

3:18

But thank you, Lisa.

3:23

Thank you.

3:25

Um good morning.

3:26

Uh for the record, my name is Lisa Leota.

3:28

I'm the redevelopment and operations manager for the Hollywood CRA.

3:33

And I'm here before you today to give an update on downtown Hollywood's tenant mix occupancy, rental rate, and open building permits.

3:48

Now, as many of you know, I I give this presentation on an annual basis, but this year's presentation is a little different because what we've done is we've expanded the trade area.

3:59

So we've actually expanded it to include to the east side is now young circle as opposed to what it has been over the previous years, 19th Avenue.

4:13

And we've also included additional um developments.

4:18

So the numbers may look a little different, but it's all familiar.

4:26

Let's start on uh downtown Hollywood or existing tenant mix.

4:32

And I want to say first, before going any further, um a couple of things.

4:37

The information in this report is primary data.

4:40

This is data that has been obtained by actually going out and literally walking all of downtown and interacting with the property owners, the brokers, and the businesses to get a better understanding of not only what's happening right now, but what we should expect in the future.

5:03

And I'll get into that a little bit in more detail as the presentation continues.

5:09

So from the top, as they say, in downtown Hollywood, our existing tenant mix, we've broken it down into food and beverage, which is about 32 percent.

5:21

Now we have we're looking at 149 occupied locations.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Permitting Process█████████████████17%

Economic Development███████████████15%

Zoning and Land Use███████████████15%

Building Permits Management████████8%

Community Engagement██████6%

Public Transportation██████6%

Parking Regulations█████5%

Parks and Recreation████4%

Arts And Culture████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Hollywood CRA Regular Meeting – June 4, 2025

The Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board met on June 4, 2025, at 9:00 AM in City Hall Commission Chambers. The meeting covered approval of several resolutions, a detailed occupancy and building permit update for downtown Hollywood, and extensive board discussion on vacancies, permit delays, parking, beach improvements, and future priorities.

Consent Calendar

No consent calendar items were separately listed on the agenda; however, the meeting proceeded with individual votes on each regular agenda item.

Public Comments & Testimony

Barrett, owner of the Octopus restaurant and applicant for a Property Improvement Program (PIP) grant at 1940 & 1942 Hollywood Boulevard, expressed excitement about expanding his business, noting that the CRA’s improvements downtown give him confidence to invest further.

Discussion Items

Resolution R-CRA-2025-19 – Circuit Micro Transit Renewal: Authorized payment of fees to Circuit Transit Inc. to renew micro transit services at an estimated annual cost of $470,567.00, with a total estimated annual cost of $1,246,000.00 to be shared by the CRA and the City of Hollywood. The resolution was approved unanimously without further discussion.
Resolution R-CRA-2025-20 – Waterways Condominium PIP Grant: Approved a Property Improvement Program grant agreement with Waterways Condominium Association, Inc. for on-site improvements at 1908 North Ocean Drive, for a total grant amount up to $52,410.00. Approved unanimously.
Resolution R-CRA-2025-21 – Batwang LLC PIP Grant: Approved a PIP grant with Batwang LLC for improvements at 1940 & 1942 Hollywood Boulevard (the “Octopus” property) for a total grant amount up to $150,000.00. Board members complimented the new signage and suggested the octopus eyes could change colors seasonally. Unanimously approved.
Presentation – Occupancy and Open Building Permit Update: Lisa Leota, CRA Redevelopment and Operations Manager, presented an updated tenant mix and vacancy analysis for downtown Hollywood, now expanded to include the 1800 block to Young Circle and new developments like Hollywood Heights. Key data:
- Total occupied locations: 149 out of approximately 204 bays.
- Vacancy rate: 18% by bays, 16% by square footage (up from ~13% last year excluding new space).
- Leased under renovation: 8% of square footage.
- Average rental rate: $36 per square foot (triple net), with some owners asking up to $71.
- Board members expressed concern that new developments with required ground-floor retail are creating “throwaway” spaces that remain vacant. Vice Chairperson Quintana suggested creative thinking about business mix. Board Member Hernandez called for a workshop with developers and residents to address the issue. Chair Levy confirmed support for a future workshop.
- Focus on 19 properties labeled “leased under renovation.” Many have open building permits dating back to 2022-2023. Building Official Russell explained that some permits are stalled due to applicant inaction, changed contractors, or missing state approvals (e.g., restaurant licenses). City Manager Ray Lynn and Executive Director George Keller committed to creating a dedicated concierge/expediter position to handle these 19 cases and improve permit communication. Board members emphasized the need for a single point of contact with authority to move projects forward.
Informational Report – Beach and Downtown Activities: Executive Director Keller reported on recent accomplishments: 50 reef modules installed at four beach locations (North Beach, Keating Park, etc.), with live camera feed coming soon; Hollywood Boulevard streetscape substantially complete; Harrison Street streetscape in permitting; Keating Park renovations; Montgomery Palms removal; and phase four utility undergrounding progressing. Susan from CRA added that FPL neighborhood lighting permits are under review for downtown side streets.
Board Member Comments:
- Board Member Gruber noted that the new reefs are already attracting marine life and users, but raised concerns that Keating Park’s parking lot is being monopolized by a neighboring condominium, preventing public access. He suggested time limits or resident passes.
- Board Member Biederman advocated for beach chair rental vending machines and a broader discussion of beach concession contracts. He also recommended surveying new downtown residents about desired retail.
- Vice Chairperson Quintana promoted an upcoming Art and Culture Center event.
- Board Member Shuham thanked staff for the reef project and urged FDOT to maintain A1A fixtures to prevent flooding.
- Board Member Hernandez asked for updates on angle parking downtown and strongly advocated reclaiming a parking lot currently used by the U.S. Postal Service for public parking. The board unanimously supported sending notice to USPS.
- Board Member Callari requested updates on wayfinding signage, safety signage for the reefs, and consideration of a vacant storefront fee.

Key Outcomes

Resolutions Approved: All three resolutions (Circuit Transit renewal, Waterways Condo PIP, Batwang LLC PIP) were approved unanimously.
Concierge/Expediter: The City Manager will report back at the next CRA meeting on designating a dedicated person to expedite open building permits, particularly the 19 “leased under renovation” properties.
Workshop: The board supports a future workshop to discuss commercial space requirements, zoning for ground-floor uses, and potential modifications to regional activity center (RAC) rules.
USPS Parking Lot: The CRA board unanimously agreed to terminate the month-to-month agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to reclaim the parking lot at (location) for public parking. Staff will send appropriate notice.
Reef Signage: Staff will coordinate with beach safety and communications to install informational and safety signage at the reef sites.
Budget Discussion: Chair Levy directed staff to prepare options for investing remaining CRA funds ($4 million downtown, $11 million beach) for the board’s consideration at the next CRA meeting or the June 26 capital workshop.
Motorcycle Parking: The board supported designating small spaces downtown and on the beach for motorcycle parking.
Keating Park Parking: The City Manager acknowledged the issue of parking abuse and will explore time limits or resident passes.
Dive Flag Buoys: The board asked staff to research the feasibility of replacing orange reef buoys with permanent dive-flag buoys to improve safety and comply with boating distance laws.

Meeting Transcript

Larry? So I just want to say I love the sign. Um I think that really makes it stand out, so great job. Uh just to add, I know you're making red eyes, but we know octopus always change color to their um environments. So if there's some way that you can tweak it so that it changes colors to really exemplify what an octopus did, I think it would be an added bonus. Orange for Halloween, you know, you can you can uh change the colors. No, just eyes. Just the eyes. The LED LED ones and have them change because they, you know, to their surroundings. You could have green for St. Patrick's Day, you know, that kind of stuff. Um we have a motion and a second to approve the resolution. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, you or not? Item carries unanimously. But Barrett, since you're here, you're finally here, we're giving you an opportunity to come up to the microphone and just say a few words on uh what it's like to own the octopus and and this project. Oh my gosh. Uh octopus has been amazing, smartest thing I ever did, or b smartest business thing I ever did. So um I'm really excited that um uh I would normally say I'm completely excited, right? But I gotta tell you it's scary um messing with something that already works. But with um uh all the uh condos and and improvements coming to downtown, I've got one opportunity to expand over when pinchos became available. So I think this is the right time to do it. It's scary, but it's uh my head tells me it's the right time. So I am excited to uh uh to get a bit of awesome. Well, we love it when business owners like you see what's happening downtown and uh how that's compelling you to step it up on your business, other businesses already have through the assistance of the CRA and some without. And for you to you know take octopus to the next level, uh keep its character, but make it you know more uh more uh larger and just uh more open is really uh a great uh result for us. So thank you so much. Thank you. We're all excited. Yes, you got it. We'll be ready to cut that ribbon whenever it's ready. Yeah. All right. Uh all right, that concludes uh the item. Barrett, you're welcome to stay in because we're gonna have a presentation now on um on the occupancy and some of the empty storefronts downtown and talk about any building permit issues. So if that is of interest to you, then we welcome you to stay and maybe you know spread the word uh with fellow business owners with what you might hear on the next presentations. Uh executive director. So as you said, Mr. Chair, focusing on the downtown now, we regularly talk about the uh the occupancy and the permit issues um as new space becomes available, what the uses are, how the mixes and the vacancy rates are, and also some of the open and live permits and and any issues associated with that. And Lisa's gonna do a presentation for us on it. Also want to thank um since Russell's here, the uh the building division and all of the regulatory reviews and development services for having uh continue to make improvements on expediting not only downtown but throughout the city, um the the processes so that we can encourage more people to not only go through the process but get through the process sooner, get those improvements made, build the tax base and continue to do that in a more efficient fashion. And and we're continuing to work on that uh even more as we go forward so that that's uh good news for everybody on all sides of the equation. But thank you, Lisa. Thank you. Um good morning. Uh for the record, my name is Lisa Leota. I'm the redevelopment and operations manager for the Hollywood CRA. And I'm here before you today to give an update on downtown Hollywood's tenant mix occupancy, rental rate, and open building permits. Now, as many of you know, I I give this presentation on an annual basis, but this year's presentation is a little different because what we've done is we've expanded the trade area.

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