FORT LAUDERDALE: The Whitfield, an ultra luxury hotel slated for the eastern end of Las Olas Boulevard, is back with a noteworthy redesign that incorporates condo units and makes the building taller by two stories.
The five-star hotel will increase from 10 stories to 12, bringing the height to nearly 150 feet. In addition, the hotel will have fewer rooms — 81 instead of 138 — to accommodate 17 upscale condos on the upper floors expected to sell for anywhere from $3.7 million to $15 million.
If approved, The Whitfield would open in late 2026.
The proposed hotel already sailed through approval in mid-2021, but the redesign will need a nod from the commission due to the height change and addition of condos. The board is set to vote Tuesday night.
The project, currently underway at 1007 East Las Olas Boulevard , is a longtime dream of local developers Charlie Ladd and Steve Hudson. They bought the land in 2017 and started working on a vision two years later.
“We think the time is right for Fort Lauderdale to have a five-star ultra luxury hotel on Las Olas,” Hudson said. “There is nothing like this in Fort Lauderdale. It’s our goal and vision that this is not just a first-class ultra luxury hotel for Fort Lauderdale, but for all of South Florida. It’s something very special that we don’t have right now.”