Never count your margaritas before they've been salted. That may be the lesson in the stalled Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, which Clean Plate Charlie initially reported on back in April 2010. The ambitious $126 million project -- slated to go in on Hollywood Beach at Johnson Street and the Broadwalk -- has been met with serious financial shortcomings and several major changes in plans. A public forum on Tuesday night will give Hollywood residents a chance to find out where the venture stands.
The meeting is 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the commission chambers at Hollywood City Hall located at 2600 Hollywood Blvd. According to the AFSCME Hollywood Local 2432 website, the forum will "review proposed changes to the development agreement and ground lease between the City of Hollywood, Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency CRA, and Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort."
A Sun Sentinel story from May 2012 chronicles the challenges developer Lon Tabatchnick has faced in raising the capital needed for the waterfront project, including details about the $10 million already borrowed from the CRA (oh; and the additional $15 million Tabatchnick asked for this year from the CRA).
The hope had been that the resort would open by March 2014; the proposed opening has been pushed back. Perhaps Tuesday's forum will shed some light on the matter, and let Hollywood residents know whether to expect an influx of parrotheads in the somewhat near future.
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