Development around South Florida casinos abounds, but isn’t a sure bet

Development around South Florida casinos abounds, but isn’t a sure bet

Article brief provided by Commercial Observer
  • Mike Seemuth, Commercial Observer
September 20, 2021 10:52 AM
  • Mike Seemuth, Commercial Observer

A 450-foot hotel in the shape of an electric guitar towers over western Broward County. The 638-room Guitar Hotel is the glitzy centerpiece of a $1.5 billion expansion completed in 2019 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

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Nearby, real estate projects are sprouting in the long shadow of the Guitar Hotel as developers bet on proximity to the Seminole Hard Rock, which fronts busy U.S. Route 441 in Hollywood, Fla.

“That whole 441 Corridor is ripe for expansion,” said South Florida developer Lon Tabatchnick, who is co-developing 441 Roc, a mixed-use project with a Wendy’s, a Wawa, and rental apartments. “The Seminole Hard Rock is the whole reason we’re invested on 441,” Tabatchnick says. “They have 5,000 employees. I only need to fill 176 apartments.”