Development includes hotel, residential elements, plus entertainment complex

A rendering shows the new casino expansion project at the Isle Casino Pompano Park, which is being renamed Harrah’s Pompano Beach in the fall. Caesars Entertainment/Courtesy

BY David Lyons South Florida Sun Sentinel

The massive 223-acre redevelopment plan for Isle Casino Pompano Park, which already includes an expanded casino, entertainment complex, hotel and residential elements, is looking to increase its footprint in South Florida with the addition of a major company headquarters on-site.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the economic development arm of Broward County, is working with a company on the idea, but all parties are being tight-lipped about it at this point.

“We are working with a company that is considering locating on the site which could bring numerous jobs and a significant capital investment,” said spokeswoman Maggie Gunther in an email. “It’s confidential, though, for now, so we can’t get into any details yet.”

David Cordish, CEO of The Cordish Cos, which is partnering with Caesars Entertainment in the overhaul of the Isle Casino site, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he would like to see an out-of-state company included in the redevelopment project, which is dubbed LIVE! Resorts Pompano.

“What I want to attract, and we’re really working hard on that, is a corporation from the Northeast, maybe the Midwest, that wants to get out of Dodge and come down here and make this a headquarters,” Cordish said.

He spoke during last week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the existing casino, which is being rebranded as Harrah’s Pompano Beach.

“We’ll give them everything they want,” Cordish said. “We’ll pull it off. I just don’t know when.”

A technology or financial firm

Asked if he preferred a technology or financial services firm, which are high priorities for South Florida economic recruiters, Cordish said either one would be acceptable.

“I don’t care,” he said. “Either one is perfect.”

Cordish said employees could live in the residential portion of the project, which is an expansive multi-year development designed to be an entertainment and commercial destination for visitors from around South Florida and beyond.

Cordish’s project envisions more than 4,000 residential units, an entertainment segment, hotel facilities with up to 950 rooms, a park with a lake as the centerpiece and retail outlets including a Publix supermarket.

In addition to the corporate headquarters, another major unidentified company is contemplating the site for an e-commerce distribution center.

Access to the region

The site, which sits south of West Atlantic Boulevard in southwest Pompano Beach, is slightly west of a major I-95 exit and the CSX railroad line that is used by the Tri-Rail commuter service. A new Tri-Rail station on the project’s eastern border is a possibility. The board of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the commuter railroad, has supported a station stop.

Farther to the west on Atlantic are entry and exit points for Florida’s Turnpike.

Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, which has seen an exponential upswing in corporate and other general aviation traffic, is a short drive to the south. A new foreign airline, Norse Atlantic Airways, is setting up a U.S. headquarters there — the offices will support the airline’s European service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

 

 

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