South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

July 9, 2007, By Brittany Wallman

FORT LAUDERDALE

One of the oldest operating hotels in Broward County will soon be counted among the newest.

The historic Riverside Hotel on East Las Olas Boulevard plans a major remake that will expand over the entire block, spelling demolition for eight bars and businesses next to it.

The Riverside continues to evolve from the small inn first built in the 1930s by the Wells brothers from Chicago. Back then, the hotel had a different name, the Champ Carr, named after the brothers' fishing-guide-turned-hotel-manager, according to local historian Merrilyn Rathbun.

The place was a big hit, and the brothers built a major addition one year after it opened, Rathbun said.

The latest expansion is needed to help the family-owned business compete with new luxury hotels on the beachfront, said Las Olas Co. Chairman Irv Bowen. But Bowen said the historic portion of the Riverside won't be removed, and the new buildings will be five stories at the maximum. The hotel will remain in the Wells family.

"We totally agree that what got us is here is building on the classic tradition. We're not going to change that," he said.

The trademark green hotel completed a major, high-rise expansion five years ago, adding hotel rooms, retail space and a large parking garage. That expansion was so architecturally bland it was widely criticized. Officials also said the garage was built too close to the New River.

Mayor Jim Naugle, at the time, said of the new hotel's look: "It universally repulses people."

Bowen promised that wouldn't be the case this time. The expansion, which will take the hotel eastward to Eighth Avenue, will be five stories at most. And the river view will be repaired, in a way, by the addition of hotel rooms to wrap the outside of the garage.

Bowen said he has no cost estimate for the 135-room expansion, but the project will bring to 300 the number of hotel rooms in the Riverside. Bowen said theRiverside will attempt to obtain four- or five-star status. The plans include a new spa and exercise room, more stores and restaurants and a riverfront banquet hall.

The project has no city approvals yet and will be subject to a vote by city commissioners if they choose to hold a public hearing.

Business owners on the block said the investment will probably bring more customers, and that's a good thing. Still, the prospect of moving out before the wrecking ball arrives is stressful.

"All I know is, everywhere I go, not just in Fort Lauderdale, I see expansion and projects everywhere," said Joan Bancel of Needlepoint Originals, a Las Olas business since 1970. "... It's the way of the world right now."

The days when customers yearned to keep things the same is over, she said.

"The public likes change. "I love the old Las Olas but it's never going to be that way again."

Bancel already has a new location to move to on Las Olas. Milton and Brigitte Wolfe at Objects D'Art & Jewelry don't, and they're worried. They found a 1,600-square-foot space on Las Olas, but the rent would be $11,000 a month, Wolfe said.

They don't want to move to another street.

"It's a wonderful place to walk and shop," he said. "People come from all over the world."

Storefronts next to the Riverside to the east end of the block will be demolished: Needlepoint Originals; Ibiza shoe store; The Grape on Las Olas; Objects d'Art; Shizen Japanese cuisine; Brio's, which closed in April; O'Hara's; and Cafe Europa.

Construction will take 18 months or more. Then retail will return to Las Olas on that block, with three stories of hotel rooms on top. The hotel's new grand entrance and courtyard will be on Eighth Avenue.

Bowen said the company will try to relocate all the bars and businesses to other Las Olas locations. The Las Olas Co. owns about 75 percent of the Las Olas real estate from the U.S. 1 tunnel to the Himmarshee Canal.

Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4541.

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