Florida’s ‘Sleepy Fishing Village’ Gets a $2 Billion Makeover as Luxury Buyers Swoop In

Located between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, the former "sleepy fishing village" of Pompano Beach, FL, has transformed into a haven for luxury-branded residences, while still retaining much of its old-world charm.

More than a dozen major real estate projects are currently underway in the city (population of 118,000), spanning branded luxury complexes, commercial development, and even a $2 billion 70-acre transformation of the downtown area.

"It's been an area that I wouldn't say was overlooked, but is more like a sleepy town that has woken up," Patrick Campbell, senior vice president of Related Group, tells Realtor.com®.

Related Group, founded by billionaire developer Jorge Perez, has poured roughly $2.5 billion into luxe oceanfront developments in Pompano Beach. Projects include the recently completed Solemar and Casamar, and the forthcoming Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach and W Pompano Hotel & Residences.

Campbell says it wasn't always easy to convince major brand names that the "sleepy town" was worth investing in. Related Group snapped up the land for Solemar in 2011, at a price he says was a "steal," then sat on it for many years, waiting to "see some signs of a market there."

Once the Ritz-Carlton Residences broke ground in late 2022, Campbell knew that Related had been onto something.

While the first development, Solemar, was sold for an average of $900 per square foot, a price now considered a bargain, the Waldorf, which is 90% sold (including the two penthouses) is going for $1,600 per square foot.

And Campbell considers even those presale prices to be a deal.

"That major brands are finding the area attractive lends credence to the fact that we stumbled upon something, showing everybody we were right all along," he says.

By the time the Waldorf Astoria opens in July 2027, Campbell says, there is a good chance the complex will be sold out.

"Everyone wants to live on the ocean in South Florida," he says. "And if you can provide a luxury lifestyle, there's a market there.

"And it's still a value compared to everywhere else."

Retaining the fishing village charm

Campbell, who grew up in another "sleepy beach town" in Central Florida, says that Pompano Beach has long been a popular place for Canadian snowbirds, as well as a vacation spot for those who couldn't necessarily afford the prices of Palm Beach or Miami.

He says the area began its transformation about a decade ago, but the city has been strict about making sure the town's growth didn't destroy its charming character, a place where anglers still regularly cast their lines off the pier and shoreline.

There are limits on building height, and developments must be set back at least double what they are in similar growing coastline cities.

"This will never be Sunny Isles or Miami Beach," Campbell says. "The city has been very good about controlling growth with their zoning codes, and you can't do anything much taller than a 20-story building." (The Waldorf Astoria is 28 stories and The W is 24 stories.)

"You don’t have to worry about it becoming something overwhelming and changing the character," he says. "It's a measured growth that keeps the old-town charm and adds in a bit of the new."

The result is not only a beach town with less traffic and density than the popular shoreline cities to its south and north, but also a more "natural" coast, says the developer. The city has "a whole group all about protecting the dunes."

Additionally, along a significant section of the beach, a boardwalk threads between the ocean and the developments, lending a more open, less hemmed-in, feel to the shoreline. There is also a city-created "fishing village" at the base of the Pompano Beach Fishing Pier, with casual dining, shops, and live events.

And, yes, there is real fishing happening. Campbell swears that anglers actually eat the fish they catch.

"This is the type of stuff you won't see in Miami Beach," he says.

Glamorous oasis

While the fishing village charm of the area is valued, Campbell says there was also an untapped market for an upscale lifestyle, as proven by the swift sales of the Waldorf Astoria and W Hotel branded condos.

At the Waldorf, both penthouses have sold, at $17.1 million and $18.1 million price points. Still available are four Sky Residences, ranging from 2,097 to 3,557 square feet and $4.3 million to $8 million in price.

The penthouse sales set local records for both total sale price and price per square foot, with the higher sale exceeding the city's previous residential record by more than $9 million.

Still, the sales are a relative value to what the equivalent would have cost in Palm Beach or Miami, where a penthouse in a branded luxury tower would have easily run $30 million or more.

In fact, a penthouse in another ongoing Related Group project—the St. Regis Residences in Miami—was sold in July for $47 million.

While that 10,012-square-foot duplex was snapped up by a family from New York City, Campbell says Pompano Beach buyers tend to hail from closer to home.

"We have plenty of New York buyers, plenty of wealthy Canadian buyers," he says. But there are also many retirees and empty nesters migrating from inland Florida, with at least 40% of buyers having local ties.

"They're chasing their dreams of living on the ocean without their children," he says.

There are plenty of people who simply prefer the slower pace of Pompano Beach, which still has "a lot of that old Florida charm," says the developer. "It's not the hustle and bustle of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Palm Beaches.

"There is something to be said about it being far less crowded—and will always be that way."

Still, the high-end transformation ushered in by Related Group has made it a challenge for the company to expand farther into Pompano Beach territory.

Campbell says the firm would love to commit itself farther to the area, but "land prices have gotten crazy."

He adds, "It's a blessing and a curse."