Josh Levy, the Hollywood mayor, had an idea. So he contacted a South Florida resident of his sunny oceanside city.
Want to go paddleboarding at Hollywood Beach? he asked in June 2020.
Catherine “Cat” Uden said yes. The non-political agreement occurred at a time when Cat had already voted for Josh four years earlier, the first time he ran for mayor. She also shared the joys of their community on June 24, 2020, with a photograph documenting their good-natured ocean exploits.
At the same time, though, a political deadline had just expired. Nobody filed to oppose Josh Levy in 2020. Instead, Cat Uden, a former Broward County public school teacher turned environmentalist, went paddleboarding with the mayor.
But four years later, in 2024, this innocent athletic adventure contains the seeds of Cat Uden’s effort to unseat a popular two-term mayor who supports major development in this aging city of more than 150,000 people. Hollywood was incorporated as a city in 1925.
Cat Uden’s side of the story follows. She relayed it by email. Her perspective deals with public land and property the city owns at Hollywood Beach. And an eventual effort to let a private developer build a mixed-use structure there, which would include up to a 30-story condo tower. With the backing of Mayor Levy, the City Commission approved the project. But local opposition persists.
Cat explains her June 2020 experience with the mayor:
It wasn’t until later that I learned about the 1301 project and saw the timeline of the project on the city’s website.
Background:
March 2020- “unsolicited” proposal received.
June 23, 2020- public notice issued (this is usually in the form of a newspaper ad and notice posted inside City Hall. I don’t think City Hall was even open in June 2020 because of Covid).
June 24, 2020- Mayor Josh Levy texts me and asks me to go paddling. We paddle past 1301/Azalea Terrace. While paddling near Azalea, he asked me how I would feel about an event space and garage at Azalea Terrace. He never mentioned a condo tower. (Probably trying to see whether or not I’d oppose development there). I said I would be against a multi level garage there. It was clear that I like that spot green, quiet, not built up, easy to park with a board or kayak. He did not mention it again. I assume he did this to see if I knew about the project and if I would oppose it. Once he realized I’d oppose it, he chose not to tell me about the condo tower.
Cat Uden continued: I called him out about this during a public City Commission meeting during my Citizen Comments after Josh called everyone who was opposed to 1301 “slanted advocates” full of “misinformation” from the “biased media”.
That’s Cat’s account of what happened. But I wanted more. So I emailed a copy of my article to Mayor Levy on March 21. I also left a message with the Mayor’s Office five days later. Josh has not responded to the gist of the article.
However, he did email me information on March 25 about data relating to the apparent shifting population figures for Hollywood. Because the information varies, depending on the source, I’m doing more research before writing about it. As part of that research, I contacted the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida, an organization Josh cited in his March 25 email.
For context, Levy, a lifelong Hollywood resident, hinted at his devotion to development when he announced his run for mayor in 2016. According to the Hollywood Gazette, he said, “It’s time to get things done for our residents, to protect our property values and reduce city taxes and fees through new economic development opportunities.”
His record, though, is less than perfect. Property values have risen considerably, even locking out many hard-working people.
However, the tax picture is not at all consistent, with Mayor Levy encouraging residents to approve General Obligation Bonds in a Special Election the city held on March 19, 2019. But at his online re-election website, Josh shared positive tax information, saying, “This year’s growth has also allowed us to see a reduction in the total property tax millage rate”.
It’s clear, though, that new expensive construction is being built or is in the planning stage across the city.
Even at a city-owned public golf course called Orangebrook. This golf course remake will include a hotel and three hi-rise apartment towers that were not on the original golf course site. An acclaimed golf course designer and two local developers won the bid, which was backed by the mayor. The initial published request for proposals did not include plans for a hotel and hi-rise towers.
So perhaps not surprisingly, a community group that supported passage of the General Obligation Bonds and a redesigned golf course opposed the Hollywood City Commission’s ultimate decision to let private builders put up apartment towers there.
In his 2023 State of the City Address, Mayor Levy pointed out areas primed for development. He even mentioned major roads in the community, where construction is happening or planned.
The three hi-rise apartment towers at the city-owned golf course is an example of what Levy mentioned. The towers will rise near I 95, on Pembroke Rd., a major east-west roadway in Hollywood, which also serves as the southern entrance to the city. And just to the west of the planned towers rests a tired, old business district.
Of course, the beach project is another example of a city primed to remake itself, spurred on by cash flowing here during and after the Covid pandemic.
So, the Nov. 5 election, in which Cat Uden is the decided underdog, may tell us how much more building — and what type of construction — takes place in Hollywood.
To be clear, local officials are not responsible for the migration of money to South Florida. They did not create the Covid pandemic or the reaction to it by people with money.
However, they can let private developers know their vision for their city.
And they absolutely control the public land and property that the city owns.
Steve Schneider says
Here is more information about the decision involving the city-owned Orangebrook Golf Course property:
A city-appointed ranking committee two times ranked a bid by internationally-known golfer Ernie Els Group as number one. That bid included construction of garden apartments.
However, the mayor and a majority on the Hollywood City Commission picked the project that was ranked number two by the review committee. This bid, which came from two local developers and a famous golf course designer, included a proposal to build three hi-rise apartment buildings.
What’s more, the Ernie Else Group bid would have generated more money for the city than the eventual winning bid, the mayor told the press after the vote.
Abele and Pearl’s project would generate $152 million in revenue for the city over 30 years, compared to $171 million from the Ernie Els Group, $109 million from E2L, and $95 million from Green Lynx, said Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy.
Steve Schneider says
I got an email at 10:10 am on April 1.
It was from Josh Levy, the Hollywood mayor. He wrote:
Josh Levy
10:10 AM (3 hours ago)
Hi Steve, seems to me the story reads way too much into what was a simple and fun paddleboarding day on the ocean. See attached. Best. Josh Levy Mayor
Rick Goldman says
I’m not against real estate development, I just want to see more responsible real estate development. That’s why Cat Uden has my vote: https://catudenformayor.com/
Steve Schneider says
It’s nice to get a comment to this article.
As I understand it, Democracy Chronicles does not have the readership of The New York Times, The Washington Post, or even our great local daily newspapers, The Miami Herald and The Sun Sentinel, where three of my favorite scribes practice their craft.
So, thank you for your comment.
Steve Schneider says
The City of Hollywood has a “Cone of Silence” ordinance that prevents vendors/bidders from communicating with City officials under most circumstances.
https://www.hollywoodfl.org/740/Cone-of-Silence#:~:text=The%20Cone%20of%20Silence%20prohibits,Cone%20of%20Silence%20is%20imposed
I’m working to learn more about the ordinance, and a loophole in it because the representative for at least one of the Orangebrook bidders made numerous documented visits to City Hall.