If you’re out for a drink or two in North Beach Village and you happen to glance up at the Wave on Bayshore, don’t worry, you haven’t had more than you thought. The building really can look like it’s moving.
The striking 18-unit condominium is one of the places redefining the beachfront community to the immediate south of the Bonnet House. Within the walkable neighborhood of shops, cafes and Mid-Century Modern architecture, it’s a new building that seeks to be modern while also paying respect to Fort Lauderdale’s signature styles.
Principal developer Rick Rosan is the former head of the Urban Land Institute and the New York Real Estate Board – so, a big deal. When he came to Fort Lauderdale, he tried to get a flavor for the unique look of the city. He brought in prominent local architect and History Fort Lauderdale board of trustees president Art Bengochea, an expert on both the city’s architectural present and its past. And inspiration struck when Rosan saw Fort Lauderdale Beach’s undulating beachfront “wave wall.”
“That’s where you get all of the curves; every other floor has a different curvature,” says Dan Teixeira of luxury real estate group Douglas Elliman. “It’s undulating throughout; the building looks like it’s moving.”
Because the building wasn’t right on the water, they decided on a two-units-per-floor model instead of one, with the exception being the whole-floor penthouse.
“We did that and right away one of the first units we sold was the penthouse,” Teixeira says. “Which by the way, up to this day, [at] $4.5m, it is the most expensive non-waterfront condominium that has ever sold in Fort Lauderdale.”
Below the penthouse, units have price points starting at less than $1m. Each unit has 180-degree views and balconies that take advantage of most of that. The average terrace is 1500 square feet, Teixeira says.
That typical older condo balcony? Not so much here. Here you can be on one balcony for sunrise, the other for sunset. Or you can take advantage from inside.
“It just gives it a nice feeling when you can walk and there’s no windows, it’s all floor to ceiling glass,” he says. “It’s one of the few buildings that when we show a unit, we don’t turn on the lights.” They don’t have to.
Beyond the building itself, Teixeira says the project is so successful because of its North Beach Village location. Breakers Avenue, he notes, is now home to a café, food trucks, a vintage clothing store, a smoothie shop and a wine bar, with more planned soon. You can walk to dinner or drinks at a place like the W Hotel. It has an actual, walkable village feel.
As this story was being written, 14 of the 18 units had been filled. It’s been popular with downsizers and empty nesters, Teixeira says.
“Quite frankly, everything that’s going up…were at much higher price points, from $2m up. The Wave offers an alternative with all the amenities, priced from under a million [and] was just a great alternative. And by the way, the majority of people coming to the Wave are not coming from condos; they’re coming from homes.”
There’s no valet, no doorman, you park your car and go right up to your unit.
“It’s for people who say, ‘Oh I never want to live in a condo.’”
