A new construction project is seen next to 427 Hendricks Isle on Monday, May 23, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale. The street’s Old Florida apartment buildings are disappearing to make way for mid-rise condo and apartment towers with a more modern design and a much higher price. (John McCall /South Florida Sun Sentinel)

FORT LAUDERDALE — It almost sounds like a Hollywood script: Unexpected star goes from honky-tonk to high-end, shabby to chic, affordable to pricey.

We’re talking about Hendricks Isle, the longest finger island of Fort Lauderdale’s famous Las Olas Isles just east of downtown. If you haven’t ventured down this up-and-coming isle in awhile, your head might spin taking in all the fancy new buildings that have shot up in the past decade or so.

Boutique condos and townhomes priced at $1 million and up have fast replaced the cheap one-story mom-and-pop apartments built back in the 1940s and 1950s. But critics say Hendricks is taking on a crowded, almost claustrophobic feel as developers build on every square inch they can, all to maximize profits in a booming market.

The street has a strict 55-foot height cap that’s so far been adhered to. But in many cases, developers are requesting — and getting — what city officials call “side yard modifications” that allow them to build much closer to the property line.

Side yard setbacks are based on the height of the building. But Fort Lauderdale’s code allows developers to request extreme reductions in the setback, all the way down to zero.

Debby Eisinger, president of the Hendricks Isle/Isle of Venice Neighborhood Association, says the neighborhood welcomes new growth and development, but would rather not see a wall of five-story condos lining Hendricks.

“We’re not New York,” Eisinger said. “We’re South Florida. We’re living on a waterway. When you’re walking up and down the block, you want to be able to see the water. We don’t want a fortress [blocking the view].”

On Hendricks Isle, mom-and-pop rentals are disappearing one by one to make way for luxury condos and townhomes with a more modern design and a much higher price. (John McCall /South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Worried homeowners have found a sympathetic ear in Commissioner Steve Glassman.

“There’s a concern that it will start to look like a wall of buildings,” Glassman said of the transformation underway on Hendricks Isle. “There’s just not enough space between the buildings. We are creating a street of walls. We need air and light and a view of the water. You can’t have a wall down the whole length of the isle. It’s too overpowering.”

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Glassman, who represents the neighborhood, recently put the brakes on Lumiere, a five-story mid-rise with seven condos slated to rise at 500 Hendricks Isle.

The developer bought the property for $2.4 million in August 2020 and wants to change the setback on each side of the building from 27.5 feet to 12.5 feet. He plans to knock down a shabby two-story structure built in 1948 to make way for Lumiere.

Neighbors say they welcome the incoming project but worry it will be too big for the 100-foot lot and won’t leave enough breathing space for buildings to the north and south.

196 Hendricks Isle is dwarfed by a construction project next door on Monday, May 23, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale. The street’s Old Florida apartment buildings are disappearing to make way for mid-rise condo and apartment towers with a more modern design and a much higher price. (John McCall /South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Ellyn Bogdanoff, an attorney representing residents who live in a neighboring condo, says her clients fiercely oppose Lumiere’s request for a side yard setback.

“They are asking for a 30-foot modification,” she said. “That is huge. It’s a 100-foot lot. To me, a modification is when you need a little bit of wiggle room here and there. That’s not what this is about. This is about purchasing a 100-foot lot and trying to put as much concrete on it as you can.”

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Andrew Schein, attorney for the developer of Lumiere, argues the design is compatible with the neighborhood. Several developers on Hendricks Isle have made similar requests over the years with no trouble at all, he noted.

Fort Lauderdale’s Planning and Zoning board approved the Lumiere project in April, setbacks and all.

It would have been well on its way to breaking ground if not for Glassman.

In mid-May, Glassman delayed the process by requesting the commission have the chance to cast its own vote on the project.

The vote is set for June 21.

“Where do you draw the line?” Glassman asked. “The required side setback is 27.5 feet and they were requesting 12.5 feet [on each side]. These side yard modifications have been routinely granted over the years. It has been a pattern. They usually don’t make it to the commission for a vote. That’s why I called this one up.”

The Lumiere, a five-story condo at 500 Hendricks Isle, is slated to replace an old two-story condo built in 1948. But neighbors are worried the building is too wide for the lot and won’t leave enough breathing space for buildings next door. (In-Site Design Group)

The building boom transforming Hendricks Isle really took off in the past decade or so — and it’s not over yet.

“There are still some older apartment buildings left and those are the ones developers are picking off one by one,” says Bobbi Ocean, a Fort Lauderdale real estate agent who lives downtown. “It was always kind of helter-skelter on Hendricks Isle, like the old honky-tonk days of Fort Lauderdale. Now it’s a boutique street, almost like it’s been reborn. It really is a renaissance.”

One reason for the uptick: Hendricks and neighboring Isle of Venice, where a similar construction boom is underway, are the only two streets in the mansion-lined Las Olas Isles neighborhood that allow apartments and condos.

Most of the buildings on Hendricks Isle seem bunched together without much space between them — even the older ones. But those older buildings are just one story, or in some cases two, and were built before the 1997 code went into effect requiring more space between buildings.

Those who live on Hendricks say the smaller buildings aren’t as overwhelming as seeing condo after condo packed in tight.

A tiered wedding cake design would help make the new buildings going up, including Lumiere, look less bulky, critics say. But Lumiere doesn’t call for a tiered design, which would cut into the size of the units along with the developer’s profit.

Built in 1948, this two-story building at 500 Hendicks Isle will be torn down to make way for the five-story Lumiere project if commissioners give the word. A commission vote is coming on June 21. (John McCall /South Florida Sun Sentinel)

A walk through the neighborhood revealed that only one of the taller buildings on Hendricks Isle has a tiered wedding cake design.

The mix of older and newer buildings is fairly even at this point, with 24 newcomers sitting pretty next to 30 older properties waiting to be redeveloped.

But the new buildings will soon outnumber the old.

A few are under construction. One property has a “For Sale” sign out front. And a couple buildings have been sold and have signage showing what’s coming: Two more five-story boutique condos.

One lot at the tip of Hendricks sits empty, waiting for crews to break ground on the ViewPointe Hendricks project.

It’s time for the mayor and commission to weigh in on what kind of look they want for Hendricks Isle and its sister street to the east, the Isle of Venice, Glassman says.

“These are expensive townhomes and condos on these two isles,” Glassman said. “We are no longer dealing with mom and pops. The aesthetic of these isles has changed dramatically in the past decade, but there’s still a lot of development to go. To me, this is really about looking to the future of these isles.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan