July 20–FORT LAUDERDALE — The iconic Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is undergoing a $7 million makeover this summer that's slated to be completed in time for it to host the city's annual boat show this year.

The redesign of the DoubleTree by Hilton-branded hotel at 801 Seabreeze Blvd., will sport a nautical theme inspired by the area's boating, marina and beach lifestyle, the project's interior designer said.

"It will have a sort of casual elegance it does not have today," said Sherif Ayad, president of ID & Design International of Fort Lauderdale.

In all, 181 rooms in Bahia Mar's main tower will be upgraded with a blue and white color scheme, new carpeting and headboards, peak wood dressers and desks, new appliances and custom light fixtures with USB outlets. King-sized beds will be added to the oceanfront rooms.

"There's a lot of history and nostalgia around Bahia Mar and once a year it's [host] for the boat show and we have to pay homage to that," Ayad said.

New underwater design elements will enhance the resort's public areas including a $50,000 chandelier draped in cascading strands of silver-flecked blue acrylic glass shards. It will be the centerpiece of the atrium.

The resort's corridors and meeting space, including its 8,208-square-foot Commodore ballroom will receive new carpeting and light fixtures. Capping off the ballroom's new look will be another sealife-inspired chandelier hanging from its ceiling.

Lounge chairs and cabanas at the resort's Waves Rooftop Pool Bar and Grill will receive new coral-colored cushions to complement its white and blue d?cor.

The Bahia Mar's tower building opened in 1975 following the resort's marina wing in 1966. The marina wing was renovated in 2015. In all, the resort has 296 rooms.

New landscaping and a refreshed food and beverage program will be in place ahead of the 58th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which runs Nov. 1-5.

"Work began a month ago and the goal is to have it 100 percent complete by mid-October," said James "Jimmy" Tate, CEO of Tate Capital in North Miami, and a partner in the resort complex's new majority ownership, Rahn Bahia Mar LLC.

The Rahn Bahia partnership, which includes Tate's company, Rok Acquisitions, Rialto Capital Management and RCI Marine, acquired the property's lease, which had 48 years remaining, in July 2014 for an undisclosed sum.

The hotel's adjacent Bahia Mar Yachting Center, which features a 250-slip marina, has hosted the Fort Lauderdale boat show since 1976. In 1984, the show expanded to both sides of the center.

Throughout the decades, the Bahia Mar hotel has served as the boat show's headquarters and epicenter of visitor and sales activity.

Tate said the new ownership has invested more than $10 million in property improvements since taking over.

"We've put a lot of TLC into the property to improve the guest experience," he said.

Last month, the boat show's owner, Marine Industries Association of South Florida, and producer Informa Exhibitions, signed a 30-year agreement with Tate's ownership group to keep the event at Bahia Mar through 2050.

That same month, the marina received a Foreign Trade Zone designation, allowing international vessels to dock duty-free. The zone allows local brokers to show foreign vessels to U.S. citizens.

Tate is also spearheading a multimillion-dollar effort to redevelop Bahia Mar, which would include eight towers comprised of a replacement hotel and seven residential buildings, according to preliminary plans disclosed to the Sun Sentinel in April. The project would also include surrounding dockage for yachts and boats, a grocery store, restaurants and a marina village.

Last month, city commissioners voted 4-1 to allow Tate's group to submit new plans to redevelop the site.

Tate said Wednesday he expects to receive feedback from the city's development review committee later this month.

"We're trying to work very closely with the city," he said. "We believe it's very compatible with the area and per code."

Staff writers Larry Barszewski and Paul Owers contributed to this report.

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