Development, Growth & Taxes

Rendering courtesy of Wilton Hotel & Pool Club.

Zero. None. Nada. Zip. That’s how many groundbreakings were held in Wilton Manors in 2024. None are on the calendar for 2025. It’s going on five years since the city rewrote its code to encourage development and population growth. Early this year, city commissioners approved Wilma On the Drive for Alibi Plaza and a hotel for Dixie Hwy.

The hotel appears on track, but hopes for an autumn groundbreaking proved wildly optimistic. The Wilma project appears indefinitely stalled. The property was just sold and there’s been no commitment to move forward with the parking garage and mixed-use apartment building.

The urgency to grow the city’s tax base came into focus when commissioners raised property taxes 10% and are warning of similar hikes in the coming years. Broward County just approved 750 more housing units for Wilton Manors, but no one’s rushing to Home Depot to buy shovels.