Wilton Manors Mayor Scott Newton is addressing the city’s development, or lack thereof.

“We have run into a couple stumbles.”

He made the comments during the city commission meeting on Jan. 14.

“We’ve had four or five projects that were supposed to start a year or two ago, and they have not.”

The city has spent years reworking the city code to permit taller, mid-rise buildings and then vetting and approving projects brought to them by developers. Despite those efforts, ground remains unbroken.

One realtor unattached to any of the proposed projects said companies may be waiting for interest rates to come down. Even with the new height limits, major developments may remain cost prohibitive.

Perhaps the most high profile project to potentially fall through is the Wilma On the Drive. Approved a year ago, it was to tear down the now-vacant building next to Alibi and put up a parking garage and a mixed-use apartment complex.

The entire property recently sold and, according to one report, which appears to have been deleted, the new owners are hedging on going forward with the development. Plans remain on the web.

Another project is a long-pined-for hotel. Vice Mayor Chris Caputo recently posted on social media that groundbreaking won’t happen until at least late 2025 and possibly next year.

The reason these are important is because the city’s population, and therefore a good portion of tax revenue, is stagnant. Wilton is in the middle of a years-long budget crisis. Property taxes went up 10% this year and a similar increase is projected for the 2025/26 budget.

“This commission has worked hard in the past to make sure what’s going to happen in the future,” Newton said. “This is going to be a very, very lean year, I believe. It’s going to have some big issues and some questions we are going to have to ask ourselves."