By Dan Christensen and Noreen Marcus, FloridaBulldog.org
In the three weeks before Josh Levy’s re-election as mayor of Hollywood, a political action committee backing him accepted $100,000 in contributions from corporations tied to a Miami developer looking to build a controversial 30-story, luxury beachfront condo tower on public land.
State election records show the money given to A Bright Future For Hollywood PAC came from four companies traceable to the Related Group, Jorge Perez’s powerhouse building firm. The contributions appear disguised to hide the Related Group’s involvement.
The money flowed as Levy continued to champion the Related Group’s condo project, the Hollywood Arts Residences at 1301 S. Ocean Dr., despite opposition from residents who say it violates the city’s master land-use plan. Events, too, have unfolded as the wealthy Levy family publicly announced in June that it intends “to focus our efforts on real estate development” after selling its Hollywood car dealership.
The Hollywood commission OK’d the $138-million project in the Spring of 2022, but it still needs Broward County Commission approval.
The Related Group also has a Jan. 22, 2025 deadline to obtain final building approvals, according to Hollywood Commissioner Caryl Shuham, who voted against the beach condo tower. She has told her constituents the company hasn’t taken steps to secure the approvals, suggesting Related may allow its contract with the city to expire.
“The citizens of Hollywood need to stay vigilant. The 1301 project is not going away and with Levy being re-elected, the Related Group has a friend in the mayor’s office,” Thomas Cole wrote to Florida Bulldog. Cole, who splits his time between Hollywood and New York and votes in New York, actively opposes the project.
THE BRIGHT FUTURE PAC
The Bright Future PAC was set up in February 2024 by Fort Lauderdale lawyer Jason Blank. Blank, the president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, is a Democratic political operative who has established numerous political committees in recent years.
While contributions to the campaigns of local political candidates are limited to $1,000 per election, there is generally no cap on contributions to political committees. Indeed, state law prohibits “a county, municipality, or any other local governmental entity” from enacting any limits on contributions to political committees.
Levy’s campaign raised $195,000 through Oct. 31, city records show. State records show that through the same date the Bright Future PAC collected $272,000 from 21 companies and individuals, most with various real estate interests in Hollywood.
The largest contribution to the Bright Future PAC, $50,000, was made on Oct. 16 by an entity calling itself Dexa Financials LLC. The company is not incorporated to do business in Florida but lists its address as 2999 NE 191st St. Penthouse 2, Aventura.
That’s also the address of the BH Group, a real estate investment firm that is partnering with the Related Group in several multi-million-dollar joint ventures. (The 191st Streetproperty is owned by a company traceable to the Related Group.)
BH Group, led by Liat and Isaac Toledano, is co-developer with the Related Group in building the Icon Beach Residences, which includes a proposed 38-story oceanfront tower at 3451 S. Ocean Drive, Hollywood – 21 blocks away from the planned Hollywood Arts Residences.
The website Florida YIMBY, or “Yes In My Back Yard,” reported in March that Related and BH won approval for a proposed 42-story tower at Diplomat Landing, a new addition to the Diplomat Beach Resort at 3555 S. Ocean Drive in Hollywood.
According to BH Group’s website, the two are also partners in other multi-million-dollar joint ventures that include the Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach, the mixed-use Plantation City Center and the W Pompano Beach Hotel and Residences.
MORE CONTRIBUTIONS TIED TO THE RELATED GROUP
On Oct. 28 the Bright Future PAC received another $30,000 from a pair of companies, PRH Investments and Landings Venture LLC. Both listed their address as 2850 Tigertail Ave., Suite 800, in Miami’s Coconut Grove. That is also the address of the Related Group’s headquarters.
State corporate records identify the Related Group’s boss Jorge Perez as the CEO of PRH Investments LLC. Landings Venture is listed as the sole officer of Diplomat Landings Phase 1 Holdings, LLC.
Two days later, on Oct. 30, 26 Realty LLC contributed the final $20,000 that brings to $100,000 the total PAC donations from companies with Related Group ties. And 26 Realty LLC lists the same address as the BH Group, 2999 NE 191st St. Penthouse 2, Aventura.
Neither Mayor Levy nor Jorge Perez responded to emailed requests for comment from Florida Bulldog.
State election records show that in all the Bright Future PAC collected $272,000 from 21 companies and individuals, most with various real estate interests in Hollywood.
Most of it – nearly $148,000 – was paid to MDW Communications, a digital and direct mail marketing firm working for Levy’s campaign, between Sept. 24 and Oct. 21, the records say. Nearly all the rest of the money went to Jason Blank’s law firm, Haber Blank, and to Hollywood’s Nizel Law, the law firm of the Bright Future PAC’s chairman, Harris Nizel.
The PAC’s expenditure records through late October show it still had approximately $100,000 in cash going into the campaign’s final week.
Levy’s 2024 campaign paid MDW almost $125,000 for consulting and “voter communications.” As of Nov. 1, the campaign reported having about $33,000 cash remaining.
RESIDENTS WATCHING
Hollywood residents who tried and failed to convince the city commission to reject the Related Group’s proposal regarding the 30-story Hollywood Arts Residences are scrutinizing the developer’s every move. The tower project, including a community center and other public accommodations, would take two years to complete.
City resident Steve Schneider, who alerted Florida Bulldog to questionable donations to the pro-Levy Bright Future PAC after our Nov. 25 story about the controversial project, said he emailed Mayor Levy to ask him “why he needed so much money to mount a reelection bid for a job that essentially pays a part-time salary.
“Maybe the folks at the Bulldog can get some real answers. He responded in general terms about why he may have needed several hundred thousand dollars to run for a third term. Later that same day, though, Josh sent me an email claiming he won’t communicate with me any longer because all I do is allegedly try to hurt him.”
Levy, a lawyer for 24 years, was general counsel to his family’s auto dealership, Hollywood Kia.
In June the Levy family sold Hollywood Kia to Tampa-based Morgan Auto Group, which has 77 dealerships in Florida, according to a news release. The sales price was $22.5 million, The Real Deal reported.
“It was a pleasure for our family to own Hollywood Kia for the past 16 years, but we have decided to focus our efforts on real estate development,” Josh Levy’s brother Joe Levy said in a statement. He didn’t elaborate.
Catherine “Cat” Uden was one of three candidates who ran against Levy and lost on Nov. 5. She had the highest vote total of the challengers – 18,683, far short of the 30,750 votes Levy won to clinch his third and final term.
“A lot of people feel that’s a conflict of interest,” Uden said last week. “There’s nothing inherently wrong with real estate development, but I don’t feel that you should be a mayor and do that.”
Uden said Levy’s pugnacious support for the 1301 project, even after city planners advised the commission to reject it due to potential flooding and other problems, convinced her to run against him.
“It was a terrible decision that he made. The public was staunchly opposed to the project,” she said. She was incensed by “the way that Josh did it, calling everyone slanted and misinformed, blaming it on the media.”
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