Construction begins on The Dunes Fort Lauderdale along A1A
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, August 16, 2025
Moss has started construction on The Dunes Fort Lauderdale, a 16-story, 205-room oceanfront hotel at 441 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard to be managed by Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The roughly 206,000-square-foot project, developed by G. Holdings (Granite) and costing more than $175 million, includes ocean-facing dining, a mezzanine event venue, a third-floor pool deck, a rooftop bar, and subterranean valet parking. The groundbreak comes amid a cooling national hotel pipeline driven mainly by higher financing costs, prompting more renovations and conversions while many planned projects remain stalled.
Moss has started construction on The Dunes Fort Lauderdale, a 16-story, 205-room hotel being built for a private developer and to be operated under the Autograph Collection by a major hotel company. The project is estimated at more than $175 million and will rise at 441 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, along A1A. The building is roughly 206,000 square feet and will include an ocean-facing restaurant, a mezzanine-level event venue, a third-floor pool and bar deck, a rooftop bar and dining venue with panoramic views, and a valet-operated subterranean parking garage. Design work was led by FSMY Architects & Planners with interiors by Studio Munge. A construction timeline has not been released.
At the same time The Dunes broke ground, industry tracking shows a large number of hotel projects remain stalled across the country. About 139,000 hotel rooms were under construction nationwide at the end of the second quarter, a drop of roughly 15,000 rooms from the same time last year. Meanwhile, more than 615,000 rooms remain in planning and final planning stages, with the final planning category rising nearly 10 percent year over year.
Financing conditions and high borrowing costs are the main reasons many planned hotels are not moving to construction. Lenders remain cautious and interest rates are keeping many deals from being workable. Labor and material cost pressures exist, but they have not been the primary force behind the current slowdown. As a result, developers are favoring property conversions and renovations over greenfield new builds until financing becomes more certain. Many in the development community are cautiously optimistic that conditions could improve by 2026.
The Dunes represents the first Autograph Collection-branded hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The project brings a new full-service beachfront option and several event and food-and-beverage amenities aimed at both visitors and group business. The construction manager, Moss, has regional offices in Florida, Texas, and Hawaii and has overseen other hospitality projects in the state, including notable resorts and branded properties along the Gulf coast.
The broader pipeline congestion is a sign that overall supply growth for U.S. hotels could slow further. With a high number of rooms sitting in planning rather than moving to construction, anticipated additions to room supply may be delayed or canceled if financing remains tight. Brands continue to roll out new products and developers still show interest in building, but many projects remain on hold until cost and lending dynamics shift.
The start of work at The Dunes Fort Lauderdale is a notable local win for new hotel product, yet it arrives amid a national landscape where many planned projects are waiting for financing. The combination of elevated interest rates and careful lender underwriting has created a backlog of projects in planning that could keep supply growth muted over the near term.
The Dunes is a 16-story, 205-room Autograph Collection hotel under construction at 441 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. It will include multiple dining venues, event space, a pool deck and subterranean valet parking.
The project is estimated at more than $175 million and is approximately 206,000 square feet in size.
High interest rates and tight lending conditions are the main reasons many projects remain in planning. While labor and material costs are factors, financial constraints are currently the dominant issue.
Industry tracking shows about 139,000 rooms were under construction at the end of the latest quarter, a decline from the previous year.
More than 615,000 rooms were in planning and final planning stages, with final planning rising nearly 10 percent year over year.
Many developers expect financing conditions to be more favorable by 2026, but timing will depend on interest rate movements and lender appetite.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project | The Dunes Fort Lauderdale, Autograph Collection |
| Developer | Private developer (listed as G. Holdings/Granite) |
| Construction Manager | Moss |
| Operator | Autograph Collection (Marriott affiliate) |
| Rooms | 205 guest rooms |
| Stories | 16 |
| Size | Approximately 206,000 sq ft |
| Estimated Cost | More than $175 million |
| Address | 441 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard (A1A) |
| Design | FSMY Architects & Planners; interiors by Studio Munge |
| Notable Amenities | Ocean-facing restaurant, mezzanine event venue, pool/bar deck, rooftop dining, subterranean valet parking |
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