☀️ GOOD MORNING, HOLLYWOOD!
Good morning, Hollywood. With the World Cup behind us, we’re back to the stuff that actually runs our days - and today it’s the cranes reshaping our skyline, plus the flip side: how hard it’s getting to actually buy a home around here. We’ve also got a bagel shop headed for Young Circle, a hurricanes exhibition opening tonight, Fashion Week on a Dania Beach rooftop, and a storm-prep expo you’ll want to know about. Let’s dig in.

📰 IN TODAY’S BLEND
🏗️ Hollywood’s building boom, by the numbers
🏠 Why buying a home here keeps getting harder
🥯 Bagels & Co. is coming to Young Circle
🖼️ A hurricanes-and-history exhibition opens today
👗 Fashion Week returns - on a Dania Beach rooftop
🌀 Spotlight - the Hurricane Preparedness Expo

📅 WHAT’S HAPPENING - July 22-25

Wednesday, July 22 - Today!
🖼️ “Force of Nature: Hurricanes and Hollywood” opens at the ArtsPark Gallery - reception 6:30 PM, free
🏊 Wellness Wednesday at Dania Pointe - free yoga 6 PM + Zumba 7 PM, on the Lawn
🎬 $1 Summer Movies at Regal Dania Pointe, from 11 AM

Thursday, July 23
🌀 Hurricane Preparedness Expo at the Hollywood Rotary Club (2349 Taylor St) - 4-7 PM, free
🏛️ Broward Property Appraiser Outreach at Hollywood City Hall - 10 AM-noon
🎭 Latin Nights at The Village at Gulfstream Park (Hallandale) - free salsa lesson 6 PM, dancing to 9 PM

Friday, July 24
🎧 Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire at Hard Rock Live - 7:30 PM
🍸 National Tequila Day Tasting at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort - 4-5 PM, ticketed
🛍️ Night Market Friday at Dania Pointe - artisan vendors + bites, from 6 PM

Saturday, July 25
🎧 Bread Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin tribute) at the Hollywood Beach Bandshell - 7 PM, free
🎧 Disturbed at Hard Rock Live - 8 PM
🍽️ Yellow Green Farmers Market (Hollywood) - 200+ vendors, 10 AM-6:30 PM

COMING UP
🎵 FM Band Miami (80s + 90s hits) at South City Beach Park, Hallandale - Sun July 26, free
♠️ Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open - July 28-Aug 11
👗 FLL Fashion Week Summer Shows on the 101 Dania Beach rooftop - Sat Aug 1
🎒 Back-to-school: Broward classes start Mon Aug 10; Florida tax holiday runs through Aug 20
🍽️ Common Room + the Brooklyn Room coming to 2032 Harrison St, Hollywood
🍜 Zhō (pan-Asian) coming to Dania Pointe - later this year

🌡️ High: ~92° | Feels like ~105° | Hot, afternoon storms returning
The storms are creeping back. It’s still hot and sticky - low 90s with a heat index near 105 - but rain chances climb through the afternoon, with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely later in the day. Keep an umbrella handy if you’re heading to the Force of Nature reception tonight. Same drill otherwise: hydrate, take shade at midday, and never leave kids or pets in a parked car.

Source: National Weather Service / CBS Miami

🏗️ By the Numbers: Hollywood’s Building Boom

Drive down Federal Highway or along the beach lately and you can see it: cranes, scaffolding, “Now Leasing” banners everywhere. It’s not your imagination. The city’s latest Development Activity Report counts more than $2 billion in new private investment and over 3,500 residential units in Hollywood’s pipeline - a genuine building boom reshaping the skyline.

Some of the anchors: University Station, a $100 million transit-oriented project at 421 N. 21st Avenue with 216 income-restricted apartments and a garage built for the coming Broward commuter-rail station; and Portofino Hollywood at 1301 S. Ocean Drive, the Related Group public-private deal set to bring a new oceanfront community center plus “Hero Housing” rentals for first responders. Add the recent move to raise the Federal Highway density cap toward 25,100 units, and the trajectory is clear.

Not everyone is thrilled. Projects like Gil Ovadia’s 22-unit building in Hollywood Lakes have drawn neighborhood pushback, and the century-old Hollywood Beach Resort is headed for a $100 million redevelopment that’s stirred its own debate. Boom, or too much too fast? It’s the defining question for the city right now - and it leads straight into today’s next story.

Source: City of Hollywood / Discover South Florida

🏠 The Other Side of the Boom: Who Can Actually Afford to Buy?

All those new towers come with a hard question: who can afford to live in them? A new look at the Miami-area housing market lands with a thud. The median home now runs about $680,000 - roughly two and a half times the national median - and analysts estimate you need an income between $160,000 and $215,000 to comfortably carry a mortgage on it.

By some estimates, that prices out 80 to 85% of Americans. Nationally, the typical first-time buyer is now around 40 years old, a record high, and a growing chorus of housing experts say middle-class earners in South Florida may simply be better off renting for now. Part of the squeeze is a steady influx of high earners, with new arrivals to Florida reporting average incomes nearly double the national norm.

There are bright spots. Condo prices have softened, inventory is rising, and homes are sitting on the market longer - all of which nudges a little leverage back toward buyers. And locally, income-restricted projects like University Station and the “Hero Housing” at Portofino are aimed squarely at that affordability gap. But for a lot of young families, owning a home here still feels a long way off.

Source: USA Today

🥯 Bagels & Co. Is Rolling Into Young Circle

Good news for your morning routine: Bagels & Co. is opening a Hollywood location at 303 S. Federal Highway, a short walk from Young Circle - and a welcome addition to a downtown that keeps growing its food lineup.

The South Florida chain has built a following at its shops in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Pompano, and Davie, dealing in the thing every good neighborhood needs and Hollywood has been a little short on: a proper bagel spot. Think fresh-baked bagels, generous sandwiches, and the usual breakfast-and-lunch staples.

The website still says “coming soon,” so there’s no firm opening date yet - but it’s one more reason to spend a morning downtown. We’ll let you know when the ovens fire up.

Source: Axios Hollywood

🖼️ Opening Today: “Force of Nature: Hurricanes and Hollywood”

Timely doesn’t begin to cover it. The Hollywood Historical Society’s new exhibition, “Force of Nature: Hurricanes and Hollywood,” opens today, Wednesday, July 22, with a reception at 6:30 p.m. at the ArtsPark Gallery - right as we head into the heart of storm season.

Curated by Andy Ruffner, the show traces the storms that shaped our city, starting with the catastrophic 1926 Miami Hurricane that tore through a young Hollywood barely a year after its founding. Drawing on photos and artifacts from the Society’s archives, it connects that history to the community we are today. It runs through September 30, and admission is free.

One more reason to go tonight: it dovetails perfectly with tomorrow’s Hurricane Preparedness Expo (see today’s Spotlight). Learn the history, then go get ready for the future. Details at hollywoodhistoricalsociety.org.

Source: Hollywood Historical Society

👗 Fashion Week Struts Back to a Dania Beach Rooftop

Dania Beach is having a moment. FLL Fashion Week returns for a summer edition, and its first show kicks off Saturday, August 1 on the rooftop at 101 Dania Beach (101 SW 1st Street) - an open-air runway high above the city, sponsored by the Dania Beach CRA.

The evening runs 5:30 to 10 p.m. and promises designer runway shows, luxury pop-up shops, gourmet refreshments, and photo-worthy installations, with designers, influencers, and style watchers all in the mix. It’s the kind of glossy, see-and-be-seen night you’d expect in Miami - happening right here in Dania Beach.

A heads-up if you’re interested: organizers say tickets are nearly sold out, so grab yours soon (they’re on Eventbrite). Free public parking is available at the Dania Beach City Hall Garage, 100 W. Dania Beach Blvd. Sea it, live it, love it, as they say.

Source: Dania Beach CRA / FLL Fashion Week

🌀 Get Storm-Ready: The Hurricane Preparedness Expo

We say it every summer because it’s true: the time to prepare is before there’s a storm in the forecast. This week there’s an easy, free way to do exactly that. The Hollywood Rotary Club hosts a Hurricane Preparedness Expo this Thursday, July 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2349 Taylor Street - free and open to the public.

It’s built to be genuinely useful (and a little fun for the kids): explore police and fire emergency vehicles up close, meet emergency-preparedness experts, and learn about products and services that can help protect your home and family. You’ll walk out with real tips and resources to get your household ready before the next storm.

It’s a smart stop in a summer that’s already had us talking hurricanes - and proceeds benefit the Rotary Building Fund, so you’re supporting the community while you’re at it. Swing by after work on Thursday; it’s an hour well spent.

Source: City of Hollywood / Hollywood Rotary Club