About Hallandale

The area that is now known as Hallandale Beach was not even settled until the late 1800's, when Henry Morrison Flagler expanded the Florida East Coast Railway to Palm Beach in 1895. Before then, there wasn't much to Hallandale Beach except swamp and a gray, sandy soil called marl. The Seminole Indians would hunt in the area and gather cootie root, which was used to produce starchy dough.
Flagler recruited Luther Halland, son of a Swedish minister and brother-in-law to one of Flagler's agents, to start a Swedish settlement south of the Danish settlement of Dania. With the assistance of an immigrant named Olaf Zetterlund, Halland began promoting the frost-free subtropical climate and cheap land of Halland (later to be named Hallandale). Halland set up a small trading post in the new community and became its first postmaster.
Settlement was slow, with only a dozen families in town by 1900 - seven Swedish, three English, and two black. The first school was built in 1904 and had only ten students. The first church, Bethlehem Lutheran, was established in 1906. Originally, Hallandale was a farming community, with farmers using the beach only for recreation.
Hallandale officially became a town on May 14, 1927. By that time, there were 1,500 residents, street lights, and electricity in the community. In 1947, Hallandale was reincorporated as a city, and was allowed to annex land to the east. In August of 1999, the city officially changed its name to Hallandale Beach.

Hottest Home Sales: Exclusive Zip Code Analysis
By NBC 6 Anchor/Reporter Bob Mayer
UPDATED: 12:00 pm EST November 23, 2004

South Florida is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. And now, Bob Mayer has found which exact zip codes of South Florida are the hottest. With the help of the Keyes Company, we commissioned an analysis of the Multiple Listing Service. That's a database of home sales across South Florida. Then, we ranked zip codes in four categories: · The most properties sold · The fewest days on the market · The highest average price · And the most gain in value. Want to live in this hot zip code? Camp out! That's what people did this month, waiting for these South Beach condos to go on sale.

I asked, "Did you ever think that you would live to see the day where people in South Florida would sleep on the street waiting to buy a condo?"
"It's amazing. "It's the biggest boom in South Florida since 1979, 1980."
Our analysis found that zip code 33139 -- South Beach -- sold the most properties in the last 12 months. "We have primarily locals buying in lower to middle tiers, and the out-of-towners tend to buy the luxury apartments in South Beach,".
He warns, the demand for South Beach living is only going to increase. Why? "Between June 2003 and June 2004, the amount of available condos in Miami Beach decreased by fifty percent,". "Now is the time to grab what's left."
Number two most sold? 33178 -- Doral/Miami.
Where are prices rising the most? Head east - not to Las Olas, not to South Beach, but to this modest area in Broward County, zip code 33009 Hallandale. Pappas said, "I think everybody sees the Coral Gables, the Aventura, sees the high-priced markets, the Pinecrest, the Las Olas, and they're looking for what I call the next price tier jump."
Prices in Hallandale Beach are certainly jumping. This area went up an average of nearly 50% per square foot in the last two years. "People are looking for the older communities where there is value," said Pappas.
The most expensive areas in our analysis? The waterfront mansions of Las Olas area of Fort Lauderdale, and the green-covered homes of Coconut Grove. Average price? About $600,000 to $700,000.
Where are homes selling the fastest? Zip code 33066 -- Coconut Creek -- an average of only 33 days on the market.
Pappas says, it's because these homes are still affordable: "Five years ago, 70% to 80% of the homes in South Florida were under $250,000. Today, less than 25% are under $250,000 that are on the market. So, through this appreciation, it's hard to find affordable housing. And I think that may be an area that you can." For example, we found two bedroom, two bath condos listed for only $130,000.
Best zip code in overall combined ranking -- 33076 -- Coral Springs and Parkland, just south of the Palm Beach border.
"It's just been incredible," said Helfman. "The prices in this development started in about the mid-$100s, now they are in the mid-$300s."
The price comes with lake views and a country-club lifestyle. "You get the feeling of luxury with a little less price and more for your money out in that marketplace,"
Tribes to push for full range of casino gambling

By John Holland
STAFF WRITER
Posted March 10 2005
Tuesday's vote approving slot machines gives the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes unwelcome competition, but it also gives them leverage in their push to bring not just slot machines, but craps, blackjack and other Las Vegas-style gambling to their Florida casinos.

Federal regulators said Wednesday the state must now "negotiate in good faith'' with the tribes on a gaming agreement, called a compact, that would allow expanded gambling in exchange for a chunk of the profits. If Florida doesn't negotiate fairly, the Secretary of the Interior could ultimately give approval for anyway, said Sean Pensoneau, spokesman for the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Such a move is unprecedented, he said, since states usually reach agreements.

"It's still early, but the NIGC thinks that this greatly strengthens the tribes' position that the state must negotiate a compact,'' Pensoneau said. "If a class of gaming is available in the state, then the tribes should be able to offer that class of gaming.''

The tribes and federal government must wait to see how the state legislature crafts the new law.

On Tuesday, Broward County residents voted to allow slot machines at pari-mutuel tracks in Dania Beach, Pompano Beach and Hallandale Beach, while Miami-Dade voters rejected a similar measure.

The situation is uncertain since only one county, Broward, approved the slots, and because the vote didn't specify which level of slots would be allowed. Class 2 machines currently in tribe casinos are based on a bingo-style formula in which odds change as each number is pulled.

The federal government defines Class 3 games as having odds that remain constant, including craps, blackjack, roulette and traditional slot machines.

"That's one of the open items," Gov. Jeb Bush said on Wednesday. "There's nothing in the initiatives that says we have to have Class 3 slots."

While Pensoneau said any federal ruling would apply to all casinos run by the Seminoles and the Miccosukee, Bush said that's not necessarily true.

"We still don't have complete clarity. The Miccosukee Tribe gambling facility is in Miami-Dade, and they didn't pass it, so I think we're on new turf here,'' said Bush, who is staunchly opposed to gambling. He also said that if legislators approve only Class 2 slots for the pari-mutuels, the tribes may not be entitled to any changes.

Although slot machines and craps are vastly different games, they are both considered Class 3. The tribes argue that if one form of Class 3 is allowed, they are entitled to all forms.

So far, only the Miccosukee have approached Bush about the compact, and the governor said the state will negotiate when the time comes.
"We have an obligation in law to begin negotiations for a compact, but it's very hard to do that until we get all this settled,'' Bush said.

Miccosukee Chairman Billy Cypress could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Seminole Tribal Councilor Max Osceola said the tribe has been trying to reach a deal with the state for 15 years and will reopen negotiations shortly.

"We still want a compact, but I don't know whether this vote will help us or hurt us,'' Osceola said. "Basically, we want to make a deal that will make the state a partner and let them share the profits.''

In 1979, the Seminoles became the first tribe in the country to open a high-stakes bingo hall, overcoming several legal challenges by the state and former Broward County Sheriff Bob Butterworth. The ruling said tribes can offer the same level of gaming as states, equating state-run lotteries with Indian bingo-style games.

Although tribes are considered sovereign and free from state oversight or interference, they still are accountable to federal law and courts.

Fearing Indian gaming would become rampant, Congress in 1988 created the Indian Gaming Act that forced tribes and states to negotiate compacts for table games like craps, blackjack and roulette and traditional slot machines. Bingo-style games did not need such approval.

Florida refused to sign a compact and the Seminoles sued, arguing their rights were violated. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Florida, saying states, like all Indian tribes, are immune from unwanted lawsuits.

The ruling didn't hurt the Seminoles, who operate large bingo casinos in Hollywood, Tampa and Coconut Creek, and lesser ones on the Brighton and Immokalee Reservations near Lake Okeechobee. The Miccosukee operate a casino and golf resort in Miami-Dade.

But the Seminoles want to expand, and argue Tuesday's vote opens the door.

Although the Seminoles can't sue in court, they can appeal to the Department of Interior, which regulates Indian tribes. Osceola said the Seminoles will not unilaterally install Class 3 slots or gaming, but plan to file a petition with the federal government.

"We're not going to just go out and do what we want, because that would be cutting off our nose to spite our face,'' Osceola said. "There's a process, and we'll follow it. But in the end, I think we'll wind up with a Class 3 license.''

Staff Writer Mark Hollis contributed to this report.