"We're taking both sides of the marina," Andrew Doole told the Sun Sentinel in October 2025. Doole is president of U.S. Boat Shows at Informa Markets, the company that produces the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and he was talking about Pier Sixty-Six. That was the show's first year working with the rebuilt resort, which began as a hotel, marina and fuel dock.
A year later, the show itself has changed only a little. It runs Wednesday, Oct. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. The SE 17th Street corridor at Harbor Beach's northern edge has changed much more. Since the last show, the corridor has added a large new hotel, picked up new restaurants and moved to a new drawbridge schedule. All of it will be on display when the show's crowds arrive.
Half the Show Sits on 17th Street
The 2026 show uses six locations: the Broward County Convention Center, Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Superyacht Village and Pier Sixty-Six Marina. In 2025, the Sun Sentinel's venue guide listed a seventh, 17th Street Yacht Basin. The 2026 ticket page doesn't list it.
Three of the six sit along the 17th Street corridor. Superyacht Village is at Pier Sixty-Six South, where the show puts its largest yachts. Across the marina, Pier Sixty-Six North has been "newly reimagined" for brokerage yachts longer than 100 feet, according to Visit Lauderdale's Sept. 8, 2026 preview. The Convention Center is the show's parking and transportation hub, with more than 3,000 spaces at $20 a day.
The show's transportation is built around that southern cluster. One complimentary shuttle loops from the Convention Center to Superyacht Village to Bahia Mar. The water taxi picks up and drops off at the Convention Center, Pier Sixty-Six Marina North and Bahia Mar. A water taxi day pass costs $15. Water taxi and shuttle service runs these hours:
| Show day | Water taxi and shuttle hours |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, Oct. 28 | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Thursday, Oct. 29 through Saturday, Oct. 31 | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 1 | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
Tickets are digital only and must be bought in advance. There's no box office on site. A one-day general admission ticket is $48. The Windward VIP experience at Superyacht Village includes free self-parking. That puts even more show traffic at Pier Sixty-Six's address, 2301 SE 17th St.
Twenty Months of New Neighbors
The corridor changed in steps. Each one was reported separately, so the changes are easy to miss as a group.
- Jan. 10, 2025: Pier Sixty-Six Resort officially reopens after its redevelopment.
- Spring 2025: Pier Top, the resort's revolving rooftop lounge, reopens. The resort pitches it to locals as well as hotel guests.
- Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, 2025: The show works with the rebuilt Pier Sixty-Six for the first time. The Sun Sentinel reported that the show expected more than 100,000 people.
- Dec. 18, 2025: The 801-room Omni Fort Lauderdale opens at 1850 SE 17th St.
- Feb. 19, 2026: A new Coast Guard schedule for the SE 17th Street Bridge takes effect.
- Spring and summer 2026: Hula Kai at 1075 SE 17th St moves from "opening soon" to "Now Open." Miami New Times had forecast a late-spring opening in April.
- Aug. 10, 2026: This was CAVA's announced grand-opening date at 1344 SE 17th St, per the Sun Sentinel.
The 2025 show worked with one rebuilt resort on the corridor. The 2026 show also has a large new hotel across the street and a different bridge schedule.
The Corridor, Address by Address
Here's what the corridor looks like as of Sept. 30, 2026, based on what each venue publishes about itself. Most of these places were open before the show and will stay open after it.
| Address | Venue | Status as of late September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1035 SE 17th St | Quarterdeck and Whiskey Neat | Sports bar and cocktail lounge sharing one address; Whiskey Neat lists evening hours |
| 1075 SE 17th St | Hula Kai, with the Ohana Rooftop Lounge | Lists itself as open, with weekly hours |
| 1305 SE 17th St | Kelly's Landing | New England seafood with an outdoor patio; regular hours posted |
| 1344 SE 17th St | CAVA, South Harbor Plaza | Aug. 10 grand opening announced; opening not independently confirmed |
| 1555 SE 17th St | Boatyard | Waterfront dining with dock-and-dine service |
| 1850 SE 17th St | Omni Fort Lauderdale | Reef 76 Kitchen & Bar, Hidden Key, Fair Ketch, Leeward Market, Tide Coastal Kitchen, Ibis Sky Lounge |
| 1881 SE 17th St | Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina | Olive & Sea rooftop, Dockside Provisions, the Pool Bar |
| 2301 SE 17th St | Pier Sixty-Six Resort | Calusso, Sotogrande, Garni, Pier Top, Windows on 66, Elate, Saltbreeze, The Nectar Room |
Access at the hotels varies by venue. Pier Sixty-Six says some of its restaurants are open to non-guests, but it doesn't say which ones. It describes Saltbreeze as a venue for resort guests, and two club dining rooms are for members only. The resort pools are for guests, residents and club members, though visitors can buy a day-use pass. The Omni and Hilton dining pages don't say which outlets take walk-ins. Calling ahead is the reliable way to find out, especially during a week when the hotels are full.
A few waterfront spots sit just off the corridor. Southport Raw Bar, at 1536 Cordova Road, has a seafood menu and a waterfront patio with 100 seats on the deck. 15th Street Fisheries, just north of the bridge, has an upstairs dining room and a separate dockside bar. Coconuts, at 429 Seabreeze Blvd, shares its location with its sister dining room, G&B Oyster Bar. The 2026 show map labels one of its gates the "Coconuts Entrance."
The Bridge Runs on a Different Clock This Year
The SE 17th Street Bridge, also called the Brooks Memorial Bridge, is a drawbridge with 55 feet of clearance at mean high water when closed. During the 2025 show, it could open at the top and bottom of every hour. The City of Fort Lauderdale asked the Coast Guard for more limits during weekday rush hours to ease car traffic. The Coast Guard received 161 public comments, and 145 supported the change. Many of those supporters pointed to development and the nearby Convention Center as reasons traffic backs up.
Under the new schedule, the bridge opens only at the top of the hour on weekdays from 6:50 to 9:10 a.m. and from 3:50 to 6:10 p.m. At all other times, it still opens on the hour and half hour. Boats short enough to pass under the closed bridge can go through at any time.
Here's how that schedule falls across show week:
- Wednesday, Oct. 28: Opening day. Shuttle and water taxi service starts at 11 a.m., and the afternoon rush window, with openings only on the hour, applies from 3:50 to 6:10 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30: Both rush windows apply. Show transportation runs 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., so both the morning and afternoon windows fall during show hours or the trips into and out of it.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1: The weekday limits don't apply, so the bridge goes back to opening on the hour and half hour all day.
As of Sept. 30, the city's news page had not posted a show-week closure for 17th Street, A1A or Seabreeze Boulevard. On the official 2026 show map, the A1A and Seabreeze section is marked "Southbound Only." That's a direction label on the map, not a posted closure.
What Is Still Coming
The corridor will keep changing after the show leaves. Pier Sixty-Six lists Pelican Landing as scheduled to open in late 2026. The Omni is promoting Barchetta, a coastal Italian chophouse, for fall 2026. Neither one is counted as open as of today.
The bigger proposal is Pier Sixty-Six Phase II. The Sun Sentinel reported on July 23, 2026 that it would add 339 condos in four 23-story towers, plus shops, restaurants, a boutique grocery, marina slips, a waterfront promenade and a public park under the causeway. In that report, approvals and a construction start were still pending. North of the corridor, the South Florida Business Journal reported in January 2026 on the approved $2 billion Bahia Mar project, which includes St. Regis-branded residences and an upgraded home for the boat show. The 2026 show map shows a St. Regis Sales Gallery on the Bahia Mar grounds. The map doesn't say whether construction has started.
The Las Olas Marina venue gets a floating pickleball court this year, with a friendly tournament for yacht crew members. The bigger change for Harbor Beach is closer to home. Pier Sixty-Six, the Convention Center and the new Omni now put the show's busiest activity directly across from the neighborhood's northern edge, and more projects are planned there.
If you own in Harbor Beach and have been following the Pier Sixty-Six Phase II plans or the Bahia Mar project, Hunter Taravella follows these corridor projects closely and is glad to talk through what they could mean for your building or block. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
