Millions of dollars have been committed to two hotels on Ft. Lauderdale 's 17 th Street Causeway that likely will change the face of the Intracoastal Waterway there.

Work began in March on a $100 million project to transform the old Best Western property at the southeast foot of the 17th Street Causeway bridge into a new megayacht marina and luxury five-star hotel.

Temporary improvements were made to the bulkhead to enable secure dockage at the site while plans proceed to raze the old hotel and clear the property for The Sails, a 12-story hotel, dry stack storage and a marina.

The property is owned by Tom Gonzalez, owner of Shadow Marine, and is being developed by Ft. Lauderdale real estate attorney Ron Mastriana. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

"We're raising the property to the highest esteem to make it a leading hotel not only in the yachting community but in the world," Mastriana said.

Minor remodeling of the existing docks began in mid-March, with major work on to replace the entire dock and bulkhead expected to have begun in late March. Eventually, the marina will include 2,000 linear feet of dockage.

When finished, the docks will be doubled in size to 10 feet wide with 480, three-phase power, WiFi and broadband, water, pump-out stations, "you name it," Mastriana said. The one thing the marina will not have is a fuel dock.

"It's just too easy to get fuel by barge," he said.

The dock renewal should take six to eight months, Mastriana said, provided all permits are approved. Dockmaster Tim Nipple remains with the property.

In other Ft. Lauderdale marina news, LXR Resorts announced its $50 million plan to renovate the old Marina Marriott hotel on the northwest foot of the 17 th Street Causeway bridge. The new property will be called Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club.

The property will include a new interior by designer Robert Barry and a signature restaurant. The hotel has 579 rooms, 33 slips for yachts up to 300 feet, and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. It is the 24 th property in LXR's growing collection of luxury resorts and hotels.

"We intend to expedite enhancements, starting with repairs needed from last year's hurricane damage," said John Carns, hotel manager. Before joining the project, Carns was interim general manager at Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, and director of operations at The Ritz Carlton Resort in Naples .