She’s no ordinary tree, this majestic 100-year-old beauty insured for $1 million.
Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s famous rain tree — the largest of its kind in the continental U.S. — has a team of admirers who watch it like a hawk, wondering whether it will live or die. And right now, they say they have reason to worry.
The 80-foot-high tree was hoisted into the air, roots and all, back in August to make way for two sleek new apartment towers on the south bank of the New River in the 400 block of Southwest Fourth Avenue.
Developer Asi Cymbal had picked out a new home for the tree, closer to the water where he says it will be a showpiece for his new development. But to this day, the tree is still waiting to be planted in the ground. For now, it sits on a grassy plateau 6 feet above ground, its root ball perched in a planter anchored to concrete pillars for support.
Last fall, Cymbal said the tree, weighing in at 1.5 million pounds, would be planted at the end of the year, after a collapsing seawall was replaced. But work has yet to begin on the new seawall.
Cymbal now says the tree will likely be moved to its new home near the water in August, a full year after it was lifted up out of the ground.
‘Light a fire’
Rose Bechard Butman, an arborist and member of the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club, was there on the day the tree was rolled to its new spot.
“In a perfect world, it would have been better for them to wait and move the tree when the seawall was done,” she said. “Its roots aren’t going to be able to grow while it’s out of the ground. They should have prepped the area for the tree before the move.”
Butman checks on the tree regularly, but can’t get too close of a look from the other side of the construction fence.
“Hopefully they’ll get it in the ground,” she said. “We all want this tree to survive. My concern is it that it gets enough water. All we can do is hold our breath and wait. It would be nice if someone could light a fire and get something done.”
Neighbors have noticed the thinning branches and worry the century-old tree might be dying.
Nonsense, Cymbal says.
“Have you ever seen a happier and healthier rain tree?” he responded when questioned by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I have,” Fort Lauderdale arborist and tree preservationist Tom Chancey said. “The same tree, six or seven years ago.”
Chancey and his son Jeremy, also an arborist, say they’ve been keeping an eye on the prized rain tree for years now.
“This tree is sacred to Fort Lauderdale. And we want to make sure that legacy is not lost,” Jeremy Chancey said. “It’s priceless.”
So far, the tree seems to be surviving up in the air, but Jeremy Chancey says he’s not sure how long it can last.
Last August, Cymbal hired tree preservation experts based in Texas to move the tree to its current spot last summer using a special ArborLift that can roll giant trees over turf and concrete with minimal harm.
Seawall on the way
Critics are wondering why they didn’t wait until the seawall was repaired.
Cymbal, who bought the property in 2012, has not yet broken ground on the project.
“Once our raintree is preserved in her final location, we will break ground,” Cymbal said. “We did not want to compromise the health and safety of our rain tree by performing necessary invasive geotechnical and construction borings around our raintree’s original location.”
Cymbal was granted a permit for the new seawall on Jan. 30.
Work should begin in April, according to Cymbal.
Fort Lauderdale activist Ted Inserra rides by the tree about four times a week on the way to work. He blasted Cymbal for not having his “ducks in a row” before moving the tree.
“They say they have to fortify the seawall before they can plant the tree back in the ground, but no one is ever working on the seawall,” Inserra said. “Why didn’t they have all this lined up ahead of time?”
Inserra says the tree has undergone a dramatic change since being moved.
“They have all these ropes on it,” he said. “It looks like it’s being held hostage. That tree used to be teeming with life, squirrels and birds everywhere. Now it’s leafless, lifeless and has no birds on it whatsoever. It used to be so lush and beautiful. Now it’s bare. It hardly has any leaves on it. There’s no vibrant color anymore.”
‘Lost all its hair’
In the meantime, Cymbal has an expert checking on the tree. So does the city. Both Cymbal and the city say the tree is doing just fine.
Every week, an arborist who works for the city heads out to check on the tree, which sits behind a construction fence next to the Esplanade condo.
“The tree appears to be in good health,” said Chris Cooper, director of Fort Lauderdale’s Development Services Department. “Trees go through cycles. They shed leaves periodically and then new leaves come in. There’s signs of new leaves and branches.”
Cymbal has hired Jeff Shimonski, president of Tropical Designs of Florida, to monitor the rain tree weekly.
“She is well irrigated and receives water regularly, certainly more so than she ever received in her original location,” Cymbal said. “Her canopy is growing in again and she is turning bright green, a color she hasn’t seen in a long time.”
Environmental Design Inc., the company hired by Cymbal to move the rain tree, has made a name for itself moving giant trees.
David Cox, vice president of the company’s Eastern Region, could not be reached for comment this week.
Kimberly Christie, whose condo balcony overlooks the tree, says there was a time she couldn’t see through the branches to the water taxis below. Now she can because the branches have lost so many leaves.
“I’m worried the tree is dying,” she said. “It’s like it’s lost all its hair. Why would they move it out of the way if they weren’t ready to plant it? Other people are upset too, but who do you talk to? Nobody cares.”
Fort Lauderdale’s elected leaders recognized the importance of the rain tree back in 1987. That year, the tree was granted special protection, with commission approval required to move it or cut it down.
In 2013, Cymbal got the approval he needed to move the tree, but only after agreeing to pay Fort Lauderdale $1 million if the tree died within five years of being moved.
When his plans changed, he chose a new spot for the tree, closer to the river. That meant he needed another green light from the commission. He got it in January 2022.
Mayor Dean Trantalis was alarmed to hear the tree has yet to be planted in the ground.
“He’s going to lose $1 million if that tree dies,” Trantalis said. “Maybe I need to talk to those folks and see if I can find a new home for the tree that’s been an iconic presence downtown for a century. This has become an orphan tree — and it flies in the face of what we were expecting from this developer. Its life is being compromised by remaining out of the ground for so many months. The question is why was it moved so early to begin with.”
Trantalis added: “He’s under contract to preserve this tree. Otherwise he will suffer the penalty of $1 million. I’d rather have a happy, healthy tree than the money.”
Commissioner John Herbst echoed that sentiment.
“You can’t buy a 100-year-old tree,” Herbst said. “We need to be monitoring it to make sure the tree is not dying. I think we have an obligation to keep an eye on the condition of the tree. If it is dying, we need to encourage them to take some action to try and salvage it before it gets to the point that it’s too late.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
