FORT LAUDERDALE — She’s no ordinary tree, this majestic 100-year-old beauty insured for $1 million.
The famous rain tree in downtown Fort Lauderdale – the largest of its kind in the continental US – has a team of admirers watching it like a hawk, wondering if it will live or die. And right now, they say they have cause for concern.
The 80-foot-tall tree was hoisted with its roots in the air in August to make way for two elegant new residential towers on the south bank of the New River at the 400 block of Southwest Fourth Avenue.
Developer Asi Cymbal had chosen a new home for the tree, closer to the water, where he says it will be a showcase for his new development. But to this day the tree is waiting to be planted in the ground. It currently sits on a grassy plateau 6 feet above the ground, its root ball perched in a planter anchored to concrete pillars for support.
Last autumn, Cymbal said the 1.5million pound tree would be planted later this year after a collapsing seawall was replaced. But work on the new dike has yet to begin.
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 from the ground.
Rose Bechard Butman, an arborist and member of the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club, was there the day the tree was rolled into its new location.
“In a perfect world, it would have been better for them to wait and move the tree once the levee is complete,” she said. “Its roots won’t be able to grow while it’s out of the ground. They should have prepared the area for the tree before moving.”
Butman keeps checking the tree, but can’t get too close from the other side of the site fence.
“Hopefully they get it in the ground,” she said. “We all want this tree to survive. My concern is that it gets enough water. We can only 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 fear the centuries-old tree may die.
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Nonsense, says Cymbal.
“Have you ever seen a happier, healthier rain tree?” he replied when questioned by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“I did,” said Tom Chancey, an arborist and arborist from Fort Lauderdale. “The same tree six or seven years ago.”
Chancey and his son Jeremy, also an arborist, say they have been keeping an eye on the prized rain tree for years.
“This tree is sacred to Fort Lauderdale. And we want to make sure the legacy doesn’t get lost,” said Jeremy Chancey. “It’s priceless.”
So far the tree appears to be surviving in mid-air, but Jeremy Chancey says he’s unsure how long it will survive.
Last August, Cymbal hired Texas-based tree protection experts to move the tree to its current location using a custom ArborLift that can roll huge trees across turf and concrete with minimal damage.
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Critics wonder why they didn’t wait for the dam to be repaired.
Cymbal, who bought the property in 2012, has yet to break ground on the project.
“Once our rain tree is secured in its final location, we will begin groundbreaking,” Cymbal said. “We didn’t want to compromise the health and safety of our rain tree by conducting the necessary invasive geotechnical and construction drilling around the original location of our rain tree.”
Cymbal received approval for the new dike on January 30th.
According to Cymbal, work is scheduled to begin in April.
Fort Lauderdale activist Ted Inserra drives by the tree about four times a week on his way to work. He slammed Cymbal for not having his “ducks in a row” before moving the tree.
“They say they need to strengthen the dam before they can plant the tree back into the ground, but nobody ever works on the dam,” Inserra said. “Why didn’t you prepare all this in advance?”
According to Inserra, the tree has changed dramatically since the move.
“They’ve got all these ropes on them,” he said. “It looks like it’s being held hostage. This tree used to be full of life, squirrels and birds everywhere. Now it is leafless, lifeless and has no birds on it at all. It used to be so lush and beautiful. Now it’s naked. It hardly has any leaves. There is no more living color.”
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Meanwhile, Cymbal has an expert check the tree. So does the city. Both Cymbal and the city say the tree is doing well.
Each week, an arborist working for the city goes to check on the tree that’s behind a construction fence next to the Esplanade condo.
“The tree appears to be in good health,” said Chris Cooper, Fort Lauderdale director of development. “Trees go through cycles. They shed leaves regularly and then new leaves follow. There are signs of new leaves and branches.”
Cymbal has hired Jeff Shimonski, President of Tropical Designs of Florida, to monitor the rain tree on a weekly basis.
“It’s well watered and receives regular water, certainly more than it ever did in its original location,” Cymbal said. “Her canopy grows back and she turns 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 by moving giant trees.
David Cox, vice president of the company’s eastern region, could not be reached for comment this week.
Kimberly Christie, whose apartment balcony overlooks the tree, says there was a time when 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 put it out of the way if they weren’t willing to plant it? Other people are upset too, but who are you talking to? Nobody cares.”
Fort Lauderdale’s elected leaders recognized the importance of the rain tree as early as 1987. Special protection was granted to the tree that year, requiring Commission approval to move or fell it.
In 2013, Cymbal received the permit he needed to move the tree, but only after agreeing to pay Fort Lauderdale $1 million if the tree died within five years of the move.
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When his plans changed, he chose a new spot for the tree, closer to the river. That meant he needed a green light from the commission again. He got it in January 2022.
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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 speak to these people and see if I can find a new home for the tree, which has been an iconic presence downtown for a century. This has become an orphan tree – and goes against what we expected from this developer. His life is endangered by staying off the ground for so many months. The question is why it was postponed so early.”
Trantalis added: “He is under contract to maintain this tree. Otherwise, he faces a $1 million fine. I’d rather have a happy, healthy tree than the money.”
Commissioner John Herbst shared this view.
“You can’t buy a 100-year-old tree,” Herbst said. “We need to monitor it to make sure the tree doesn’t die. I think we have a duty to keep an eye on the condition of the tree. If it dies, we must encourage them to take action to save it before it gets to the point where it’s too late.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter at @Susannah_Bryan
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