| Learning from Fort Lauderdale |
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| Thursday, 01 May 2008 | |
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Known as the 'Venice of America', Fort Lauderdale serves as the major urban core area for Florida's second largest County.
Fort Lauderdale Population 2006: 185,804 (City); 5,463,857 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1911) Jacksonville Pop. 2006: 790,689 (City); 1,277,997 (Metro) - (incorporated in 1832) City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Fort Lauderdale (36,328)
- The city is a popular tourist destination, with 10.35 million visitors in 2006. - The city is a major yachting center, with 42,000 resident yachts and 100 marinas and boatyards. The local boating industry is responsible for 108,000 jobs. - The city and its suburbs host over 4,100 restaurants and 120 nightclubs. - The city's major population boom occurred right after the end of World War II. - Covering 31.7 square miles of land area, Fort Lauderdale has been essentially built out since 1970. - Companies based in the Fort Lauderdale area include AutoNation, Citrix Systems, DHL Express, Spirit Airlines and National Beverage Corporation. - Port Everglades is the nation's third busiest cruise port and Florida's deepest port. - In 2005, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was the fastest-growing major airport in the country. - According to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visitors Bureau, the city is "America's top gay resort area". - Fort Lauderdale is home to the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop, a large indoor/outdoor flea market and the site of the world's largest drive-in movie theater, with 13 screens.
DOWNTOWN PHOTO TOUR:
Las Olas Boulevard Meaning "The Waves" in Spanish, this boulevard serves as the epicenter for the city's arts and entertainment districts connecting the heart of downtown with the beach.
Central Business District The portion of downtown roughly bounded by Federal Highway to the east and Andrews Avenue to the west is dominated by office uses. As of 2006, the Central Business District contained 4,446,936 square feet of Broward County's 26,101,918 square feet, according to Cushman & Wakefield market statistics.
Historic Second Street and Las Olas Riverfront The few blocks west of Andrews are dominated by the Las Olas Riverfront entertainment complex and cultural attractions. This section of the downtown core is bisected by the FEC railroad corridor, which is currently being studied for commuter rail. Anchored by a 15 screen movie cinema, the Las Olas Riverfront is a downtown waterfront entertainment complex that opened in 1998. Wachovia has announced their intentions to foreclose on the property as its developer struggles with its investments in the South Florida real estate market.
The one mile riverwalk connects the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Discovery and Science, the Las Olas Riverfront entertainment complex and other attractions on the west side of Downtown with Las Olas Boulevard. The New River can be explored by water taxi or riverboat cruises.
Mass Transit The city is served by Broward County Transit (BCT-local bus) and the Tri-Rail commuter rail system connecting it with Miami and West Palm Beach. In November 2006, Broward County voters rejected a one-cent sales tax increase intended to fund 65 miles of light rail and bus expansion projects.
The city is currently moving forward on The Wave, a 2.7 mile downtown streetcar loop, with a recent allocation of $37.5 million to help pay for its construction. Officials hope to secure the rest of the estimated $150 million from the State and federal government. The Downtown Development Authority hopes to have the streetcar system up and running by 2013.
LEARNING FROM FORT LAUDERDALE Despite competition from several other major attractions in the South Florida region, Downtown Fort Lauderdale has managed to carve out a niche for itself as a unique, yet vibrant destination. What do these images of Downtown Fort Lauderdale say to you? What are some successes and failures in these images that should be embraced or avoided locally? Article written by Ennis Davis |
May 1, 2008, 6:09 am
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
I love this city, its very classy and the airport is very nice to fly into. I plan on headin down there this month for a weekend.
I just don't dig the ugly Las Olas River House Condominiums, yuck!
May 1, 2008, 8:44 am
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
I fell in love with Fort Lauderdale when I first visited a few years back. The core is clean, well landscaped, and festive. The other thing I noticed right off the bat was the tunnel under the New River on US1. Goes to show that they cherish their river and understand the importance of keeping the vista clear for boaters. I understand the New River is only a few hundred feet across but Jax could learn from them by looking into the future of our bridges and considering tunnels to replace or supplement when the time comes to keep the river more clear for shipping and boating. We could also use some more shade trees (not palms) along the riverfront and more of the city streets.
The other thing I noticed was the many canals lined with homes and boats. Jax could do something very similar with some work on Hogan and McCoy's creeks. Wouldn't take much to dredge and clean them up and then promote residential infill along their banks. Perhaps tunnels would be in order along major cross streets (Riverside Ave and Bay Street) to open up these tributaries to boaters.
But all in all, the major advantage Fort Lauderdale has over Jax is tourism. If we can figure out ways to entice more visitors to come to Jax then the rest would take care of itself.
May 1, 2008, 8:23 pm
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
These photos say to me, "great success and prosperity during the late 90's and into the new millenium."
I moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1995 a year after retiring from the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville. Of course "Big Jax" was super sleepy during that time and I was offered a job in FTL and moved there in Sep 95.
When I moved there the City, as a whole, was vibrant and alive, much more so than Jax and I decided to not move back to Jax and make it my home. However, many of the skyscrapers you see did not exist when I moved there in 95, and downtown itself, excluding Las Olas was tired and sleepy to say the least.
The AutoNation (110 Building) was the tallest at the time (410 feet), followed by the old Bank of America building, and there were 3 or 4 buildings in the 195 to 250 feet range, and that was it. There was barely a skyline and a huge gap or hole existed in the skyline. Downtown at that time, including Las Olas, was alive but still sleepy after a certain time at night.
The year 2000 was the year all hell started to break loose in Fort Lauderdale. Construction just took off, soared, and went totally off the chain. By the time I left in August 2004, Fort Lauderdale had surpassed St. Petersburg, Orlando, and was hunching Jax for skyline honors. In addition, downtown, along with Las Olas, began to harbor intense retail, business, and sidewalk restaurants and cafes; the result is a vibrant, alive downtown along with the Las Olas Entertainment district.
In reference to the skyline, the result (utilize the search engines for a full skyline view), is a skyline that has beaten Orlando and St. Petersburg, and the only thing that keeps FTL from beating Jax is our five talls that are over 430 feet tall (BOA, MODIS, WACHOVIA, AT&T, & PENINSULA). FTL has several towers, both in the City Core downtown and the surrounding areas that hover in the 300 to 450 feet range.
However, I love my Jax and it's skyline and am rooting for Jax hard! It's not a skyline race, but let's face it, we all like density and tallness in our City Cores!
Heights Unknown
June 17, 2008, 7:12 pm
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
Ft. Lauderdale definitely has a good vibe. I think for years the religious fundamentalists have strangled out of Jacksonville much of the fun and life and diversity that make a place a real city. At least, that was the case for a long time. I've recently been back to Jax and got a good sense that that is much less the case. The Riverside area in particular seemed vibrant and interesting--very much on the cusp of being an awesome neighborhood. Jacksonville should embrace its gay and lesbian citizens, its funkiness, its history. It could soon be as much a destination as Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. Even more so.
June 20, 2008, 9:17 pm
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
I agree; people are clamoring and searching for Cities that are "best kept secrets," and Jax has become one of those. And when people find out the word gets around.
Heights Unknown
July 3, 2008, 12:49 pm
Re: Learning from Fort Lauderdale
There's only one lesson to learn from FTL - develop the Beaches area. That's why it's so big. Give people (clean!) places to go and have fun and retail at the beaches. I'm kinda surprised how run down some of Jax beaches area is.
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