Page 46 - Demo

44 LAS OLAS BOULEVARD & ISLESThe people behind the reimagined Huizenga Park see it as a place that could provide a space - or really, many different kinds of spaces - for the people who call thechanging downtown home.Twenty years ago, you didn%u2019t see as many dogs in downtown Fort Lauderdale. There weren%u2019t as many joggers, either. Outdoor yoga classes, couples on dates, parents pushing strollers - there was less of it all. Or to put it more simply, nobody lived downtown.It is not breaking news to note that today, all that has changed. And now, one of the city%u2019s downtown parks is changing with it. Huizenga Park, formerly Huizenga Plaza, nestles near the north bank of the New River between the Riverwalk, Las Olas Boulevard and the rise of the Andrews Avenue bridge. A fountain sits at its northwest corner. Until recently, a bandstand sat at its southwest one.The bandstand%u2019s recent demolition speaks to the changes planned for the park. Plans for the new park include a dog run, a %u201cmoundscape%u201d kids%u2019 play area, a Riverwalk-adjacent raised wood deck and at the center of it all, a large open lawn. Seating options in various parts of the park will include movable tables and chairs as well as permanent structures. Plans call for many more trees to be planted. The fountain will get a makeover. And at the corner of the park, around the site of the old bandstand, there will be a new building housing a new restaurant.The project%u2019s official groundbreaking was in May, and the re-imagined park is expected to be ready by late 2025. Some concerns remain, particularly around traffic and other issues relating to the new restaurant. But leaders of Fort Lauderdale%u2019s Downtown Development Authority, which owns the park land, and the Huizenga Park Foundation, and confident residents will be impressed when they see the finished project.The People%u2019sBy Erik Petersen