Page 47 - Demo

LAS OLAS BOULEVARD & ISLES 45%u201cGreat public spaces are the soul of a city. We are thrilled to reach this milestone in transformingHuizenga Park into a world-class public space for generations of Downtown Fort Lauderdale residents,employees and visitors,%u201d DDA President and CEO Jenni Morejon said at the groundbreaking.DDA chairman Charlie Ladd reckons people won%u2019t really get the full effect of the project until they%u2019re stood in the middle of the new park.%u201cWhen people see how good it is,%u201d he said, %u201cthey%u2019re going to be shocked.%u201d The people behind the project say the changes to the park reflect the changes to downtown. The DDA, an entity that taxes downtown commercial properties with a mission of improvement for downtown, has owned the Huizenga Park land for three-and-a-half decades. The park first opened in the early 2000s, during that time when downtown looked different. Las Olas west of the tunnel largely emptied out after 5pm on weekdays and stayed empty on weekends. In corners and pockets, a civic plan that included large public amenities to draw people downtown was visible; the main library was about two decades old, the Broward Center about one.The original plan for a park near the river and the Andrews Avenue bridge involved another space that would bring people into downtown for big events. A large, mostly empty space with a stage in one corner, it could host concerts and festivals. It could be a 5k finish line. If a team won a pennant or there was some other cause for civic celebration, you could have the party there. %u201cThat land was originally designed to bring people downtown,%u201d Ladd said.Now more than 25,000 people live downtown, and the number continues to grow. Based on projects now being built or approved, it%u2019s believed that the number of people living between the old Searstown site and the area just south of the river could someday top 50,000. That has changed what the community needs from a park. %u201cIt%u2019s people%u2019s front yard or backyard that live downtown or work downtown,%u201d Ladd said. %u201cThe design now, the idea is that you could walk over from your apartment building, walk your dog, work out, work on your iPad.%u201d