South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
This land is your land, Fort Lauderdale. Let’s keep it green — every acre of it.
In the heart of Fort Lauderdale, surrounded by concrete, sits a familiar patch of green with a fascinating past and an uncertain future. The three-and-a-half acre lot at 301 N. Andrews Ave. is the focus of an intense, politically charged battle between a private developer and nearby Flagler Village residents.
Food and music impresario Jeff John offered the city a vision to intensify downtown’s vibe by transforming the site into a cutting-edge entertainment venue with a cultural center at the south end, a sevenstory, European-style food marketplace at the north end, and an estimated two-plus acres of park space in between with two levels of underground parking.
In a public-private partnership, John would invest up to $100 million and use the site for 50 years with two optional 25-year extensions, subject to city commission approval. A public vote is set for Sept. 9. The city should reject the deal and keep all the property open and accessible.
As high-rises redefine downtown, Fort Lauderdale feels bigger, denser, more dynamic and more crowded. But this oasis of space, anchored by towering oak and banyan trees, looks more vulnerable.
A proposed agreement appears heavily tilted in the developer’s favor. For a decade, the city would receive a stingy 50 cents of every event ticket and meal sold. The developer would pay no property taxes because the land is city-owned. Live music would be allowed until 11 p.m., with no restrictions on alcohol sales. The city could sponsor only 12 events a year on a site it owns. Land-use lawyer Stephanie Toothaker, who represents John, said the city has agreed to those terms, and has emphasized that the developer is willing to address residents’ concerns.
This land is your land
The property has been in public hands for a long time. Residents of Fort Lauderdale, this land is your land.
In May 1945, near the end of World War II, city voters chose it as the site of a new City Hall. Lately, it was home to city licensing and permitting offices known as One Stop Shop, before the building was torn down.
City leaders adopted a downtown master plan in 2003 that called the site a “community park” and said: “Maintain the publicly owned landscape at the corner of NW 2nd Street and Andrews Avenue and preserve the mature trees.”
City officials considered selling the site a few years ago but dropped the idea. It’s surrounded by a chain-link fence to keep out the homeless, which means residents can’t go there to walk the dog or play Frisbee.
A leading opponent of the project is LeAnn Barber, president of the Flagler Village Civic Association, who said: “Our definition of a park is more woodland, an urban forest, and a respite from the concrete jungle.”
The project’s most outspoken critic, City Commissioner Heather Moraitis, told the Sun Sentinel editorial board: “We need more park space.” She noted that 60% of city voters agreed two years ago to spend $200 million on parks (this site was not included) and that giving away this land for decades breaks faith with voters. We agree.
Mayor Dean Trantalis sounds skeptical, and he should be. He told us the latest rendering he’s seen shows a cultural center “swallowing up” too much green space. With a massive city-county government center, several high-rises and thousands of housing units all planned downtown, the mayor said open space is needed more than ever. “When you design a city, you need open space,” he told the Sun Sentinel editorial board.
District 2 Commissioner Steve Glassman is City Hall’s leading supporter of an “activated park,” for people to relax, walk, eat lunch and do other things. A self-described “parks person,” Glassman wrote an opinion essay for the Sun Sentinel praising the project. In an interview, he said: “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of Fort Lauderdale to turn away $100 million of investment.” His priorities are askew in this case. Green space is worth more than money.
Another question: With the Performing Arts Center, a refurbished War Memorial and Parker Playhouse rebranded as The Parker, why does the city need another major entertainment venue? This is Fort Lauderdale, not Las Vegas.
‘I’m not a loser’
In a 2017 profile in the Miami New Times, Jeff John said: “I don’t like to lose. I’m not a loser. I will beat it up until I win. It’s a competitive thing, I guess.”
Loretta Lutfy has a different view of John, as his landlord for six years. Lutfy called him a “charmer” who didn’t pay his rent on time for more than a year at CWS Bar and Kitchen in Lake Worth Beach, even as he opened Warren, an upscale bar in Delray Beach. Court records show Lutfy sued John’s company for $100,000 in back rent. They settled in May for $10,000. “I wanted him out of my life,” Lutfy said.
John’s Fort Lauderdale business empire includes Revolution Live, America’s Backyard and Stache Drinking Den in
Himmarshee Village west of downtown, all of which are much smaller venues than what’s proposed at the One Stop Shop site. They operate under the name of Damn Good Hospitality Group.
It’s a catchy name, but this project is not a damn good deal for the people of Fort Lauderdale. On the contrary, it looks more to us like a giveaway of one of the very few remaining green spaces left downtown. The city should vote no. It’s simply not worth it. Keep it all green.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.