Huizenga Park has no fenced dog run, no stylish two-story restaurant and no public bathrooms.
That’s about to change.
The 2-acre riverfront park in downtown Fort Lauderdale is in line for a $15 million makeover along with plans for a new restaurant that will be owned and operated by the same folks who own the Rusty Pelican in Miami.
The park, a frequent host to festivals and concerts, will be transformed into an open-air public living room with a dozen outdoor spaces where you can grab a cup of coffee, catch up with a friend or play with your dog.
“This park is not just for a few — it’s for everyone,” said Steve Hudson, a local developer and past chair of the Downtown Development Authority, owner of the park. “This park is for the 25,000 residents we have downtown now and for the 5 million visitors we get a year.”
The redesigned park, located along the New River at Las Olas Boulevard and Andrews Avenue, would likely open in 2024. The entire park will be closed while crews work on the redesign, Hudson said. Work is expected to get underway this summer.
Specialty Restaurants Corp., owner of the Rusty Pelican, will build the restaurant on land in the southeast corner of the park, where the amphitheater now stands.
Fort Lauderdale taxpayers will help pay the bill for the park redesign, taking on $5 million in debt to be paid back in seven years.
The deal, approved Tuesday night by the Fort Lauderdale commission, was not without controversy.
Critics have made it clear they don’t like the idea of a potentially noisy restaurant with a rooftop terrace keeping them up at night.
Ron Castille, a retired federal judge who lives in a nearby condo, griped about the nighttime noise he and his neighbors already put up with.
“I’m not sure we need another restaurant in Fort Lauderdale,” he said. “I live in Las Olas Grand. We’ve had noise and all that from YOLO and Salt7. I don’t want to see Fort Lauderdale looking like Miami.”
Not all were opposed to a new restaurant coming in, however.
Nearby resident Michelle D’avolio praised the plan.
“The current park has continued to deteriorate and is horribly maintained,” she told commissioners. “When they have events there, it’s really loud. When they leave, there’s trash, grease and food everywhere. A small restaurant that’s well-run will be a welcome change.”
Officials with the DDA promised to make sure the restaurant keeps noise levels low. “If they don’t keep the volume down they can lose the lease,” DDA board member Charlie Ladd told commissioners Tuesday night before the commission vote.
The DDA will chip in one-third of the cost of the $15 million makeover. Private donors will pay another third and the state will contribute nearly $1 million.
Fort Lauderdale has also agreed to pay the DDA $100,000 a year to subsidize maintenance of the park. The maintenance payments will replace the $100,000 a year in park rent the city currently pays the DDA.
Not one dime of Fort Lauderdale tax money will go to building the privately-operated restaurant. The DDA will lease the land to the restaurant, and the city will become the landlord in seven years if the board sunsets in 2030.
The 20-year lease — with two five-year extension options — will help finance the makeover of the park and also pay for ongoing operations and maintenance.
Neighbor Denise Pont also spoke in support of the project.
“We moved here a year ago understanding the park was going to be beautified,” she said. “Right now, looking at my backyard, it’s not very beautiful at all. There’s things going on in that park that no one would want in their backyard. I can’t even sit on the benches because there are homeless people out there now, defecating and urinating.”
Some see the park makeover as a sign there’ll be one less 50-story tower going up in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Current zoning allows for a tower as high as 500 feet or more to be built on the park, DDA President Jenni Morejon told commissioners.
But the DDA has agreed to a deed restriction that will preserve the land as a park in perpetuity.
That was good news to Brian Donaldson, chair of the city’s budget advisory board.
“This is going to be a park for generations, and it’s badly needed in this growing urban area,” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel after the vote. “With this agreement, the residents gain a park in perpetuity. There’s no longer a chance of that becoming a high-rise.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
