Turning art into development

South Florida CEO, Sept, 2004

Give them arts and culture and they will come. That might as well have been the mantra during many years of planning and investment in Fort Lauderdale, and so far the strategy seems to be paying off.

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"Other visitor destinations are driven by commercial entities. Here the arts are driving the renaissance," says Terri Gorman, vice president of external affairs for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. "What you see in the Fort Lauderdale skyline today, is in large part due to a consortium of major arts organizations and their destination marketing initiative."

At the heart of that consortium is the $52 million Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1991. The Center's CEO, Mark Nerenhausen, says that nearly every Broward County resident has benefited from the center's work, "either through job creation, increased tax revenues, greater economic opportunity, or more tourist activity."

Performances at the center have generated sales for area businesses. For example, the 2003 production of the musical "Aida" grossed approximately $3 million in its three-week run and brought an estimated $2 million in revenue for surrounding businesses.

Some 14 percent of the the Broward Center's seats are filled by tourists, according to estimates from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. Nerenhausen estimates that Broward Center attracts more than 600,000 people who spend $20 million at area businesses.

Tim Petrillo, owner of the River House, Tarpon Bend, and Himmarshee Bar and Grill restaurants, attests to the impact the center has had on his business. "On show nights, our three restaurants will do 800 covers at 5:30."

The Broward Center also gave rise to the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment (A & E) District, which stretches along the New River east to the historic Stranahan House. The district includes the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, the Museum of Discovery & Science, the Blockbuster Imax Theater, the Josephin S. Leiser Opera Center and the Old Fort Lauderdale Village & Museum.

Proponents say the A & E district has drawn people downtown.

"In 1985, downtown was the edge of the world," says Irvin Lippman, executive director of the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art. "The Vatican exhibit [at the museum this past fall] had 150,000 attendees in four months."

International arts organizations, too, have taken notice of the activity. The art museum, for instance, will host the US premiere of the exhibition "Diana, a Celebration"--a tribute to the life of the Princess of Wales. The opportunity came, says Lippman, "due to the area's residential population and the additional 2 million visitors per month during the high season."

Another draw in the area is the Museum of Discovery and Science. Nearly 400,000 visit each year, according to Marlene Janetos, the museum's vice president of communications and marketing.

While tourists are an important component of science museum's visitors, Janetos says local clientele will drive future growth.

"In 2000, Broward had 1.6 million residents, and it's forecasted to be the largest growing county in South Florida," Janetos says. "We're working to capitalize on that growth." To encourage local, repeat business, the museum plans to add live demonstrations, labs that enhance the IMAX films, traveling exhibits every three months and summer camps. The science museum's increased local traffic, Janetos says, "will help other local businesses, such as restaurants."

With 5,000 new residential units under construction within walking distance of the A & E district, art museum management, too, expects an attendance boost from the local community.

"What we'd like to see next is for the museum to become a centerpiece of the neighborhood," Lippman says. "Very shortly we'll be opening a cafe that we hope will become a hangout for artists, residents, and visitors."

Outside of downtown, the city is looking for ways to use culture as a catalyst for blighted areas.

One recently completed project is the $14 million African-American Research Library and Cultural Center. The 60,000-square-foot library, which includes a 300-seat auditorium and a Small Business Resource Center, was seen by the city as a way to jump-start development in the Sistrunk neighborhood, part of the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency's Midtown Business District. Sistrunk Boulevard was recently narrowed from four lanes to two, and infrastructure and streetscape improvements have attracted some developers to the area. It remains to be seen just how much of an affect the library will have in the long term.

Meanwhile, the Downtown Development Authority hopes additional investments in the A & E district will magnify its positive impact. A a free trolley line is in the works to link the A & E district museums, Broward Center, the Himmarshee nightlife district just east of Broward Center, as well as residences on Riverwalk, parking lots, and the businesses along east Las Olas Boulevard. The hope is to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment.