Credit: BBB

City of Fort Lauderdale

BBB's decade-long commitment to planning for the City of Fort Lauderdale establishes a design-based vision for a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented downtown, and a public realm plan to activate the Riverwalk and Arts & Entertainment District, all reinforcing the New River as the city's central public space.

The Fort Lauderdale Consolidated Downtown Master plan, covering the 1.1-square-mile downtown core, creates a form-based framework for the city's future as a dense, walkable, mixed-use urban area with an active riverfront. The plan envisions compact residential neighborhoods close to the city center, mixed-use development areas at nodes and civic gateways, a connective network of parks, trails and open spaces, a "greened" street system to create a pedestrian-friendly environment, and a renewed focus on the New River as the city's central public space. Implementation is considered throughout the process, making the plan an effective tool to guide public and private development efforts. Following the success of the initial plan, subsequent updates have resulted in urban design guidelines that have been adopted as a key aspect of the City's development review process. Building on the Downtown Master Plan, the New River Master Plan focuses on the riverfront as the heart of downtown, and positions the iconic Riverwalk as a local and regional destination with multi-use retail, entertainment, office, and hotel uses in conjunction with a comprehensive upgrading of riverfront and upland properties. The Riverwalk District Arts and Entertainment / Public Realm Plan proposes cultural venues, public art, and events to position the area as a regional destination. Year-round public space programming combined with strategic, inexpensive capital improvements and landscape enhancements to set the stage for a longer term vision and public-private partnerships.

 

Client

City of Fort Lauderdale

Location

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Size

1.1 square miles (Phase 1); 1/2 square mile (Phase 2); 1.1 miles of river frontage (Phase 3)

Completed

2003 & 2006 (Phase 1); 2009 (Phase 2); 2011 (Phase 3)

People

AIA, AICP
Partner, Director of Planning & Urban Design
Partner-in-Charge
AIA, AICP, LEED AP
Partner