28 Sep ‘Historic Sistrunk’ part of new marketing plan
Fort Lauderdale’s historic northwest district is getting a new name.
Henceforth the area is to be known as ‘Historic Sistrunk,’ said Dennis Wright, president of the area’s Community Council. Even further, Wright said the council is looking to create a brand for the area. “Something that announces us as a place to live, visit, invest, [and] do business,” he said.
While the specifics are still under wraps, Wright said, a new logo will be part of a larger initiative that includes a Historic Sistrunk website.
“It will contain links to just about everything,” he said. “Churches, schools, community services, anything you might want.”
Ann Marie Sorrell, president and CEO of The Mosaic Group and spokeswoman for the council’s efforts, said the website will launch in the next 60 days.
The area’s Community Council represents a neighborhood that runs west from Northeast Seventh Avenue to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center at 2650 NW Sistrunk Blvd., then north from Broward Boulevard to Sunrise Boulevard.
“It’s a predominantly African-American population,” Sorrell said, “with a lot of working families and business owners who’ve been in the neighborhood for many generations.”
“The streetscape is part of the infrastructure redevelopment designed to set the tone for business development along that corridor,” said Jeremy Earle, deputy director of Fort Lauderdale’s Department of Sustainable Development. The area, Earle said, is overseen by the Community Redevelopment Agency.
“We are working with the residents on business improvement projects,” he said. “Encouraging developers to come into the community and — perhaps the most important thing — we’re highlighting the area’s very strong history as the base for the development.”
Sorrell’s firm came on board after the Department of Sustainable Development put out a bid for help with marketing initiatives.
“Our goal,” Sorrell said, “is to create signage, create a marketing campaign, and some media buzz as well as some community excitement around the new brand, which is not just a logo but an image that creates a new sense of community, progress and positive change, and something the community will take pride in. There will be constant new initiatives, and we’re going to tie the brand into all these improvements. It will go on everything we put out about Historic Sistrunk.”
This is the start of a long story,” she said.