03 Oct Pair looking to transform Sistrunk Blvd. into a millennial hotspot by Larry Barszewski
It’s hard to see past Sistrunk Boulevard’s vacant lots and empty storefronts, but a pair of businessmen are betting a renaissance is near – with a vision of restaurants, stores and apartments geared toward millennials.
Entrepreneur Felipe Yalale has paid $3.8 million over the past year to amass 25 properties covering 4.3 acres near Sistrunk Boulevard and Northwest Seventh Avenue. He and developer Peter Flotz are finishing up some additional land negotiations and say they expect to have project plans to the city for review by the end of the year.
They say they want to create a place for younger people wanting to be close to the downtown bustle without paying the extravagant rents. They’re talking about small-sized apartments – maybe 400 to 600 square feet – over street-level stores, restaurants and entertainment.
Millennials “want simpler, smaller, affordable, but they still want quality,” said Yalale, a city resident for 21 years. And then there’s the location – near downtown as well as the nightlife on Southwest Second Street.
“I do believe location is paramount. Sometimes we don’t see the location because we don’t like what we see around it,” said Yalale, who saw Miami’s Wynwood arts district transform from a place where the homeless and drug addicts hung out.
The pair’s efforts could reinvigorate the corridor, where redevelopment has sputtered despite $15 million in roadway improvements, landscaping and lighting completed in 2012. One of the larger projects the city supported, the Sixth Street Plaza office project, received $1.2 million but was foreclosed upon in November.
“I think once Felipe does what he’s going to do, it’s going to be a domino effect going westward,” Commissioner Robert McKinzie said.
Yalale sees the Sistrunk Boulevard area as “a new neighborhood which will attract a younger crowd.” And once they come, the area’s ability to attract businesses will improve, he said.
Flotz said a market study has shown there’s a demand for more housing in the area – although at a 25 percent lower price-point than what’s being built in Flagler Village, north of Broward Boulevard between the Florida East Coast Rail Road tracks and U.S. 1.
Flotz, who is also working on a $750 million complex proposed around The Galleria mall, said he jumped at the chance to be involved in the Sistrunk project.
“I can’t say that either of us had a preconceived notion for what to do there, but we agreed that the proximity to downtown, the nearby arts center, and the cultural assets got us very excited,” he said.
As they prepare their plans, a development boom is already emerging around the Brightline passenger train station being built just a few blocks south of Sistrunk Boulevard. The rail service will go to Miami and West Palm Beach and eventually Orlando
The Sistrunk corridor has its own heritage as the center of life for the city’s historically black neighborhoods. Flotz said he has been meeting with community members “looking for ways to bring the cultural identity of the area into the project.”
Sonya Burrows, whose family for decades has owned Burrows Electric Co. on Sistrunk Boulevard, said she appreciated discussions about including existing businesses in some of the street-level commercial development. She’s reserving judgment until the plans are fleshed out and presented, but she’s optimistic.
“This was a developer that was willing to listen to the community,” Burrows said. “From the initial conversations, it did seem like it would be something that the community would embrace.”
Yalale’s properties cover the north side of Sistrunk Boulevard between Northwest Fifth and Seventh avenues. The apartment and storefront project with Flotz would be on 2.8 acres that fills virtually the entire block on the south side of Sistrunk between Northwest Seventh Avenue and Northwest Seventh Terrace, extending south to Northwest Fifth Avenue.
“I don’t have the crystal ball. I’m a businessman,” Yalale said. “This is a middle-to-long-term project. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
lbarszewski@tribpub.com or 954-356-4556