Downtown Fort Lauderdale neighborhood strives to create ‘fun, hip’ vibe by Larry Barszewski
Construction dust is everywhere in Flagler Village, a rapidly growing neighborhood and future downtown transportation hub that is attracting millennials, developers and avante-garde entrepreneurs. The village north of Broward Boulevard wants to be more than a bedroom community for the expanding downtown workforce next door. It's striving to include an eclectic mix of artist work spaces, shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. "Flagler Village should be that fun, hip, energized, live-work-play area in Fort Lauderdale," said David Cardaci, who owns a Mexican restaurant in a converted auto-body shop, and a funky bar that serves drinks from an airstream RV. The 250-acre village, which extends from the Florida East Coast Rail Road tracks to Federal Highway south of Sunrise Boulevard, is already home to a pair of art districts that have taken root in decades-old warehouses that are newly emblazoned with vibrant graffiti...
