News

The Board of County Commissioners, in partnership with the Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD), are establishing a Small Business Micro-Grant Pilot Program to provide working capital for small businesses located within Broward County. Micro-Grants of $2,500 will be available to small businesses and distributed evenly throughout all commission districts on a first come, first served basis. Online applications must be submitted with all required documentation at the time of application completion (partial applications will not be considered). Interested businesses may review program details and apply online starting in May. OESBD will host a free virtual technical assistance session from 10-11AM on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Pre-registration is required via Eventbrite. There will also be a free in-person technical assistance session from 1-2PM on Monday, May 20, 2024 at Governmental Center East, Room 302, 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. Eligible...

As a non-Texan who’s smoked brisket in Dubai, beef sausage in Vegas and pork ribs in London, pitmaster Orelle Young thinks Texas barbecue’s center of gravity is everywhere — especially Fort Lauderdale’s Sistrunk Boulevard. He’s here at B&D Trap early Thursday, sweating despite the shade of a screened-in patio, flipping and pulling glazed ribs from a Primitive Pits offset smoker and 14-hour brisket from an Ole Hickory commercial gas smoker. At his new roadside stop, four blocks west of the L.A. Lee YMCA, Young aims to challenge long-held beliefs about the cult of Texas ‘cue: What it is, where it’s made, who’s allowed to make it. An order of pulled pork is ready to be wrapped up at B&D Trap barbeque in the Sistrunk neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale.  “We get it out of the smoker just before opening, which is 11 a.m.,” he says. “Let’s...

You’d never know that Ronnie Hall would become The Salad Boss. Nothing in the founder’s resume would have given you a clue — as recently as a year ago — that he was going to start working on a health-conscious eatery inside the YMCA in Fort Lauderdale, in the middle of the Sistrunk Boulevard neighborhood. “I was in corporate America for 17 years,” says Hall, who is also a Navy veteran. “I just kind of got burned out with what I was doing. I just wanted to be a boss myself. I never thought I would be here.” “Here” is a brightly hued, fast-casual restaurant that opened in December with a tightly focused menu of salads, wraps, sandwiches and smoothies. There are also breakfast and kids’ menus. Next door is the BSTYLE lounge, a bonus space for patrons with what Hall describes as something more akin to a speakeasy...

On November 7, 2023, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board of Commissioners approved an increase in funding in the amount of $400,000 to V&R Family Enterprises, Corp. for the renovation of a longtime vacant property located at 1227 Sistrunk Boulevard. The total amount of CRA incentives awarded towards this project is $750,000. The proposed renovations will include the modernization and build-out of the  property into a mixed-use development. Once renovations are completed, the two-story building will include five modern one-bedroom/ one bath  apartments with impact windows and doors, central air conditioning, tiled floors and an outdoor patio area.  In addition, the ground floor will consist of  a 1,449 square foot event space with new handicap-accessible restrooms, a warming kitchen and storage. The developer and owner of the property is V&R Family Enterprises (Developer). V&R Family...

On November 7, 2023, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board of Commissioners approved a $10 million incentive to Sunshine Shipyard, LLC for the Arcadian Project, located at 640 NW 7th Avenue. The Arcadian is a new mixed-use development currently  under construction  at the northeast corner of  Sistrunk Blvd and  Avenue of the Arts (NW 7th Avenue).  The project will consist of  two eight -story buildings with 480 residential units, 5,235 square feet of ground floor commercial space and  a parking garage with 606 spaces.  Of the 480 units, 48  will be set aside for affordable housing for residents with incomes less or equal to 100% of the Broward County median family income . The residential units set aside as affordable will include 10 studio units renting for approximately $1,680/month, 28 one bedroom-one bath units...