Over a decade ago the politicians of Fort Lauderdale came up with a concept to revitalize the downtown area. They were going to use the idea of the river walk in San Antonio and call it Riverfront. At one end would be the new Broward Performing Arts Center and at the other end--about 3, 4 miles--would be Las Olas Boulevard, a major, upscale area of boutiques, specialized clothing stores, restaurants and the Riverside, a major hotel.

People would be able to walk from one end to the other past a park where there would be special events and right off the park would be the Fort Lauderdale Art Museum. Halfway between both points would be a centerpiece project
with a 15 screen movie, restaurants, nightclubs, an open air bar and
various stores that wouldn't compete with the ones on the Boulevard.

Everything
was moving along fine with many articles in the paper and with people
getting enthusiastic about the whole project. Eventually, actually
before it was completed, there was a grand opening of The Riverfront
Downtown. The first couple of weeks many people went downtown to see
what the new place looked like and then everyone realized, too late,
that there was a major problem--no free parking and not enough of paid
parking. This added to the overpriced restaurants, no parking and
really a lack of events soon turned the whole Riverfront into a place
no one wanted to go to. Restaurants and stores closed while new ones
opened and soon closed. The turnover in the center was such that even
the Regal Theatre gave up and sold out to a local theatre owner who in
turn closed down all the extra entertainment sites they had within the
theatre and it was rare to see any sort of crowd even for the
blockbusters. They offered 3 hour free parking at the near by
government garage for anyone who came to the movies.

To
make a long story short the Riverfront Downtown rapidly went downhill
and then the economy tanked which stopped a rethinking of the center.
Today there is one fast food restaurant open, the fountain in the
middle of the complex stopped flowing and if you saw more than 2-3
people enjoying the walk along the river it would seem like a crowd.

I
don't know what will happen when, and if, the economy comes back, but I
think The Riverfront Downtown will remain a white elephant, a ghost,
unless they solve the parking problem and start programming events to
draw people.

I
made and left my mark on the riverfront many years ago when they sold
bricks on the walk so in a way I have an investment in this project but
then we all know I make many mistakes with my money and my investment
might be lost on this!