WEST is BEST
To draw visitors, small town in Florida decides that ...
McClatchy Newspapers
MIAMI
Davie, Fla., is a place where riding your horse to the local McDonalds is a way of life.
But with more than 40,000 students from nearby universities now bustling through the town, Mayor Judy Paul says residents are looking for some excitement.
“The people I talk to are waiting for something to happen on Davie Road,” Paul said. “We’re looking at ways to capitalize on the number of students that travel through our town.”
Davie, home to Nova Southeastern University, also has campuses of Florida Atlantic University, Broward College, University of Florida and Trinity International University within its borders.
“We want to create an ambiance of a college town,” Paul said. “We want a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new.”
To help better serve its growing population of almost 92,000 residents, the town’s vision of its future includes building a multipurpose project bordering University Drive and Interstate 595, and building a student housing project with commercial and retail space on an 11-acre lot at Davie and Griffin roads.
Already, Davie is updating its downtown to accommodate the influx of visitors — and horses. The town’s Community Redevelopment Agency has given money for renovations at the Flashback Diner and Dellaventura’s Pizzeria.
Across the street from the vacant Winn Dixie lot, Flashback Diner has become a hub for traffic since owner Toula Amanna bought the old Lum’s restaurant in 2009 and spent more than $800,000 on renovations.
She used CRA money for portions of her outside patio, parking lot and even installed a hitching post for those residents who come via horseback.
“I tell other business owners that renovations will raise their sales 30 percent,” she said. “The moment we opened the door, we had a line.”
Ty Ernst, who has owned Dellaventura’s since 2006, said he hopes to reel in the college crowd rather than seeing Davie Road used as a shortcut to the interstate.
“I want my restaurant to be an environment where people want to come and eat, not just a place they drive by going 65 miles per hour cutting through downtown,” Ernst said.
CRA funds have paid for a new rear parking lot, an outside dining area, landscaping and sewer upgrades. Ernst plans to spend money on new interior upgrades, large umbrellas for the patio and outdoor misting fans, as well.
“I think the outside patio will enhance downtown, create more traffic and make downtown more people-friendly,” he said. “It’s progressing, but moving slow.”
Priscilla Tindall, a Davie resident for almost 50 years, said as businesses have moved west out to University Drive, the downtown area has been left dead.
“We need to do something in the Davie Road center that will get more people to come into town,” she said. “I think we could retain our western look. It doesn’t have to be all modern.”
Renovating properties within the town’s western-themed district comes with its own set of challenges.
Ernst said the western theme’s guidelines for lighting and signage make it difficult to attract clientele.
“The signage can only be backlit with no neon,” he said. “In a downtown area, you need that.”
Will Allen of the CRA noted there are special conditions for building design, signage, lighting, fencing and landscaping for businesses in the downtown area that runs along Davie Road, but that hasn’t stopped developers from wanting to do projects in Davie.
The town’s western theme has its advantages, Allen said.
“There are fewer requirements for open space than anywhere else in the town and there are provisions that allow shared parking and less parking than would normally be required,” Allen said.
Kerry Soave, a Davie resident since 1975, said he remembers when there were more horses than cars making their way down Orange Drive.
“I’m not a big fan of change, but what are you going to do?” Soave said while sipping his coffee at Flashback Diner. “Old Davie versus new Davie is the problem, but I think we can keep the western theme and still bring in more activity.”
Also in the talking stage: bringing a movie theater to downtown.
Paul said during the real-estate boom of 2006, the town tried to entice a theater company to build on the Winn Dixie property.
“I thought a four-screen theater would have been great, but no theater company wanted to do one smaller than 10 theaters,” Paul said. “I think theater companies would now be more willing to build something smaller.”
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