6 September, 2024 2 2 Comments

Cities (Updated)

September 6, 2024 By 2 Comments

The Block 40 Food Hall In downtown Hollywood.

We took a brief staycation recently after a hectic few weeks and I have to say it does your soul a favor to take a break from it all. Even for a day.
We went to Hollywood Beach, a 45 minute drive from Delray and spent a day and a night at the Diplomat Resort on the ocean.
It’s fairly reasonable this time of year, despite the $17 drinks.
Hollywood is an interesting city with “good bones” as they say courtesy of its visionary founder Joe Young. There’s a walkable downtown, a magnificent beach and a few traffic circles that will keep you on your toes if you’re driving.
We checked out the new Block 40 Food Hall, a good example of adaptive reuse. The food hall occupies the building that once housed the historic Great Southern Hotel, built by Young 100 years ago to house workers who were building his dream. If you’re a film buff, you may recognize the hotel from its appearance in “Midnight Cowboy.”
We dined at Lux Burger, watched Delray’s Coco Gauff play at the U.S. Open and then took a walk around town.
My wife Diane was a young planner who worked for the City of Hollywood at the start of her career so it was interesting to hear her talk about the changes that have occurred since the 80s.
There’s lots of development happening in Hollywood—high rises..a very different vision than Delray’s.
I like our scale, but there’s room for different styles and visions.
I believe cities need their own visions and “positioning” so to speak. Variety is truly the spice of life. It’s nice that South Florida has a wide variety of cities.
I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood, Pompano Beach and Lake Worth Beach…Boca, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm too.
I see those cities as places with lots of potential. It’s been interesting to see their progress or lack thereof. It’s been interesting to see the changes that have occurred since I discovered these cities after moving to South Florida in 1987.
I like cities that have “grids”, traditional downtowns, lots of amenities and natural gifts such as beautiful beaches or lakes like Lake Ida. Lake Ida is so underrated.
Which in a roundabout way, brings me back to Hollywood.
We spoke to a bartender who lives downtown and she thinks the city will become the “new” Miami.
Maybe. I don’t know.
I don’t know enough about the politics to understand the contours of Hollywood’s aspirations.
But walking around the downtown I felt the potential, but also saw the challenges of creating a vibrant downtown.
It’s not an easy endeavor.
There are some formulas—events to bring people downtown, accessible parking, decorative street lights, culture, a good mix of restaurants and retail—but you need some magic too. You need some chemistry: I can’t quite explain it. But I have seen it!
Delray managed to make it happen—the result of a lot of years, a lot of investment and a lot of people rowing in the same direction and taking risks.
Sometimes those risks work, and sometimes they don’t. But if you learn from the experiments that fail, you’ll find a way forward.
Years ago, when Delray was striving mightily to revive the downtown, someone —I can’t remember who— said something that stuck with me.
“Downtown will never be done.”
In other words, you can’t ever declare victory; you have to keep at it.
It’s a simple statement but profound nonetheless. There is a tendency to get complacent when you achieve a certain level of success.
But you can’t. Complacency is a killer. In every aspect of life.
The second statement I remember from those days was that “downtown is the heart of the city, without a healthy heart, the city will struggle.”
How true.
The third statement from that era I can attribute to retired City Manager David Harden. He told us that our biggest challenge would be surviving success.
Truth is, I wasn’t sure what he meant at the time. I thought success would breed more success. And it does, for a while.
But success can also breed complacency and contempt. How much is too much? What fits and what doesn’t?
Does the success include everyone? Has the success priced out people who want to live here or who do live here and may be forced to leave?
I believe change is inevitable and can be healthy. I also believe that change is never easy or straightforward.
How do you change and keep your soul? How do you aspire and ensure that you are inclusive?
All of these thoughts flooded my mind as I looked out at the ocean from our room at the Diplomat.
The last time I was here, I was a mayor attending a League of Cities convention or was it a Florida Redevelopment Association meeting? I don’t remember.
But I’m still thinking about those very same questions. Still wrestling with the riddle of cities. Still fascinated about what it takes to succeed and what the definition of success for a city actually means

2 September, 2024 0 Comments

Cities

September 2, 2024 By Leave a Comment

 

 

The Block 40 Food Hall In downtown Hollywood.     We took a brief staycation recently after a hectic few weeks and I have to say it does your soul a favor to take a break from it all. Even for a day. 
We went to Hollywood Beach, a 45 minute drive from Delray and spent a day and a night at the Diplomat Resort on the ocean. 
It’s fairly reasonable this time of year, despite the $17 drinks. 
Hollywood is an interesting city with “good bones” as they say courtesy of its visionary founder Joe Young. There’s a walkable downtown, a magnificent beach and a few traffic circles that will keep you on your toes if you’re driving. 
We checked out the new Block 40 Food Hall, a good example of adaptive reuse. The food hall occupies the building that once housed the historic Great Southern Hotel, built by Young 100 years ago to house workers who were building his dream. If you’re a film buff, you may recognize the hotel from its appearance in “Midnight Cowboy.”
We dined at Lux Burger, watched Delray’s Coco Gauff play at the U.S. Open and then took a walk around town. 
My wife Diane was a young planner who worked for the City of Hollywood at the start of her career so it was interesting to hear her talk about the changes that have occurred since the 80s. 
There’s lots of development happening in Hollywood—high rises..a very different vision than Delray’s. 
I like our scale, but there’s room for different styles and visions. 
I believe cities need their own visions and “positioning” so to speak. Variety is truly the spice of life. It’s nice that South Florida has a wide variety of cities. 
I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood, Pompano Beach and Lake Worth Beach…Boca, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm too.  
I see those cities as places with lots of potential. It’s been interesting to see their progress or lack thereof. It’s been interesting to see the changes that have occurred since I discovered these cities after moving to South Florida in 1987. 
I like cities that have “grids”, traditional downtowns, lots of amenities and natural gifts such as beautiful beaches or lakes like Lake Ida. Lake Ida is so underrated. 
Which in a roundabout way, brings me back to Hollywood. 
We spoke to a bartender who lives downtown and she thinks the city will become the “new” Miami. 
Maybe. I don’t know. 
I don’t know enough about the politics to understand the contours of Hollywood’s aspirations. 
But walking around the downtown I felt the potential, but also saw the challenges of creating a vibrant downtown. 
It’s not an easy endeavor. 
There are some formulas—events to bring people downtown, accessible parking, decorative street lights, culture, a good mix of restaurants and retail—but you need some magic too. You need some chemistry: I can’t quite explain it. But I have seen it!
Delray managed to make it happen—the result of a lot of years, a lot of investment and a lot of people rowing in the same direction and taking risks. 
Sometimes those risks work, and sometimes they don’t. But if you learn from the experiments that fail, you’ll find a way forward.  
Years ago, when Delray was striving mightily to revive the downtown, someone —I can’t remember who— said something that stuck with me. 
“Downtown will never be done.”
In other words, you can’t ever declare victory; you have to keep at it. 
It’s a simple statement but profound nonetheless. There is a tendency to get complacent when you achieve a certain level of success. 
But you can’t. Complacency is a killer. In every aspect of life. 
The second statement I remember from those days was that “downtown is the heart of the city, without a healthy heart, the city will struggle.”
How true. 
The third statement from that era I can attribute to retired City Manager David Harden. He told us that our biggest challenge would be surviving success. 
Truth is, I wasn’t sure what he meant at the time. I thought success would breed more success. And it does, for a while. 
But success can also breed complacency and contempt. How much is too much? What fits and what doesn’t? 
Does the success include everyone? Has the success priced out people who want to live here or who do live here and may be forced to leave? 
I believe change is inevitable and can be healthy. I also believe that change is never easy or straightforward. 
How do you change and keep your soul? How do you aspire and ensure that you are inclusive?
All of these thoughts flooded my mind as I looked out at the ocean from our room at the Diplomat. 
The last time I was here, I was a mayor attending a League of Cities convention or was it a Florida Redevelopment Association meeting? I don’t remember. 
But I’m still thinking about those very same questions. Still wrestling with the riddle of cities. Still fascinated about what it takes to succeed and what the definition of success for a city actually means. 

 

 

6 December, 2018 2 2 Comments

It’s Better (Or Is It The Same) In The Bahamas

December 6, 2018 By 2 Comments

Bay Street

 

A few years back, a small contingent of civic leaders from Palm Beach County were invited to Nassau, Bahamas to advise the government on how to revitalize their main drag, Bay Street.

The trip was organized by the U.S. Embassy which was manned back then by Ambassador Ned Siegel, a Boca resident who was appointed to his post by President George W. Bush.

I was invited along with former Mayor Tom Lynch, Boca Chamber President Troy McCllellan and Kelly Smallridge, the President and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.

The trip was truly a first class adventure and Ambassador Siegel introduced us to top government ministers and prominent business leaders. We later invited many of those people to Palm Beach County where they toured West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach so we could show them how theory met practice when it comes to revitalizing downtowns.

I was reminded of that trip last week when I walked Bay Street with my wife as part of a cruise to The Bahamas.

Nassau is picturesque and enjoys wonderful weather. There are some great old buildings enhanced by vibrant colors and a scale that is reminiscent of Delray.

In fact, there are a lot of historical ties between Delray and The Bahamas. Some of the earliest settlers in our town were from The Bahamas. I was especially intrigued by the Pompey Museum of Slavery.

C. Spencer Pompey and his wife H. Ruth Pompey are dear old friends and local legends. I’m pretty sure there is a connection between the museum and the Pompey’s of Delray. Sadly, Mr. and Mrs. Pompey have passed so I can’t ask them but I plan to delve into the history to satisfy my curiosity.

When we were invited to share ideas and best practices with The Bahamian government about a decade or so ago, Bay Street was struggling with crime issues, vacancy in certain sections, an underutilized waterfront and stiff competition from the Atlantis resort which was sucking tourists off the cruise ships out of the downtown and into the casino and water parks.

Walking around Bay Street last week I saw the same issues—only now there is another mega resort to worry about: Bahia Mar.

Sure the streets were crowded on a warm Sunday but it didn’t appear that many people were shopping. The retail mix is heavy on t-shirts, perfume, duty free alcohol and jewelry—not surprising given the heavy influx of tourists.

Bay Street could use more food options—and while I didn’t feel unsafe (despite warnings from the cruise line about crime) the level and intensity of solicitors was a turn off. You were just assailed from the moment you get off the boat to the moment you get back on. Yuck….

Years ago we recommended that Nassau turn up the Bahamian charm—for example increase security but outfit police in traditional uniforms and activate the waterfront by incentivizing restaurants and cafes to balance the multitude of t-shirt shops. Granted these aren’t “genius” ideas and I can’t remember the rest but the exercise was fun and we made a lot of friends as a result.

That I didn’t see a whole lot of change on Bay Street is indicative of how hard transformation is to achieve.

When I think of Delray’s transformation I feel the same way. It takes a whole lot of hard work, dedication, investment and some gutsy decisions to make change—and a fair amount of good fortune too. It helps to catch a break or two along the way, but by the same token change doesn’t happen by accident. It happens via intention.

Recently, I ran into some consultants who worked on our downtown master plan way back in 2001.

The efforts our community made over the years were rewarded with awards which are nice….but not as important as the opportunity and value that were created.

Now I get that not everybody was pleased with the results. And they are entitled to their opinions and we are compelled to respect those views.

Yet, I can’t help but think that sometimes we go overboard with our angst. The consultant mentioned to me that “Delray is so hard on itself” and that statement struck me. It rang true.

Just take a cruise through social media to see for yourself—ugh… all the negativity.

Criticism that isn’t constructive isn’t valuable at all. It doesn’t feel like affection it feels like anger.

Accountability is necessary and important, but it’s best when it’s rooted in love and empathy.

As we head into the holiday season, I hope we see more love and less anger. More constructive guidance and empathy and less vitriol and blame.

Root your community in those values, observe the guardrails and be patient. The magic will happen.

 

 

 

20 June, 2018 2 2 Comments

Our Towns: A Formula For Success

June 20, 2018 By 2 Comments

Our Towns is a journey through what’s working in America.

James and Deborah Fallows are living the life I dream about.
Flying from town to town across America, embedding themselves in the community and writing about what they find.

James has done this for years as national correspondent for The Atlantic. For the book “Our Towns”, he and his wife alternate writing chapters as they visit places such as Eastport, Maine, Greenville, South Carolina, Burlington, Vermont and Winters, California.
Every town they write about is a place I’d love to visit.

Their prose is so vivid, their descriptions of the town’s stories are so compelling that you find yourself fantasizing about visiting or living there.
They seem to find the people that make a place go and spend time at brewpubs, YMCA’s, libraries and innovative schools.
They look for vibrant downtowns, committed business and civic leaders and along the way you become invested in the towns they write about.
All of the towns have a story and an arc: from despair to revitalization.
Some have  fully “arrived”, places like Greenville and Burlington and Holland, Michigan some are on the way (Eastport, Maine) but all have some common elements:
Committed citizens, a willingness to invest, a desire to improve, honesty about the problems they face, schools that take chances and set high standards, an embrace of culture and quality of life amenities and an ability to celebrate their wins. They aspire and they have civic pride. They also seem to have microbreweries. Seriously.

Anyway, the Fallows’ have come up with 11 signs a city will succeed based on their travels.
Here they are:
—Divisive national politics seem a distant concern.
—You can pick out the local patriots. You can answer the question “who makes this town go?” Sometimes it’s a mayor or council member. Sometimes it’s a volunteer or local business leader.
—Public private partnerships are real. Successful towns can point to examples and say “this is what a partnership means.”
—People know the civic story. America has a story. So does California. And so do successful towns and cities.
—They have a downtown. And that downtown is healthy and has some ambition. Good bones are critical but not enough.
—They are near a research university. This is somewhat controversial because not every successful town is so blessed. But it helps.
—They have and care about a community college.
—They have unusual schools. Schools that innovate, take risks and deliver.
—They make themselves open. Great cities are inclusive and work to assimilate newcomers.
—They have big plans. They aspire, they have vision and they execute.
—They have craft breweries. Fallows calls this perhaps the most reliable marker. His point: “ A town that has craft breweries also has a certain kind of entrepreneur and a critical mass of mainly young customers.”  He challenges us to find an exception.  Fortunately, both Delray and Boca have craft breweries. So does Boynton Beach.

Take a look at the list and see how many signs we have. Drop me a line and let me know your thoughts.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a good summer read check out “Our Towns.”