Coming together

Fort Lauderdale approves ‘Historic Sistrunk’ designation

Fort Lauderdale’s historic northwest district is getting a new name.

The area will be known as “Historic Sistrunk,” said Dennis Wright, chairman of the Historic Sistrunk Community Council, adding that the group wants to create a brand for the area.

“Something that announces us as a place to live, visit, invest [and] do business,” he said.

Specific details haven’t been released, but Wright said a new logo will be part of a larger initiative that includes a Historic Sistrunk website.

“It will contain links to just about everything,” he said. “Churches, schools, community services, anything you might want.”

Ann Marie Sorrell, president and CEO of The Mosaic Group and spokeswoman for the council’s efforts, said the website will launch in the next two months.

The council represents a neighborhood that runs west from Northeast Seventh Avenue to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, then from Broward Boulevard to Sunrise Boulevard.

“It’s a predominantly African-American population,” Sorrell said, “with a lot of working families and business owners who’ve been in the neighborhood for many generations.”

“The streetscape is part of the infrastructure redevelopment designed to set the tone for business development along that corridor,” said Jeremy Earle, deputy director of Fort Lauderdale’s Department of Sustainable Development.

The area is overseen by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

“We are working with the residents on business improvement projects,” Earle said. “Encouraging developers to come into the community and — perhaps the most important thing — we’re

highlighting the area’s very strong history as the base for the development.”

Sorrell’s firm came on board after the department put out a bid for help with marketing initiatives.

“Our goal,” Sorrell said, “is to create … community excitement around the new brand, which is not just a logo, but an image that creates a new sense of community, progress and positive change, and something the community will take pride in.”

Don Crinklaw can be reached at dcrinklaw@ tribpub.com.