City enhancement or not, members of the Idlewyld Improvement Association in Fort Lauderdale are not so quick to give a thumbs-up to a $500 million redevelopment project on the Intracoastal Waterway. But the association has still not taken a formal vote on the project.

The proposal put forth by LXR Luxury Resorts and Hotels is a big one, one that will enhance the city, LXR vice president Peter Henn said.

But residents of the Idlewyld neighborhood, which is bounded on the east by the Intracoastal Waterway and on the north by Las Olas Boulevard, aren’t so sure they want the type of development LXR is proposing. The development includes a luxury hotel, high-end residential buildings and a parking garage.

“This has been a very divisive issue,” Mary Fertig, president of the Idlewyld Improvement Association, said at a recent meeting of the group’s board of directors.

“We live in an area where traffic is a major concern,” she said. "The view of the beach would be changed dramatically.”

In January, city commissioners gave final approval to a small improvement on a two-acre vacant parking lot on the northern end of the Bahia Mar property on Seabreeze Boulevard, called Beachwalk at Bahia Mar.

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A year after the Tarragon South Development Corp. opened its kitschy condo complex The Exchange Lofts in downtown Fort Lauderdale the community is still attracting tenants with its unique history.

The company used a play on old-time telephone terminology to name the building, which used to serve as a switching station for the telephone company in the 1930s. The building on Northeast Third Avenue is now celebrating a one year anniversary.

The Exchange Lofts is located within the Flagler Village Civic Association, and board member Michael Ferber remembers when Tarragon representatives, lawyers and architects, first turned up at association meetings seeking approval for the old building. Many, like Ferber, were excited about the project.

Matthew Ryan, 41, is an interior designer who’s lived in The Exchange with his partner since last July.

“It was the loft idea that brought us here from Washington, D.C.,” he said. “An openness, plus all that exposed pipe and exposed brick are attractive.”

“When you look at the downtown core between the New River and Broward Boulevard,” Ferber said, “you see success.”

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A student-designed pavilion on Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s beach is set to open next month after years of planning and quick construction.

The pavilion, with construction costs estimated at $371,000, is located at the end of Commercial Boulevard in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s business district next to Anglins Pier. It was designed by Eddie Forbes, 29, who entered the contest as an industrial design student at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

“I’ve always lived and grown up on the beach, so it’s a beach design,” said Forbes, who graduated from The Art Institute in December. “Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is kind of a small town between big cities, and I wanted to keep that.”

Some of its features include drainage improvements for storm runoff, landscaping and acoustical elements for concerts. Information is not yet available about public rentals. Broward County helped pay for the structure with a $178,000 grant.

Construction caused some controversy, as Commercial Boulevard is a one-way street east of U.S. 1. The construction periodically caused road closures for delivery of materials and made it difficult to maneuver through the business district.

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City commissioners recently agreed to loan out two antique police and fire vehicles connected with the city’s history to the Fire and Safety Museum on Las Olas Boulevard.

But according to city documents, the vehicles need about $34,000 in mechanical and cosmetic repairs in order to meet the city’s standards. Now museum officials are thinking of ways to raise the money.

With attendance at the Fire Museum blossoming and tours beginning each weekend, repairs for the antique vehicles need to be addressed if the museum wants to both use and display them.

The restoration bill, however, is a hefty one.

The loaned pumper truck now stands in the bay of the museum, needing about $14,000 in mechanical and cosmetic repairs.

“It runs, but not for long," said Jim Van Drunen, a former fireman and current museum secretary. "We have to raise the money and get it working.”

The other loaned vehicle, a police sedan, is still under wraps in a parking lot on Broward Boulevard. Repair estimates for that vehicle are around $20,000.

In addition to the antique vehicles, the museum also plans to display historical documents loaned from the city including log books dating back to the 1930s, said John Heiser, president of the museum.

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Ghalib Carmichael is not only one of Fort Lauderdale’s homicide detectives; he’s also a dedicated sensei.

The 49-year-old Carmichael is founder and teacher of the Onikusu Judo Club, which has been meeting three times a week at the city’s Riverland Park for about two years now.

Carmichael’s mother first got him interested in the martial arts when he was 12, he said, as a way of staying out of trouble. As an adult, he looked for a way to pass on the benefits of martial arts training to young people. Marsha Ellison, president of the Fort Lauderdale branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, met Carmichael about three years ago when the organization was seeking new programs.

“He had the skills, and the desire to give back to the community,” Ellison said.

Carmichael then jumped at the chance to start a martial arts club, which he named Onikusu, and began sessions at Carter Park. After Hurricane Wilma, the club regrouped at Riverland Park.

Last month, city commissioners approved a $30,000 donation to the club via the Law Enforcement Trust Fund. The money will go to help purchase uniforms, practices mats, administrative fees, and fees for competitions.

Interested in joining the Onikusu Judo Club? Visit www.judofortlauderdale.com.

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Broward County Commissioners have decided to expand areas of Fort Lauderdale that are eligible for redevelopment money, and many in the South Middle River and Middle River Terrace neighborhoods couldn't be happier.

“This is a glorious day for us,” said former city commissioner Tim Smith.

Smith, also a board member of the Middle River Terrace Neighborhood Association, shared his enthusiasm at a recent meeting of the South Middle River Community Association.

The decision means the city can expand its redevelopment district to cover areas between Sunrise Boulevard and 13th Street north of downtown and permit tax money from the current redevelopment district to be used for improvements in the area.

“Until today, our two neighborhoods have been left out,” Smith said.

South Middle River Association president Robert Alcock said much of the money “will be in the form of matching grants — meaning we’ll have to raise money on our own.”

“But now when we request something, whether it’s a street light or a street sign, this will make it a lot easier to get the bucks.”

Alcock also said his association will need further study to determine the priorities for spending.

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