In order to develop the area, Lake Ridge residents are going to have to come up with some money.

Members of the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood’s civic association have been looking to develop the area near Northeast 13th Street, which is considered a major thoroughfare for the city going east and west.

“We’d love to see [it] developed,” said association president Rixon Rafter.

The association has already applied for a $70,000 National Capital Improvement Grant from the city, board member Andrew Van Heden said. But the neighborhood would have to raise half the money.

If the money comes through entryway signs would likely be placed on Northeast 13th Street, with two more going on Sunrise Boulevard, Van Heden said.

Crime has declined moderately in the Lake Ridge neighborhood, with the highest concentration shifting from the area near Northeast 11th Street to Northeast 13th, said board member Wayne Gilbert.

“The intersection at 13th Street and Fourth Avenue is the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said.

But crime is lower, Gilbert said, thanks in part to crime walks and other neighborhood efforts.

Rafter also said he would like to see more single-family homes built in the neighborhood rather than watching the streets fill up with apartment complexes and motels.

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