SoLO - South of Las Olas

Is SoLO district in Fort Lauderdale's future?

By Larry Barszewski, Sun Sentinel

June 8, 2013

Never heard of the trendy hotspot?

Don't be surprised someday if you're in Fort Lauderdale and get a hankering to go SoLO.

Maybe that's because right now it exists only in the mind of a businessman who's got plans for an upscale billiards place — "It's kind of like Blue Martini meets old pool hall," he says — and a similarly fashionable bowling alley on South Andrews Avenue.

SoLO — South of Las Olas — would be an entertainment and retail alternative to Las Olas or Himmarshee in the downtown area. The area would extend along Andrews from Las Olas to State Road 84, with its heart from Davie Boulevard to 17th Street.

"I think it's about time something happened on this side of town," said ex-yachtie William Dixon, enjoying an afternoon draft at Tap 42, a popular 11/2 -year-old bar and restaurant that's considered a model for what's possible on South Andrews.

"When Tap 42 was going in, it was like 'Wow. This is a great place. We don't have to go to Las Olas to have a drink,'" said Patricia Rathburn, who lives in nearby Croissant Park. "I think something else there that will bring people to South Andrews at night and make it more lively will be great for the area."

Enter Michael Rechter, CEO of Integra, a real estate and entertainment company that has developed shopping centers in Vero Beach and Stuart, each having the bowling and pool-hall concepts he's planning to bring to the SoLO district he envisions.

"We are going to have some interesting things to offer to people in Fort Lauderdale who five years ago wouldn't have even of thought of that area," Rechter said. "What we'd like to do is prime the pump."

Rechter is not the first to see the area's potential. The part of the avenue south of the Tarpon River was originally developed as a retail corridor in the 1930s and Tap 42 replaced Brownie's Tavern, which had been Broward's oldest bar before closing in 2009.

A group of local businesses formed the South Andrews Business Association more than a decade ago and pushed for a redevelopment plan for the blighted area that was finally approved by commissioners in 2010. It is designed to create a mix of homes, offices and shops and has relaxed parking requirements to entice businesses to the area.

Development of the area — near Broward Health Medical Center — also stands to benefit from the Wave, a $142.6 million electric streetcar project that will run down South Andrews and initially connect it with Las Olas and the Flagler Village community to the north.

"It's a much better street since we opened," Tap 42 co-owner Sean McMackin said. "It was absolutely horrible when we first came down here."

Rechter plans a Stix Billiards in the vacant, church-like, former firefighters union hall at Andrews and Fifteenth Street, a block south of Tap 42, and he hopes to finalize a location for his proposed bowling alley this week.

While Rechter anticipates opening the billiards hall by the end of the year, McMackin said that might be too ambitious given the various zoning, building and utility issues that come with an older area.

"What we thought would be an easy thing to do, change an old bar into a nice new bar, took a lot longer than expected," McMackin said. "It took us two years."

Rechter's Oakland Park-based company is taking the long view on SoLO and not expecting overnight change. He's looking for where the area will be in a decade, hoping it can follow a path like the SoHo district in New York or Wynwood in Miami.

"We'll take whatever space we possibly can and bring art, entertainment, dining to it," Rechter said. "Now, even though it's early still, I don't believe it's too early."

Raymond Dettman, president of the Poinciana Park Civic Association, is eager for South Andrews to take off and to have the remaining blighted, vacant parcels redeveloped.

"I think what we all want is more activity," Dettman said. "If that's a bowling alley or a pool hall, I think that's great as long as they don't impact the neighborhood."

Dixon, the former yachtie, thinks SoLO would draw a different type of crowd.

"It's a little bit too touristy on Las Olas," Dixon said, sitting at the bar at Tap 42. "I think this tends to have more of a local feel."

lbarszewski@tribune.com or 954-356-4556

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