Project receives land donation next to Lauderhill Performing Arts Center
The upcoming Jamaica Resource and Cultural Center can now officially call Lauderhill home, as the governing Jamaica Diaspora Legacy Foundation (JDLF) confirms a parcel of land along State Road 7, next to the recently opened Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, has been donated to the project. The planned property would include a historical depository center, an art gallery, performance spaces, community meeting rooms, as well as a banquet hall.
JDLF board members met with regional developer Yokam Izhak, to discuss a deal, and “Izhak gave assurance he would be donating no less than 10,000 acres to the Foundation to build the property,” said board member and realtor Chester Bishop. The deed for the donated property is to be presented to the Foundation shortly.
Izhakl, who is also the new owner of the nearby Lauderhill Mall, said he agreed to donate the land as his way “of giving back to the Jamaican community, which has been very supportive of my businesses over the years.” Izhak said his decision was also influenced on the recommendation of Broward Commissioner Dale Holness, a Jamaica American, and City of Lauderhill Commissioner Howard Berger.
The board of the JDLF has agreed to accept the donated land, which “will provide a significant boost,” says Bishop, as the Foundation embarks on its drive to raise over $5 million to construct the center. “Acquiring the land takes us a far way on our goal to build the center.”
Maurice Grey, building engineer and an advisor to the JDLF, who along with local architect Neil Hall is designing the center, said the original designs for a sprawling one-floor building “will be redesigned as a multi-story structure, retaining the proposed components.”
Earlier plans for the building included a 350 seat performing arts theater. However, according to Cheryl Winter, the Foundation’s secretary, with the donated land placing the center adjacent to the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center, the Foundation is “hoping to establish access to its facilities,” for center members, eliminating the performing arts theater “until further down the road.”
Izhak also plans, in conjunction with the City of Lauderhill, to build a multi-story car park on the property. The car park will be available for visitors to the site, which is also earmarked for a hotel, restaurants, and retail shops.
The city of Lauderhill has long been one of the cities earmarked for the project, due to the area’s long-standing Jamaican community. Alternative sites were also considered in cities with vibrant Jamaican communities, such as Lauderdale Lakes, Miramar and Pembroke Pines.
