Downtown Hollywood is still waiting for its turnaround
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Downtown Hollywood businesses have been hit hard recently. Photo: Naomi Feinstein/Axios
Despite the recent wave of development around Hollywood, downtown businesses have yet to see the expected payoff.
Why it matters: As nearby destinations like Dania Pointe continue to grow, businesses in Hollywood are struggling to compete.
State of play: The area has seen a steady stream of turnover, which business owners blame on permitting delays, parking issues, a lack of foot traffic and rising rents.
- Lebanese restaurant Clara's Flavors, which opened last November, recently closed. Block 40 Food Hall, which opened two years ago, has already had to replace some of its food vendors.
What they're saying: "I've been here since 2008, and the last couple of years have been the hardest years that I've had since I've been in business," Mark Rowe, owner of Mickey Byrne's and president of the downtown business association, tells Axios.
- He says the new high-rises haven't yet led to more foot traffic and people are instead visiting Dania Pointe, where parking is easier and free.
- "There's a lot of vacancies and a lot of crazy rents being charged," he adds.
Case in point: Veronica Coleman fell in love with downtown's Old Florida charm and opened The Vibrant Village on Harrison Street in May 2023, believing the area was soon going to turn around.
- The store was getting regular visitors. But some stopped coming, she says, because they didn't want to have to pay for parking, then spend more on a meal or shopping.
- After her landlord raised her rent significantly last year, Coleman moved her store to Dania Pointe, where she says she made in four months what she used to bring in for a year in Hollywood.
- Still, she misses Hollywood: "It makes me sad. I feel like we were wanted there, we were needed there."
The intrigue: Commissioner Peter Hernandez tells me that in the long run, the city hopes to close down roads on the weekends and host farmers' markets to attract more locals.
- In the meantime, he says the city is trying to bring more people to downtown by offering free shuttle services, hosting special events and improving parking.
- "People just need to be acquainted with the downtown, and some people have not decided to do so," Hernandez says.
Zoom in: Even as the area grapples with turnover, Mickey Byrne's has become a fixture of downtown.
- Rowe credits special events like the Hollyweird Halloween Festival and the restaurant's affordable prices.
The bottom line: Coleman says city leaders "need to invest in the shops that are going to make it the downtown they want it to be instead of just assuming it's desirable because it's downtown."