The Pompano Beach CRA is proud to announce the McNab House Restoration and Botanical Gardens is the 2021 winner of the “Out of the Box” category in the annual Florida Redevelopment Association Awards.

“We are honored to have received this prestigious recognition,” said Nguyen Tran, Pompano Beach CRA director. “The McNab House and Botanical Gardens is an innovative mix of historic preservation and future visioning. The entire team is delighted that our project was selected by this esteemed redevelopment organization.”

The McNab House, built in 1926, was moved from its original location on Atlantic Boulevard when the owners sold the land for development. With the support of the Pompano Beach Historical Society, the Pompano Beach CRA saved the historic home, moving it several blocks to McNab Park, with the vision of transforming the home into a restaurant and the surrounding land into a botanical garden. The goal of the McNab House and Botanical Gardens project is to continue economic growth with the East CRA and Atlantic Boulevard corridor. Activation of the park will encourage more pedestrian activity and create a unique attraction with park elements for residents and visitors to enjoy. 

The moving of the McNab House was a TV news sensation, and since then there has been continuous progress on the project, much of which has occurred behind the fence, which obstructs the public view. Recent key milestones include waterproofing of the home’s foundation and then lowering the structure onto the foundation, which will include a basement/wine cellar. To make way for the botanical gardens, the former Chamber of Commerce building was acquired by the CRA and then demolished. In addition, there have been community stakeholder meetings helmed by the award-winning design firm, Bermillo Ajamal & Partners, to receive input about the botanical garden design and to showcase concepts.

“We are thrilled by the progress we have made during these past months,” continued Tran. “There were many structural elements that required completion before moving to the next phase. In the coming months, we look forward to announcing the restaurateur who will be operating the venue and to finalizing the configuration of the botanical gardens.”

About the FRA:

FRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting Florida professionals and volunteers in community revitalization efforts. With its mission of “transforming spaces, revitalizing places,” FRA is committed to providing a forum for its more than 300 members to share knowledge and common experiences regarding revitalization opportunities and issues throughout Florida.

Each year, FRA accepts entries for the annual awards from its members in a variety of categories, ranging from annual reports to cultural enhancement. The entries are examined for effectiveness and completeness – including the narrative, supplemental material and compliance with the submittal instructions. A cross section of Florida redevelopment professionals, individuals and business organizations judge and rank all of the entries and select the winners

About the Pompano Beach CRA:

The City of Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was created in 1989. It has two independent districts: Northwest CRA and East CRA established by City government for the purpose of carrying out redevelopment activities that include reducing or eliminating blight, improving the economic health of an area, and encouraging public and private investments in a CRA district.

 The Pompano Beach CRA is funded through Tax Increment Financing (TIF). The funds are collected as property values increase and a portion of that increase is captured by the Agency. TIF raises revenue for redevelopment efforts without raising taxes. For more information www.pompanobeachfl.gov/pages/cra

Vince Wooten, Lorena Ledesma and Nguyen Tran at the FRA awards.

Pompano Beach Fire Rescue will be hosting a multi-agency mass casualty incident (MCI) training exercise with Tri-Rail on November 3 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Tri Rail train tracks located at Andrews Avenue and MLK, Jr. Boulevard in Pompano Beach.

The drill is going to be a simulated train derailment with a Tri-Rail passenger train that has struck a car. The person in the car, which will be on its side, will be extracted and airlifted. Approximately 25 passengers on board the train will be extricated and triaged. The fully smoked up passenger train will require extractions, passengers treated, transported, etc. The exercise is designed to assist Tri-Rail with their crews and how they handle emergency situations. It is also intended to train emergency responders in MCI situations, including size-up, triaging, Haz-Mat, landing zones set up, mitigation and working with multi-agency responses.

The training exercise will include a mutual aid response from local fire departments including a Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) helicopter unit, BSO Fire Rescue, Fort Lauderdale Fire Department, Coconut Creek Fire Department, Coral Springs Fire Department, Oakland Park Fire Department, Lauderhill Fire Department and Margate Fire Department

On October 16, Pioneer Park was filled with people for this year’s Fall Festival. Not only was there live entertainment, but also a bouncy maze for kids, cotton candy and other snacks, a pumpkin patch, a storyteller, games, arts and crafts, and more. 

(See more photos on Observer Facebook page).

The Kiwanis Club of Deerfield Beach held their annual golf tournament on Saturday, October 16 at Galuppi’s in Pompano. They had 112 golfers. Golfer

s also enjoyed lunch and could bid on the silent auction, and participate in the raffle or the 50/50. There also were prizes for Closest to the Pin, Hole in One and Longest Drive. The funds went toward their dictionary and thesarus project (they give them to students), high school scholarships and more.

(See photos on the Observer Facebook page)