Sistrunk Boulevard is where the “historical heartbeat of Fort Lauderdale’s oldest black community” is located, according to the city’s website, but after desegregation the neighborhood began a slow, sad decline from its former glory. As a corrective to that decline, The Pilgram Group is reported by a local NBC affiliate to have purchased three buildings in the area for use as a “jazz lounge,” various restaurants, and a performing arts center. The goal, according to Pilgram himself, is “preserving the community as a whole,” and bringing Sistrunk Boulevard back to the days when it was an area vital with “success for businessmen.” Developers and other would-be gentrifiers are also interested in Sistrunk, but Pilgram is interested in preserving the neighborhood for its current residents. As he told The Sun-Sentinel: Pretty inspirational, as stories involving lottery jackpot winners go.
