Plantation High name change, Plantation Marketplace, Restaurants and more.
What to call Plantation High?
Plantation High School is embarking on a rebranding effort and asks for your input on two questions.
Should the new school name be Central Collegiate Academy or Central Broward Collegiate Academy?
Should the new mascot be “Cardinals” or “Champions?”
Looking to bring a renewed energy to the school, Principal Casandra D. Robinson has proposed a rebranding as Plantation Middle School merges into Plantation High to form a combined grades 6-12. She envisions a welcoming and professional atmosphere, with an enhanced dual enrollment program, a career pathway program that includes aerospace, business and engineering, gifted programs, and a public safety academy.
Projected enrollment is 1,476 for grades 9-12 and 404 for grades 6-8, which will be conducted in a separate building.
The name options were solidified during Tuesday’s school advisory committee meeting. The 24-hour period for voting runs from 12:01 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, May 14. Go to: BrowardSchools.com/PlantationHigh to access the voting link.
The change then must be approved by the Broward School Board, and members of the public will be allowed to state their feelings at that yet-to-be-scheduled meeting.
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Emergency planning
Fire Chief Don Todd led city leaders through a planning session in the City's Emergency Operations Center, as storm season approaches.
The City Code and our Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) provide that when a major storm approaches, the Mayor delegates management of all city resources to the Fire Chief as incident commander. (I agree with that policy.) Police Chief Jeff Schlegel serves as the assistant incident commander.
Chief Todd immediately emphasized the importance of teamwork should a storm happen. We start with the preliminary assessment of impact after a storm clears and Public Works clearing the roads with the major roadways such as Broward Boulevard and University Drive going first. Then the teams assess any damage to city facilities and throughout the community.
We also will centralize our communications with the public. Our three main social media clusters are for city operations, parks and police. We will collaborate on providing a consistent message via all available channels in order to maintain residents' awareness. Don’t forget to sign up for emergency alerts.
And let’s hope a favorable storm season means we don’t have to put any of this planning to use.
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Builder’s plan returning to Planning and Zoning Board
Representatives for a proposed redevelopment of Plantation Marketplace are expected to return to the Planning and Zoning Board in June after their first endeavor was deferred on May 5.
As part of the land use plan amendment, a builder is proposing 652 units on a 25-acre site. But, when the site plan is proposed in the future, project could extend beyond 1,000 units if bonus density is approved to support affordable housing. He purchased the land two years ago.
The city’s Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Department had recommended the item be deferred, requesting a more complete traffic study. The property is on Broward Boulevard and Northwest 70th Avenue.
The item would eventually go to the City Council for approval.
Live Local Florida impact
Experts spoke to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee last week, evaluating the impact on the Live Local legislation implemented by the Florida Legislature.
There have been 204 projects proposed across the state via the measure to provide more affordable/workforce housing quicker. Nineteen of the projects are now under construction. Half of them are for people in the 80 percent or below AMI. That means those making less than 80 percent of the average median income in their county. In Broward, 80 percent of AMI would equal about $56,000 annually. (The median income is about $70,000 per year.)
The first Live Local bill was approved in 2024. The policies have been amended the past two sessions, making it more palatable for houses of worship to deploy vacant land and addressing populations such as homeless veterans.
Midtown meeting Thursday
The Midtown Advisory Board meets at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 21, at Island Space Museum in the Broward Mall. The venue offered to host to be a good partner and introduce patrons to the area as an attraction.
The public is invited to attend the meeting that discusses how to improve the area.
Restaurants
Fat Lou’s, 660 N. State Road 7, celebrated its grand opening last week. The featured item is Vienna Beef, “The Official Hot Dog of Chicago.” But there also are items such as Italian Beef, crispy chicken sandwiches and pizza puffs. Call 954-595-2782.
The ribbon-cutting for Anna’s Café, 522 N. Pine Island Road, is at 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 15. The venue opened in the former Pei Wei/Alacati Mediterranean spot. Go to TheAnnasCafe.com.
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Nature initiatives
Check out the latest edition of the Nature Corner Magazine to learn how our Parks and Recreation Department promotes conservation, pollinator education, community gardening, wellness, and outdoor learning in Plantation.
While there, check out the Bring Back the Buzz educational series. The final episode is now out.
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Events
May 15 & 16: Friends of the Library Used Book Sale. Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library. Cash payment. All proceeds benefit the library.
May 16: Kids to Parks Day from 10 a.m. to noon at Deicke Park. Activities will include creative crafts, exciting games, delicious food, friendly competitions and scavenger hunts.
May 25: Memorial Day Service at 9:30 a.m. at Veterans Park.
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Meetings
May 21: Midtown Advisory Board at 10 a.m. at Island SPACE Caribbean Musuem.
May 27: Council Budget Workshop at 5 p.m., followed by a Council meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
View upcoming meetings and events by visiting Plantation.org/Calendar.
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