Photo credit City of Fort Lauderdale
| Plans for The Water District, new ISHOF take shape |
| For almost a decade now, we’ve been reshaping Fort Lauderdale’s beach with both public and private investment. New hotels and amenities like the Four Seasons and the Marina Village have opened. The city rebuilt the Aquatic Center with its iconic dive tower, opened Oceanside Park and created a reimagined D.C. Alexander Park. Now the next phase is coming: The Water District — which will include a rebuilt International Swimming Hall of Fame and attractions that will invite both locals and visitors. The Water District speaks to who we are as a community. Fort Lauderdale has always been defined by water — our pristine beaches, our miles of canals and rivers, our yachting and maritime industries. It gives us our beauty and our global identity. The Water District is the next major step in that story. Located on the same peninsula that is home to the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, The Water District will be a $220 million waterfront destination that will bring together the history of aquatic sports, marine education, public space, dining, art and tourism in a way that no other city in America can offer. The International Swimming Hall of Fame has long carried Fort Lauderdale’s name across the world. Its displays have honored Olympic champions, coaches, innovators and aquatic pioneers. The plans include a family-friendly marine aquarium, a reimagined Hall of Fame museum, a rooftop restaurant, event spaces, a public dock for Water Taxi access and an elevated public promenade connecting the east and west sides of the District. The project is scheduled to open in late 2028 and is being advanced through a public-private partnership in which the construction is privately funded. A family will be able to visit the aquarium and learn about sea turtles, coral reefs and marine conservation. A young swimmer will be able to walk through the Hall of Fame and see the stories of champions who once started with the same dream. A visitor will be able to arrive by Water Taxi, enjoy the Intracoastal, have dinner above the promenade and experience Fort Lauderdale from a new perspective. The aquarium concept is especially exciting. The design imagines a guest journey that begins at a beachfront entrance and moves through a sand dune walkway, shallow reef touch pools, an ocean tunnel, shipwrecks, deep reef mysteries and a research station finale. It is designed not only to entertain, but to teach about hatchlings, protected shorelines, coral habitats, responsible ocean exploration, scientific research and conservation. A destination like this can help young people understand that the ocean is not an abstraction. It is a living system. The ISHOF experience will also be transformed. The concept includes exhibits on the origins of swimming, the current of champions, the making of an athlete, endurance, biomechanics, survival and rescue, synchronized movement and a 4D cinema experience. The museum will be more active and modern. We listened to the community as the plans were drafted. The design was adjusted to better protect views of the dive tower and the surrounding area. The west building was scaled back. The balance that has resulted respected the character of our beach and the landmarks that our residents care about. It will be an incredible addition to what has already occurred on the peninsula with the Aquatic Center. With its renovation, the Aquatic Center has become one of our most recognizable landmarks and home again to international competition with world-famous swimmers and divers participating. Its iconic 27-meter dive tower rises above the beach as a symbol of athletic excellence, civic ambition and our commitment to keeping Fort Lauderdale at the center of international aquatic competition. Fort Lauderdale’s aquatic legacy stretches back a century to the days of the Casino Pool. The redevelopment of the Aquatic Center and now the creation of the Water District establishes a world-class facility that will put Fort Lauderdale in the forefront of world aquatics. Fort Lauderdale — the Venice of America and the Yachting Capital of the World — is once again a global center for aquatic sports. |
