Davie Mayor Judy Paul met with members of the Undergraduate Student Government Association to discuss the future of Davie on March 24 at the Davie town hall.
Within the next few years, an iFly indoor skydiving facility, two Wawa convenience stores, a farmer’s market, and a farm park, an urban farm for the public to learn about growing crops and raising animals, will all open or begin construction in Davie. Along with creating these new facilities, Paul said the town will widen Davie Road and Nova Drive, which is expected to be complete in 2018. The middle left turning lane will be closed as a result.
Paul said that when she moved to Davie in 2006, it had a population of 30,000. Now, Davie has over 95,000 residents, and she said that despite the population boom, Davie is still an agricultural town.
“We’re a cowboy town from east to west,” she said. “This is an equestrian community. We’re very proud of our equestrian and agricultural past, and one of the hardest jobs I’ve had is to maintain a balance between our agricultural and equestrian roots and the urban growth that you see around the schools.”
Davie plans to open the Governor Leroy Collins Farm Park in fall 2017. The 84-acre park will be located on the west side of I-75. The park will house an educational center, farmer’s market, stables, equestrian trail, community garden, greenhouse, butterfly garden, apiary, and a farm animal barnyard.
“We want to teach kids that you need agriculture in order to survive,” Paul explained. “The more land you take from agriculture to develop into houses, the more you’re encouraging factory farms and synthetic foods.”
Paul said that the park will be volunteer-run, and will be a good opportunity for NSU students who want to volunteer in Davie.
Leydi Arboleda, freshman political science major, said that NSU students do a lot of service in other communities, but not in Davie.
“Besides CommunityFest, we don’t connect with Davie that much,” she said. “We live here, so it’s important to have a peaceful coexistence with people surrounding our university.”
Alonzo Williams, junior dance major, said Davie has a lot to offer for college students.
“It’s a safe, peaceful environment with a community that’s balanced between a younger generation and an older generation,” he said.
Paul said the South Florida Education Center has spurred urban growth in Southeast Davie. The South Florida Education Center hosts parts of Nova Southeastern University, Broward College, Florida Atlantic University, McFatter Technical College and the University of Florida.
“Everyone that’s moving in is connected in some way to the schools,” Paul said. “If it’s not students, it’s professors or people who work in some way at the center.”
Paul said that despite increasing urbanization, there is still more open space in Davie than in any other South Florida community.
Arboleda said that that NSU’s mission to grow and the mayor’s mission to keep Davie agricultural don’t conflict.
“NSU is growing, but within a designated area,” she said. “The mayor has a designated area for what she wants too. By doing service in Davie, we can have that agricultural aspect of our lives and then come back to school.”
Photo Credit: G. Ducanis
