North Lauderdale is a compact city in the center of Broward County, which is in the center of South Florida, an area that – at least economically speaking – is the center of the Americas. And because of this pivotal location, North Lauderdale is a community rich in diversity. Its 42,000 residents have come from all over the world to secure a place in the sun, stake a claim in South Florida’s vibrant economy and build a future for their children. And as you’ll read, that future looks promising indeed.

North Lauderdale wasn’t always at the center of things. At its creation in 1963, it was a new frontier – literally and figuratively. At that time, it was largely farmland on the western edge of development in Broward County. Recognizing a rare opportunity to work with a blank slate, famed architect Morris Lapidus turned his attention to planning a city that would become North Lauderdale. Lapidus gained international notoriety for launching the 1950s “Miami Beach” style resort hotel. His design of the
Fontainebleau Resort, the Eden Roc and Americana helped create the style of Miami Beach.

The flamboyant, curvy, idiosyncratic and immediately recognizable style became lodged in the American conscience when the Fontainebleau appeared in the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger. After hotels, Lapidus turned to designing cities. North Lauderdale, “The City of Tomorrow”, was the first city he laid out. Forty years later residents still benefit from his influence and vision, which can be seen in the whimsical “beacons” lending the city prominence and in the distinct, amoebic shape of Boulevard of Champions.

Once the city was laid out, the promise of affordable homes near the seaside ushered in a 10-year development boom in the 1970s. Where the rich and famous flocked to Miami Beach, regular families enamored with the Sun Belt, moved to North Lauderdale. Thousands moved in and neighborhood after neighborhood came to life. The city’s character took shape of a younger, family-oriented community where most social interaction took place after work around a softball field. North Lauderdale is a city where a week of hard work is rewarded with sunshine-filled weekends and family barbecues.