Businessman Miguel Pilgram Using Portion Of Fortune From 52M Lotto Jackpot To Revive Black Business District Sistrunk Boulevard

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.