Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Doug McCraw. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Doug, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea for FATVillage (Food + Art + Technology) was a synthesis of thinking about collecting art and tech space as an environment. It made sense to me that these two incredibly diverse perspectives could live and play together so well under one roof. We started with an old warehouse district in Fort Lauderdale which had only industrial uses. We converted these spaces to art and technology uses and began to assimilate and curate these types of businesses. The result of this process is a thriving environment for multiple creative businesses. This has provided a foundation for a new joint venture development with Hines Development Corporation out of Houston, Texas and Urban Street Development in Fort Lauderdale. This new project will encompass more than 900,000 sq ft. of mixed use space and a new arts center that will be an immersive art experience. What began as a simple idea has transitioned into a vibrant art and technology village that will be the newest iteration of FATVillage.

While the concept for FATVillage was new and innovative, combining the creative process in the context of space and environment provided a dynamic indigenous place for the creative process to happen. The reason FATVillage was created was my experience in some years of art collecting and visiting multiple creative spaces around the globe. Artist spaces seemed like the perfect environment to pollinate the creative side of the technology environment. This was more successful than my business partner’s or myself had ever anticipated when the project was started.

Doug, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am the founder and developer of FATVillage, an arts district located in a city designated four block area in the Ft Lauderdale city center. The area was developed out of a warehouse district in 1999, and has some of the oldest buildings in the city. It has developed into a community of artists, galleries, theaters, studios (photography, film, graphics design, media management, arts technology incubation), and other arts centric businesses.

Prior to FATVillage, I was the founder of DAS Records and Data Storage, a South Florida company acquired by Iron Mountain Group in 1996. I am still active in the venture capital community and have founded a new company, Art + Light + Space Studios with partners Peter Symons, Leah Brown, and Lutz Hofbauer. I graduated in Marketing (1972) from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and I remain active with board work on the campus.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The most remarkable part of this project was that the existing real estate market did not see the idea as commercially viable. Our experience in creating FATVillage has proven that the arts are a powerful and generative component of successful real estate projects that value an experiential and pedestrian experience. The commercial real estate business had no modelling for a business of this type which made growing, financing, and designing a difficult and challenging process. It was the core premise that not only could this work but be very successful that continued to drive us forward. The results are obvious.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

FATVillage has gone through multiple iterations over its commercial life. We have had wonderful creative businesses come and go, usually driven by a need for more space which we are now addressing in with the new iteration of FATVillage. We’ve gone through three major economic financial challenges that forced us to be creative, innovative, and resilient. The end result was that we were more responsive and creative in growing our business. What began as a project of very unlikely possibilities transformed into the arts and cultural district that FATVillage is today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fatvillage.com
• Instagram: @fatvillage
• Facebook: @fatvillage
• Twitter: @fatvillage
• Yelp: @fatvillage