Waterfront park gets last city nod, but changes coming
A massive redevelopment of the Truman waterfront area got the final OK from city officials at its April 1 meeting, but changes are almost certainly in the future for the 26-acre city park.
Key West City Commissioners voted 6-1 to accept the Phase I design plan, approving a $1 million contract with a Miami-based engineering and architectural firm to begin developing construction drawings. The last step will be a review by the Navy, which is expected to give its approval in the next 90 days.
But several commissioners asked for assurances that the park design plan they approved could be changed when construction begins. Commissioner Tony Yaniz wanted to carve out space in the planned 10,000-square foot community center to give a permanent home to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Keys Area, Inc., a local children’s services organization that has been forced to move its headquarters three times in the last five years. Randy Hollingworth, director of planning and urban design for Bermello Ajamil & Partners, the Miami park design firm, said space could be added, perhaps in Phase 2.
“There’s a lot of opportunity. If the community wants to add to that, it’s very doable. There’s a lot of space on the land,” he said.
No one discussed how much Yaniz’s change would add to the budget, now estimated at $18 million to $23 million for Phase I. And paying for the park’s upkeep was the critical issue for Commissioner Mark Rossi, who voted against moving ahead with the project.
Rossi said he was in favor of the Truman Waterfront Park when a new marina was part of the project. Revenues from the marina would have paid for on-going maintenance, he said. But the Navy killed that part of the plan last year, saying it needed the waterways around the park to be kept clear for military training.
“Once you build this, who’s going to pay for it? Will there be higher taxes for the city,” Rossi asked. “I’m not going to support this until you show me a revenue stream that is concrete.”
Don Craig, the city’s planning director, said there were multiple ways revenue might be generated for the recreational area in the future, including fees charged by the city for park parking, events and concerts and leasing out an abandoned Navy building on the property as a restaurant.
“We’ll continue to refine that in the coming years,” he told Rossi.
Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents Bahama Village, was also concerned that 6.6 acres originally promised to neighborhood residents for their use has been reduced to a 2.3-acre area. He asked Hollingworth if the proposed park plan was “flexible” enough to include some elements of an earlier design that would have built a community garden and multi-use affordable housing in Bahama Village.
“I can go along with this as long as I know that there will be some flexibilities. Right now, from where I sit, I don’t want to delay this project any longer,” Lopez said, referring to the 12 years city officials have been discussing the park.
Craig responded that several of the elements of the earlier plan, such as a community center and a multi-purpose athletic field were still park of the design, just not for the exclusive use of Bahama Village residents.
Phase I will cover approximately 80 percent of the total waterfront development project and is expected to be completed by March 2017. Construction will include building site infrastructure such as roads, parking and utilities; landscaped passive recreation areas; a new, multi-use athletic field; a multipurpose center on the site of the proposed community center gym; and demolition of the existing Police Athletic League (PAL) building. In addition, the police stable, the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park entrance and the PAL program will be relocated.
Phases II, III and IV will include demolishing and/or renovating Building 103 for use as a museum and restaurant, building a 250-person amphitheater, and building the remaining portions of the community center. The entire project is expected to take 10 years to complete.
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