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Waterfront acreage generates hope for open, public space
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST -- More than
a hundred residents gathered in an old Navy hangar on Thursday night to
hear the future of 33 acres of prize waterfront property the city
acquired from the Navy last year.
Neighbors said they
were concerned about how development of the property will increase
traffic and change traffic flow on some nearby streets. Residents also
wanted to know time tables for both city and Navy projects on and near
the Truman Annex and Outer Mole Pier. The Navy plans to spend 18 months
dredging the channel near Outer Mole Pier and is currently remodeling
the pier.
While the city has
agreed to keep 60 percent of its land for park space, proposals call for
shops, businesses and a commercial marina. City Commissioner Tom
Oosterhoudt said he wants to build an amphitheater on the property. The
city hopes to partner with a private developer to split costs of
developing the property, said Doug Bradshaw, the city's Local
Redevelopment Agency manager. The redevelopment project could cost $20
million, Bradshaw said.
Mayor Jimmy Weekley,
who along with commissioners Oosterhoudt, Carmen Turner and Ed Scales
attended the meeting, said there would be a series of public workshops
before any work started on the project. The Navy gave the city the 33
acres a no cost under the Base Realignment and Closure process, but
placed restrictions in the deed for the land.
The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that oversees the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, was also given 3 acres of the
Truman Waterfront land. Its plans call for a "premiere world class"
regional office and visitor center, said June Cradick, sanctuary project
manager. The two-story structure will feature a sanctuary headquarters
and regional office, theater, research library, community meeting room
and interactive exhibits, Cradick said. The facility will cost $8.4
million to construct and is slated to open in spring 2005.
Sanctuary officials
are partnering with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, which will have exhibits in the visitor center. They are also
partnering with private environmental nonprofit groups and hope the
facility will become a Key West tourist destination.
"We want a wiz-bang
facility that is both educational and fun," Cradick said.
The facility will be
named after the former head of the National Marine Sanctuary Program,
Dr. Nancy Foster, who died several years ago of a brain tumor.
Capt. Jim Scholl,
commander of Naval Air Station Key West, also briefed the residents
Thursday on the Navy's plan to dredge the Outer Mole marina to its
original depth of 34 feet. Naval officials hope to begin the $36 million
dredging project in December. They have been working with sanctuary
officials on environmental issues concerning the project. |
