St. Armands residents seek more median upgrades

When Manuel Chepote looks at a stretch of Boulevard of the Presidents by St. Armands Circle, he sees a street that’s out of sync with the nearby shopping hub.

That’s why, at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, he outlined a proposed beautification project for the median between Monroe Drive and South Washington Drive. Chepote is a member of the St. Armands Residents Association’s beautification committee, but in making his case, he highlighted tourists as a key demographic the city should keep in mind.

“They don’t just go to the Circle; they go to the surrounding streets,” Chepote said. “They get to these medians that are looking really bad, sitting in the middle of the neighborhood. I think we could do much, much better.”

The proposal calls for the instillation of 10 to 12 royal poinciana trees along the medians of the two-block stretch, trees that bloom with a striking red color in May and June. Chepote said the trees were also selected for their longevity, relative low maintenance and because it would mirror landscaping already in place near South Washington Drive.

"They get to these medians that are looking really bad, sitting in the middle of the neighborhood. I think we could do much, much better." — Manuel Chepote

It would cost between $9,000 and $14,000 to remove the existing trees, add irrigation and install the new trees, Chepote estimates. The major cost for the project, however, would be the undergrounding of utilities — which Florida Power and Light estimates at $78,750. Chepote is hopeful a competitive bidding process would yield a lower price for that step.

Chepote says this is the No. 1 beautification priority for St. Armands residents this year, and he’s hopeful the city may take action soon. He’s reached out to the city commissioners individually, and was optimistic after those meetings.

“All of them gave positive input on this,” Chepote said. “All of them were in agreement that there has to be something done.”

Commissioner Susan Chapman agreed the current landscaping on the median is lacking, but she was concerned about the cost of the project. Still, she thought the proposal warranted further discussion.

“A lot of places that cater to tourists have beautiful landscaping,” Chapman said. “The landscaping is kind of tired and the trees are old — one looks like it’s sick. I do see his point.”

Chepote sees this as the potential first step toward a larger improvement effort — maybe a pedestrian area beneath the trees could come later, or perhaps the instillation of royal poincianas on John Ringling Boulevard. For now, he’s content with starting small, but he wants to move quickly.

“The more we delay this project, the longer it will take to beautify the area,” Chepote said.