Sketching the future of an evolving Palm Avenue block

The city’s plans to redesign a segment of the North Palm Avenue streetscape have been significantly revised, but one thing remains unchanged: A group of people is expressing displeasure with the project.

The project, originally conceived four years ago, has been on hold for a year as the city worked to preserve a palm grove that dates back in part to the early 1900s. Nearby businesses, located between 1262 and 1274 N. Palm Ave., have complained about flooding issues caused by the current sidewalk and landscaping layout.

The streetscape improvement project, as envisioned by the Downtown Improvement District, would address the flooding issues while widening the sidewalk and mirroring the landscaping on the other side of the street. Thanks to an effort from concerned citizens, the City Commission instructed staff to redesign the project and make saving the palm grove a priority.

On Aug. 4, staff presented the revised design to the DID board — and got a cool reception. To preserve all 26 palm trees and adjust the grade to prevent flooding, the project now calls for a sidewalk of variable width. DID board members were upset with a project they thought was less pedestrian friendly and worse aesthetically than the original project.

“I think this is certainly an improvement over what it is now, but it's not as good as the original plan,” DID Chairman Mark Kauffman said.

Andy Carlson, who works for Arne Carlson Insurance Agency at 1266 N. Palm Ave., was happy with the changes. Although he agrees the flooding is an issue, he believes the palm trees are not responsible — and thought the new plans proved a reasonable compromise could be reached.

Jono Miller, a conservation activist who campaigned for the preservation of the trees, asked the city to proceed with the project now that a new design is in place.

“I know not everyone's happy with it, but I would hope today we could move forward,” Miller said. “This project has been delayed four times already. I’m only responsible for one of those. It’s criminal this flooding problem has existed as long as it has.”

Other members of the DID board were not necessarily unhappy with the plans, but wanted to further examine how this segment would fit into the larger design of the Palm Avenue block. With the addition of the Palm Avenue garage, the planned construction of a Floridays hotel at Palm Avenue and Cocoanut Avenue and an accompanying roundabout slated for the intersection, the area is going through a period of change — and the DID wants to ensure the street is harmonious.

Andy Dorr is a senior vice president with Githler Development Inc., the company that owns the commercial property at 1258 N. Palm Ave. He thinks the streetscape planning needs to be done with an eye toward the future of the area, not for the present conditions. He suggests the one-story commercial building behind the palm grove, part of which Kauffman owns, is destined for redevelopment soon.

He’s asked the city for a big-picture view of how staff envisions the street, and has been unsuccessful in his efforts. In general, he said, the city has shown little flexibility as he’s expressed his concern about the streetscape — including plans to relocate some green space requested as a dog-walking area for residents of the Bay Plaza condominium.

“Everything we’ve asked for, they’ve basically said, ‘We can’t do that,’” Dorr said. ‘They’re narrowing our driveway, they’re making other changes, they’re adding the grass for a poop park. It’s a little frustrating.”

Dorr did acknowledge the city was able to revise plans to reduce the parking supply in the area at his behest. One reason the city has not shown him a comprehensive overview of the block is because those plans don’t exist, according to Chief Planner Steve Stancel. To some degree, he said, it’s a wasted effort to shoot for perfect congruency — inevitably, the segment with a palm grove is going to stick out from the rest of the street.

“Everything we’ve asked for, they’ve basically said, 
‘We can’t do that.’”– Andy Dorr,
Githler Development Inc.

Coordination is a priority for the city when it comes to construction, however. Floridays Development Co. is set to close on its land deal with the city soon, clearing the stage for construction to begin on the hotel later this year. Floridays CEO Angus Rogers said that, as his company worked to secure the land, it’s also sought to coordinate its streetscape design plans with the DID and other organizations and businesses neighboring the hotel.

“It’s been a comprehensive effort,” Rogers said. “It’s just a little local portion of the downtown area, but we have certainly been working with all of these different interested parties.”

Dorr is excited by the activity going on in this block of Palm Avenue, and says it gives the city an even greater incentive to ensure that its streetscape improvement project is as good as possible.

 “We have five or six blocks in our city that are an A+,” Dorr said. “This needs to be an A+.”