Perhaps this entry can be called a civic concern, or aesthetic, political, economic or all of the above. There is the appearance of major planning activity on the west end of our island. Specifically, there are three centers of activity concerning the Truman Waterfront and Duval Street Corridor:
A. The Duval Street Committee (chaired by Jimmy Weekley) has been meeting on a rather regular basis for a year and a half and is for the second time asking an urban planning firm to make a presentation to suggest ideas of how to rethink Duval as the hub of social life in Key West as it once was as well as an attractive area for visitors. Meanwhile, some six months ago, the Chamber of Commerce also showed interest in Duval redevelopment (my term) and initiated a similar effort with a different firm. The City’s committee and the Chamber are joining efforts in a City Commission workshop on Duval on June 30. Meanwhile, the Chamber is raising private money to inventory Duval businesses and perform related studies.
B. On another front, the city has received two responses to its Request for Qualifications to develop a commercial marina at the Truman Waterfront. One response, by “Key West Harbour” which claims local entrepreneurs and experienced port developers, deals with a marina only (2.4 acres) and the other, by “Meisel and Spottswood”, also a local and marina developer partnership, proposes developing the 23.9 acres that remain in that Navy conveyance. The City Commission workshops on those responses will be June 23rd and 24th.
C. Also in the mix is a Request for Proposals due June 30 for what is titled “Duval Street/Truman Annex Improvements”, significant money ($491,000 total but that may be shared with another project) from the Federal Department of Transportation to “provide design, engineering and construction engineering service [my italics; my understanding that this is just design money, not construction] for roadway transportation enhancements.”
Many efforts have preceded those currently underway, but this combination of efforts could be worthy of our attention (???)
Perry
