The project was initiated to revitalize the Seminole Street into a place where residents and visitors can stroll, shop and dine. The vision for Seminole Street is to create an attractive, inviting space with clearly defined pedestrian area. The improvements include undergrounding of overhead utilities, drainage improvements, removal of dumpsters, improved on-street parking, designated loading zone, pedestrian-scale lighting, benches, and landscaping. The project limits are along SW Seminole Street from St Lucie Avenue and Colorado Avenue, approximately 600 feet.
The project is consistent with the City’s CRA Plan. The CRA held two open house meetings to get feedback from Downtown Business Association and the downtown businesses/property owners impacted by the project. A notice for open house meetings were mailed to all the businesses. The project was presented at the MainStreet Board Meeting also. In some instances, the consultant and staff met with the business owner on site to discuss any issues related to the project. Staff received positive feedback and support for the project. Letters of Support are attached.
Currently, the streetscape design is 90% completed. As part of this project, two existing dumpster enclosures on SW Seminole Street have been removed and the new temporary dumpster enclosure location on the City Hall site behind the Public Works building will serve the businesses on the west end of Seminole Street.
The CRA applied for FDEP State Water Quality Assistance Grants (SWAG) and Federal Clean Water Section 319(h) Grants in the amount of $274,000 for utilizing permeable paver block to serve the roadway and on-street parking surfaces within the project limit. The application has been selected by the DEP in the first step of the approval process and will be submitted to EPA for final approval. We can expect to receive a response and notification of the federal funds by September 2022.
Currently, there is $1.25 M approved and budged for the construction of the streetscape and undergrounding of utilities. Details about the streetscape plan and undergrounding of utilities, project timeline and costs will be presented at the meeting.