St. Augustine Mayor-elect Nancy Sikes-Kline presented her priorities for her tenure during a meeting of the Historic St. Augustine Area Council on Friday, Oct. 14. Among her topics were plans for a mobility-oriented development in West Augustine and the Lake Maria Sanchez Stormwater project.
She began her presentation with a report on the impact of Tropical Storm Ian. A total 162 structures sustained minor damages and 20 structures sustained major damages.
The city has a federally funded flood mitigation assistance program to help homeowners who want to elevate their homes or rebuild. Sikes-Kline encouraged attendees to refer to her anyone thinking about elevating.
During the storm, first responders in the city made 19 high-water rescues. The city has budgeted funds for the purchase of a Bearcat high-water rescue vehicle for use in future flooding incidents.
Mobility Project
On Monday, Oct. 24, the city commission will hold the second reading of an ordinance amending the future land use map for 5.51 acres northwest of the intersection of U.S. 1 and King Street. This marks a step in the process of converting that property — owned by Broudy Bros. — from its designation of commercial medium intensity and industrial warehousing to mobility-oriented development.
The action will pave the way for plans to construct a 700-space parking garage and up to 75 multifamily residential units. Sikes-Kline said the intent was to create a new urban center in the West Augustine area centered on providing satellite parking.
“We’ve always said we wanted satellite parking,” she said. “We want this park-once strategy. So, you come to St. Augustine. You park once, and then you take a shuttle or walk to where you want to go.”
Because the garage would be across U.S. 1 from the heart of the city, a walkover is being considered, though the issue is far from being finalized.
A partnership with the state Department of Transportation will result in a shuttle traveling a loop from the parking facility on West Castillo Drive through the downtown. A spur would connect the shuttle to the new garage.
The development is expected to add 10,000 new cars a day to that area, so a traffic study is being planned to find ways to make traffic flow easier.
The garage would probably be leased to the city, though details have not yet been worked out.
Drainage project
The FEMA-funded Lake Maria Sanchez project is expected to significantly reduce downtown flooding, assisting in the drainage of 200 acres. The cost of the project is $29 million, with all but $2 million funded by the federal government.
The city’s share may be included in $55 million in grants for infrastructure projects, including a seawall replacement project and installation of groundwater monitoring system, which will keep an eye on water quality.
St. Augustine’s downtown has had a long history of flooding after rainstorms. This drainage project would benefit anyone traversing that portion of the city, and it could also help preserve some of the city’s historic assets.
