PUBLISHED JUNE 23, 2016
Palmetto waterfront project making progress
CARL MARIO NUDI PHOTOS
Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant stands on the new seawall as work on the Riverside Park renovation continues.
By CARL MARIO NUDI
The City of Palmetto was continuing to make itself a showcase community in Manatee County with its latest project, the redevelopment of Riverside Park alongside the Green Bridge.
“This will be a tremendous boost for the City of Palmetto,” said Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant. “Making the community more pedestrian friendly will attract more businesses.”
Reef Innovations constructed the living shoreline at its facilities in Sarasota before installing it in the Manatee River along Riverside Park in Palmetto.
Bryant said the project took a lot of planning and Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency Director Jeff Burton was an important part of that planning.
“When we submitted all the multi-modal plans [to Florida Department of Transportation],” she said, “I never dreamed all six would be accepted.”
The redevelopment of the park along the Green Bridge approach from the Palmetto side was on the first phase of creating a pedestrian-friendly corridor west to 10th Street West and north to 17th Street West.
Burton said to get the FDOT money, the city had to take a number of steps.
“It started at the Sarasota-Manatee MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization),” he said. “The CRA was looking to do some streetscaping.”
The city submitted a grant application looking to upgrade 5th Street West between 10th and 9th Avenues West.
“We wanted to use that as a pilot project to see how it impacts storm water runoff without building huge retention ponds,” Burton said.
The Riverside Park renovations, as seen from the boat ramp, will be completed by late November.
The design by Charlie Ugarte and his architectural firm used a paver brick system where rainwater seeps into the ground and is filtered before it enters the storm water system.
When the city decided to do the 10th Avenue West corridor, FDOT came out with money for multi-modal projects.
The CRA divided the project into six phases, with the Riverside Park upgrade as the first.
“We were surprised when FDOT prioritized our projects as the top six out of 10 awarded,” Burton said.
The Riverside Park project includes a shared-use path, improved drainage, installation of decorative lighting, reconfiguring the parking lot and using pavers as was done on the 5th Street project, new signs, and lush landscaping, at a cost of $2.3 million.
The last time the park had any major renovations was in 1976 under the federal CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program, said Palmetto Public Works Director Allen Tusing.
An architectural conception drawing of a finished Riverside Park in Palmetto shows all the amenities, including paved sidewalks, reconfigured parking, landscaping and new lighting.
“It’s been well used and it was time for an uplift,” Tusing said. “It will be a great asset for the community.”
He said this was the first time FDOT did this kind of project, including upgrades into the design, such as paver bricks and decorative lighting, instead of the usual utilitarian design they are known for.
Before FDOT began work on Riverside Park, the city had to complete three other projects at Riverside Park; a new boat ramp, which was completed some time ago, a new seawall and a living shoreline.
Work on rebuilding the seawall started at the beginning of the year and was completed in mid-March.
“It’s a brand-new seawall with a cap, 790-feet long,” Tusing said.
He said cost for the seawall replacement was $274,564.
Reef Innovations of Sarasota constructed and installed the living shoreline, which Southwest Florida Water Management District helped fund.
The project was started in April and completed in May, just in time for FDOT to start the Riverside Park renovations.
All three projects will cost about $4 million, with the CRA having to pay about 50 percent of that amount, Burton said.
The park project was expected to be completed by late November, but Burton said there may be some great additions in the future.
“We’re looking at adding a pavilion on the point near the fishing pier,” he said. “It will have a bait shop, restrooms and a restaurant.”
In a gesture to history, it will be called the Seahorse, a restaurant that was located near the old Green Bridge.
“It’ll be a great place to have a wedding,” Burton said, “and bring in some revenue for maintenance of the park.
