A new pavilion-gazebo for weddings and an electronic billboard to advertise events topped a $300,000 wish list the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens presented to the City Council.
The Botanical Gardens directors also asked the council to pay for a security fence around the 20-acre gardens property and improvements to the irrigation and electrical systems. In addition, the gardens’ directors asked the city to pay for upgrades to the 4,100-square-foot pavilion building kitchen to facilitate catering for weddings and other events.
The gardens’ directors presented their requests to the City Council on July 24 during the annual summer budget meetings.
The gardens had roughly 34,000 visitors last year and will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March.
“We have turned the Botanical Gardens into a destination location contributing to tourism and economic development,” said Michelle Peterson, a member of the gardens’ board of directors.
“Our request is primarily to finish the gardens based on the city’s provisional plans for the Botanical Gardens,” Peterson told the council.
The construction plans for the botanical gardens had to be scaled back in 2010 because of budget cuts resulting from the Great Recession.
The City Council decided to incorporate the electronic billboard and security fence into the plans for the park under construction just south of the gardens on Westmoreland Boulevard. The billboard is expected to cost $100,000.
The pavilion-gazebo, which is expected to cost more than $150,000, will be added to the city’s capital projects list and considered for funding in the future.
The city awarded a $2 million contract for the construction of the southern section of the Riverwalk Boardwalk along the park the city is developing on Westmoreland Boulevard.
Port St. Lucie plans to spend more than $10 million on the park in the next 10 years, developing a river-themed playground, a historic village, an amphitheater, boat docks, kayak launches and nature trails.
Councilwoman Jolien Caraballo said she supports completing the gardens.
“It’s an investment in the right place,” Caraballo said. “We have the ability to bring more people to that tract.”
