More green space and outdoor dining, plus low-density cabin rentals, proved to be crowd pleasers as Vero’s steering committee approved a re-engineered plan for the Centennial Place riverfront that takes new, post-COVID realities into account.
The committee, which includes the City Council, voted almost unanimously to approve the alternate plan, which Vice Mayor Laura Moss informally dubbed the “Old Florida Plan” due to its scaled-down nature, casual recreational opportunities and wide-open vistas.
The plan presented by architect Andres Duany of DPZ CoDesign leaves the Big Blue power plant building in place in hopes of someday attracting a major hotel and conference center, but in the meantime plots out rental cabins in an oval around a large swimming pool that would be accessible to the public as well as to guests.
“It’s a very conservative plan,” Duany told the committee, saying that the site is a natural winner in an age when sunshine and sea breezes are major assets that make people more comfortable going out in public as the coronavirus continues to circulate. The venue, as configured, would be unique to Vero.
What has not changed are the vendor sheds for a farmers market or other wares, as those open-air spaces are preferable to closed-in shops and cramped boutiques, but each vendor space would have one indoor room for various uses or just for the comfort of the shopkeepers staffing the store all day in the heat.
The three sit-down restaurants – one casual or family dining, one mid-range and one fine dining – have been turned into counter-service kitchens and a large, shared outdoor dining garden with shade trees and umbrella tables.
Spaces for food trucks could expand the culinary options or scale up service for events and festivals. An open-air chapel could serve as a general community center for meetings and socially distanced events.
At the river’s edge would be sand volleyball courts, a fishing pier and day-dock boat slips for people to park while enjoying the eateries, cabins and other amenities.
“This kind of design that we’re doing only works in Florida where you have sunlight and good weather all year round. This cannot be done in Atlanta. This cannot be done certainly in New York or in Boston where you have the seasons,” Duany said.
The downside of the plan is that the massive, long-corridor hotel which was to be the economic driver that paid for the other improvements has been drastically scaled back. The power plant building would be stripped down, the equipment salvaged, making that part of the project revenue neutral, Duany said.
Only Councilman Robbie Brackett voted against the post-COVID plan, saying he is more optimistic about attracting a large-scale hotel, and still excited about the original plan. “I’m not convinced that this is the world we live in for the next 20 years,” he said.
Brackett acknowledged that the pandemic poses challenges, but he noted that hotels on the beachside are full. “I know we don’t have any sort of crystal ball to see how things are going to be in six months, I don’t have any idea. But I don’t think this is the new look for America, all the time. Maybe some of the big-city areas it might be, but I think we’ll see this [economy] come back,” he said.
The north side of the Big Blue site would become a large-scale native vegetation restoration, possibly mangroves, creating a green buffer between the project and neighboring condos to the north.
Options for the sewer plant site have changed, with the new plan calling for mostly open space, plus the youth sailing facility and outdoor concert bandshell, plus more cabin rentals. A housing project that was considered for the site has been abandoned at this point.
The plan, and the 75-word referendum giving the city the ability to long-term lease portions of the power plant site, is set to be considered by the City Council on Aug. 18. If all goes well, city voters would decide on Nov. 3 whether to accept or reject the plan. The full presentation can be seen on the city’s website in the backup from the July 31 Three Corners Steering Committee meeting.
