The Vero Beach City Council members approved plans last week for a 5,803-square-foot expansion of Riverside Theatre.
Plans for the $8 million project call for two building additions that would expand the backstage area of the theatre used for scenery construction, along with erecting two covered loading docks, Vero Beach planning director Jason Jeffries told the council at its April 1 meeting.
Normally, a project like this would be considered a minor site plan change and would not require review, but the theatre’s lease with the city requires that all improvement projects be approved by the council, Jeffries said.
The contractor is Proctor Construction.
Project Manager Keith Kite presented the site plan, drafted by engineers with Kimley-Horn & Associates, explaining that additional plans for a proposed second phase of expansion to enlarge the children’s theatre department and other facilities would be submitted to city planning staff in coming weeks. That phase of the project will require an expansion of the lease with the city and changes to nearby zoning, Kite said.
Phase one of the project calls for the removal of 28 live oak trees. According to an arborist from the University of Florida, one historic live oak and three specimen live oak trees were determined to be in poor condition and do not need to be mitigated. One protected live oak and four specimen live oak trees will be relocated on the site.
The rest of the trees proposed for removal will require mitigation in order to comply with the city’s tree preservation ordinance by paying into the city’s mitigation fund, Jeffries said.
Council members Aaron Vos and Linda Moore asked that the replacement trees be planted in Riverside Park, if possible. That decision is up to the parks department, Jeffries said, but he would certainly make that recommendation to them.
Several residents in attendance also bemoaned the loss of trees on the site. Richard Baker, president of the Pelican Island Audubon Society, said, “Oak trees are the best trees in the world; 395 insect species are found on oak trees just in our county. They’re the best trees for birds, the best trees for butterflies and other animals. Is there a way to save these trees and have a compromise?”
The Vero Beach Museum of Art, located just east and south across Riverside Drive, also is developing expansion plans.
“This project is within the original lease area,” Jeffries said. “Its primary purpose is to improve the loading docks areas.”
Council members approved the site plan 5-0.
Construction is expected to begin in May and will take 12 months to complete
“Riverside Theatre has been proudly producing large-scale musicals since 2011 to meet growing audience demand,” Executive Producer/CEO Jon Moses said in an emailed statement. “As our productions have evolved, so too has our commitment to building the infrastructure that supports them. The expansion of our scene shop will allow us to build scenery and props more safely, efficiently, and creatively – right here in Vero Beach.”
