BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Engineers for Starke detailed plans to revitalize the bypassed and overpassed city, but the financial commitment appears too large at this time.
“Painting a Vision for the Future of Downtown” was the title of Woodward and Curran’s presentation by Justin deMello.
He said an estimated 24,000 vehicles are bypassing or overpassing downtown Starke every day. But, on the bright side, Starke has more than one million people within a one-hour radius to take advantage of a reinvented version of the city.
“Starke has an opportunity to reinvent their brand and really create a destination where locals and tourists say, ‘Alexa, take me to Starke,’” he said.
They worked with local leaders on creating City Walk, deMello said, which envisions downtown as a central entertainment and business district that builds upon the city’s old Florida charm.
“We’ve got brick-lined streets and pedestrian friendly connectivity, unique shops and restaurants, food truck events, beautiful parks and flowering gardens, an amphitheater for hosting charming concerts and events, scenic walking trails along the restored and revived creek,” he said of the vision.
There are also ideas for expanding the college campus and a training facility to work in cooperation with the hospital. DeMello talked about potentially working with the Florida Department of Transportation to transform U.S. 301 through downtown from a four-lane highway to a road with round abouts, bike lanes and green spaces to slow traffic and get visitors to stop.
Nothing has been predetermined, and the possibilities are open for discussion. Concepts and renderings could be developed to engage the interest of the business community. A Community Redevelopment Agency could be recreated to steer future tax dollars toward downtown revitalization. The city’s comprehensive plan should also be updated.
Projects and funding opportunities will be developed with a focus on:
—utility infrastructure.
—flood mitigation.
—stormwater collection and conveyance.
—complete streets and parking.
—landscaping.
—public and private development.
—existing façade improvements.
—park, memorial and recreational areas.
The engineers took Starke representatives to the city of Tavares, once closer to Starke in population. From a shuttered downtown where the only building in use was city hall, Tavares’ rebirth demonstrates what can be accomplished when city commitments are combined with infrastructure funding.
Tami Ray from Woodward and Curran was credited with successfully pursuing project financing. She tied that success to commitments of local dollars as leverage for awards of state and federal funding. For example, Bradford County committed $4 million in ARPA funds to extend city utilities down State Road 16, and the state kicked in another $2 million. Starke earmarked $400,000 in ARPA funds for City Walk, and the state matched it with another $400,000. The city agreed to a low-interest loan for collection system improvements that was accompanied by a $4 million grant.
That’s how Tavares did it, Ray said. Through planning and the use of its CRA as a source of tax revenue, Woodward and Curran was able to help Tavares pull together $57 million in grants to revitalize its downtown. This led to even more revenue for the city, which saw its CRA account grow from $200,000 to $2 million a year.
“Good, positive story there, but it took an investment. The city had to believe in itself and believe in its ability to accomplish all of these goals,” she said.
On that point, to fully carry out the City Walk project would require an ongoing commitment from the city commission over five years in the amount of $800,000 annually — $300,000 from general revenue and $500,000 from utility revenue.
That means the full vision for City Walk will be on hold as the city commission is struggling with raising revenue to fund police and fire services, which are facing severe cuts in the next budget.
Commissioners like Andy Redding still saw the promise for how redevelopment could attract businesses, residents and other amenities that would grow the tax and customer base and help pay for essential services and infrastructure.
“If we sit on our hands and do nothing, nothing will ever change,” he said.
“It really is about the return on investment,” Ray said. “This is not just money to spend in the downtown on a particular improvement like a park area. This is really an investment over a period of time in your downtown corridor, which is going to have a return.”
That includes opportunities for new jobs and higher-paying jobs,” she said.
Mayor Scott Roberts said he had a remarkable visit meeting people in Tavares and discussing its transformation, and one thing in Starke’s favor is it is not as far behind as Tavares was.
“It seems like a pipe dream, but really, it’s not. It’s something that can take place,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen.”
