redeveloping north port st. joe

Redeveloping North Port St. Joe implementing the communitys plan

Updating the 2009 North Port St. Joe Master Plan.

Creating a new illustrated plan.

Paving the way for redeveloping the community. December, 2016

North Port St. Joe

P . A . C project area committee

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REDEVELOPING NORTH PORT ST JOE: Implementing the communitys plan 2016

Acknowledgements

Board of directors Chester Davis - President

Dannie Bolden - Vice President

Letha Mathews - Treasurer

Iris Gathers - Secretary

Sub-committees Economic Development

Otis Stallworth - Chair

Dannie Bolden

Charles Gathers

Tan Smiley

Education and Workforce Development

Johnny Bryant -Chair

Jai Bryant

Lois Byrd

Deborah Crosby

Willie Ash

Lynn Peters

Tourist Development

Timothy Pittman - Chair

Johnna Pittman

Vince Addison

Affordable Housing

Dannie Bolden - Chair

Chester Davis

Dannie Bolden II

Finanacial Literacy

James Chambers - Chair

Inez Mathews

David Woods

Jai Bryant

Beverly Ash

Public works

Inez Mathews - Chair

Lewis Vereen

Dannie Bolden

Public relations

Willie Ash

Dannie Bolden II

Trustees Leroy Davis - Chair

Marty Lanahan - Vice Chair

Thomas H. Jeavons

Rev, Eddie E. Jones

David Llewellyn

Mary K. Philips

Staff Sherry P. Magill, President

Katie Ensign, Senior Program Officer

Board of directors David Ashbrook

Rex Buzzett - Chair

Kaye Haddock

Bill Kennedy

Brett Lowery

Bo Patterson - Vice Chair

Andy Smith

William Thursbay

Consultant team WIM Associates, Inc. (Walter Miller - project leader)

PacificXanh (John Hendry, Philip Giang)

PORT ST. JOE REDEVELOPMENT

AGENCY

North Port St. Joe


Table of contents

Introduction

Community Themes Updating the 2009 Master Plan

The 2016 Conceptual Master Plan

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20 46

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North Port St. Joe



Preface

The many people that have participated in meetings, conference calls, community events and workshops over the last six months are impatient for success.

Now we must raise community involvement, while maintaining the momentum that has built steadily since February 2016.

We have worked hard: organizing events like this year s Juneteenth Celebration and the recent community-wide healing gathering. Plans for a neighborhood clean-up day are underway. Meanwhile, we are assisting the City Commissioners and their Staff to help owners clear blighted properties.

Towards the end of this document, there are details of a catalyst project that we hope will symbolize the beginning of the redevelopment process for this community.

In the final pages you will find an illustrated conceptual plan and detailed narrative that reflects the communitys work over the last several months. We will be presenting this plan to the City Commission and its Redevelopment Agency for its formal adoption. Our intention, then, will be to work with the Citys Staff on rezoning parts of our neighborhood and amending the Comprehensive Plan to reflect the communitys aspirations.

In February this year, a group of North Port St. Joe residents and property owners formed the North Port St. Joe Project Area Committee (PAC). We were frustrated by the blight and decay in our community that confronted us daily. We had seen no real change for the better since 2010 when North Port St. Joe was included in the expanded Port St. Joe Redevelopment Area.

We decided to carry out a community-wide review of the 2009 North Port St. Joe Master Plan. We wanted to update the plan and begin the redevelopment of our neighborhood.

This document is the culmination of the hard work of the PAC, its consultants and numerous supporters within and beyond the boundaries of North Port StJoe. Chester Davis, President,

North Port St. Joe Project Area Committee

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North Port St. Joe


Introduction

Location

History The 2009 Master Plan

The North Port St. Joe Project Area Committee PAC objectives

The current social and economic environment Updating the 2009 Plan: process

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5

6 7

8 9

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North Port St. Joe



Location

Port St Joe

The North Port St. Joe redevelopment district

NorthweSt.Florida

North Port St. Joe, FloridaOctober 2016 1PHASE II - SCOPE OUTLINESJune 16, 2016 WIM Associates, Inc.NPSJ-PAC October 6, 2016 Implementi ng the North Port St. Joe Master Plan

EXISTING SITE

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North Port St. Joe



History

A compact community bordered by railroad tracks, the paper mill and wetlands, North Port St. Joes families formed a close-knit, self-contained community served by churches, an Elementary and High School and the small but vibrant Main Street.

Desegregation changed North Port St. Joe dramatically and forever. Main Street (renamed Martin Luther King Boulevard) began to decline in importance as the communitys primary shopping destination. The Elementary School and George Washington High School were closed and their pupils enrolled in the desegregated schools elsewhere in Port St. Joe.

When the paper mill prospered, North Port St. Joes decline slowed. But in the early 1990s, the paper industry experienced a downturn from which the Port St. Joe mill never recovered, finally ceasing production and closing its doors in 1998.

Families throughout Port St. Joe and beyond were deeply effected by the loss of so many well-paid jobs but the pace of decline in North Port St. Joe became most visible as its housing stock deteriorated and the negative social metrics associated with blight increased.

North Port St. Joe, in Gulf County Florida, is an historic African American neighborhood. It pre-dates Port St. Joes renaissance, brought on by the opening of the paper mill in 1938. Prior to that, the residents of North Port St. Joe had been drawn to the region by its turpentine, fishing and lumber industries.

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North Port St. Joe



The 2009 Master Plan By 2006, it was clear that North Port St. Joe should become part of the Citys Redevelopment district which had been established in 1989 to revitalize Reid Avenue and its immediate surroundings.

The 2009 Master Plan concentrated on seven areas of critical concern:

Martin Luther King Boulevard.

US Highway 98.

Washington High School campus.

Avenue A.

A new proposed town center for Port St. Joe

The rail corridor.

Vacant, under-utilized land.

NORTH PORT ST. JOE M A S T E R

P L A N Prepared For: PORT ST. JOE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

Prepared By: W.I.M. ASSOCIATES, INC.

J U N E

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2 0 0 9

The 2006 Finding of Necessity enabled North Port St. Joe to become a Redevelopment Expansion Area. The same year, a Strategic Plan for North Port St. Joe was prepared by Florida State University. Then, in 2009, the community came together to create the North Port St. Joe Master Plan.

These efforts were almost immediately undermined by the rapid decline in the national economy. The St. Joe Company, for generations the regions major local landowner, was forced to abandon its real estate development plans and reduced its workforce accordingly. The North Port St. Joes Master Plan was, in effect, shelved and remained so until earlier this year.

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North Port St. Joe



The North Port St. Joe Project Area Committee (The PAC)

The PACs intent was to galvanize the community and revisit the 2009 Plan; this time with the objective to implement it. The PAC convinced the Jesse Ball duPont Fund and the Port St. Joe Redevelopment Agency to finance the technical support needed to assist the local community to update the Master Plan.

The technical assistance would help the PAC:

1. Hold three public meetings to:

Revise the 2009 Master Plan.

Refine the themes of a new Plan.

Review the new draft Illustrated Master Plan that will take the community forward.

Early in 2016, seven years after the Master Plan had been written, a group of North Port St. Joe residents and land owners created the North Port St. Joe Project Area Committee (NPSJ-PAC).

2. Inform and involve stakeholders, including local government and its agencies, the Port Authority, the St. Joe Company and Ascension Health and elicit their formal support.

3. Re-register the Gulf County Community Development Corporation and the Gulf County Community Land Trust as implementation arms of the community.

4. Work with local property owners to involve them in the redevelopment process.

5. Draw up a detailed scope of work for the second phase of the project.

6. Identify catalyst projects able to jump start the redevelopment process.

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North Port St. Joe



PAC objectives The PACs role in implementing the 2009 Master Plan is critical. The PAC is the face of the community for local government, investors and development partners.

The PACs three fundamental community development objectives are to:

Eliminate the blight that undermines its neighborhood.

Enable the community to flourish without displacing its residents.

Recognize that job creation is the primary catalyst for change.

One of the 2009 Plans most important objectives remains and overarches the PACs activities:

It is paramount that we do all we can to sustain our communitys engagement in the redevelopment of North Port St. Joe. To unify and

make whole Port St. Joe

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North Port St. Joe



The current social and economic environment

5. The Sacred Heart Hospital has become an established stakeholder in Gulf County and beyond.

6. The BP Oil Well RESTORE funds are beginning to flow into the community.

7. North Port St. Joes average appraised property values and the concomitant tax revenue remain below 2010 levels. This means that the community has not generated a tax increment fund since it was designated a redevelopment area.

8. Community blight and all that goes with it continues to advance in North Port St. Joe.

1. The Port Authority has persevered and is about to enter into various partnerships that will bring jobs to Port St. Joe.

2. The St. Joe Company has ceased being a real estate developer in Gulf County and now focusses on asset management and land sales.

3. The economic impact of tourism has been growing steadily in recent years.

4. There have been visible improvements to the retailing on Reid Avenue, the waterfront area between the boat ramp and the marina and the City park system, in general.

How has the overall socio-economic environment in Port St. Joe changed since 2009?

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North Port St. Joe



Updating the 2009 Plan: Process

The meetings were held in July, August and October 2016. Every meeting was attended by 30 to 60 participants.

Some of the community feedback during the first meeting:

Involve young people returning to the community.

Emphasize the role of housing in any mixed-use development.

Help local business start-ups.

Attract visitors by engaging them in the communitys history

Build a community swimming pool

Each community workshop comprised a slide presentation and an open forum for group discussion. Every meeting was attended by neighborhood residents, at least two City elected officials, as well as participants from the wider community and beyond.

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North Port St. Joe


Community Themes

Jobs

Mixed use development Housing for everyone

Land assemblies Smart streets

Open spaces Local heritage

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12 13

14 15

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North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Jobs

The port of Port St. Joe is entering a new phase of its development. At least two active users have made meaningful commitments to invest in the ports future. The revitalized port should be considered a realistic source of jobs for North Port St. Joe residents. Some in Gulf County believe that the port could have a negative impact on the regions growing popularity as a tourism base. However, It will be several years before this hypothesis is truly tested.

In the meantime, the impact of visitors to the region cannot be ignored. Tourism provides North Port St. Joe with a growing source of jobs and, most importantly, new enterprise opportunities . In addition, an active port could offer North Port St. Joe a customer base for a variety of commercial activities. The community must ensure it has access to enterprise opportunities and jobs whether they be generated by a port or the growing demands of tourism.

Revitalized Reid AvenueA restored port facility promises to create jobs

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The community must ensure it has access to enterprise opportunities and jobs; whether they are generated by a port or the growing demands of tourism.

North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Mixed use development

North Port St.Joe was once anchored by its vibrant retail street. If Martin Luther King Boulevard is to be redeveloped as the heart of the community, it must comprise not only shops, but also offices, homes and other uses that will grow and sustain it as a financially viable, unique location and an attractive place to live and visit.

Avenue A has undeveloped land along its southern edge that would also benefit from mixed use development and meet the needs of Port St. Joes community as a whole.

A Floridian Main Street. The Villages, near OrlandoA mix of uses creates a vibrant and attractive Main Street

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North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Housing for everyone

Seniors must also find modern, comfortable, safe places to live if they are to stay in the community to which they have given so much.

The Paces Foundation is building affordable rental apartments but this is only the start. Other choices must be added to North Port St. Joes housing pool.

Small, affordable studio-homes on an infill site in Bronzeville, Chicago.

North Port St. Joes population has been declining and aging as young people have left to seek jobs and better housing options elsewhere. The port, the hospital and the local tourism industry may offer a growing, stable pool of job opportunities but housing for this workforce will have to be provided locally. Otherwise, Port St. Joe will become little more than a destination on Highway 98 for workers commuting from within the surrounding region.

The Bronzeville project was a competition winner and is now under construction.

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North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Land assemblies

This is a daunting and complex undertaking for any property owner. A single demonstration project on Martin Luther King Boulevard will help allay the concerns of those owners for whom land assembly remains of interest but little more.

Before. Empty lots blight the neighborhood

Neighboring property owners on Martin Luther King Boulevard are considering combining their lots to create land assemblies large enough to realize a significant mixed use development.

After. Redeveloped land assemblies restore the neighborhoods heart.

The land assembly process, if managed sensitively, will encourage redevelopment, improve the area and raise property values without displacing the current property owners.

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North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Smart Streets

These systems can help with surface water management as part of a larger, comprehensive plan for North Port St. Joes infrastructure. Such a plan is essential to the communitys redevelopment aspirations, particulalrly along Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Redevelopment will create new impervious surfaces that, in turn, will require additional rainwater management. North Port St. Joe straddles two major wetland systems that eventually empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

North Port St. Joes surrounding natural system.

D e p o t C r e e kG e o r g e W a s h i n g t o n S w a m p

Wetlands

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Smart Streets. An increasingly important component of community redevelopment

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Infrastructure improvements are a high priority and an essential component of the redevelopment plan

North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Open spaces

North Port St. Joe has not figured in these plans and Peters Park remains disconnected from the bike path and trail system. The redevelopment of North Port St. Joe must include new links to the trail system and a purposeful open space strategy that will appeal to the local residents and visitors, alike.

Port St. Joes public open spaces have always been important community amenities. An impressive new trail and bike path network connects residents and visitors to the improved water front and the relocated lighthouse.

Port St. Joes scenic trail system. The next phase should focus on North Port St. JoeWell-designed, colorful shades transform this playground

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North Port St. Joe



Community Theme : Local heritage

Community blight undermines the physical and mental wellbeing and pride fostered by heritage, culture and identity.

North Port St. Joes heritage is manifest in the extended families that comprise its population. Its heritage lies, too, in the buildings that have been homes to those families as they have grown, left their community and spread out across the nation. Its heritage also lies in the many achievements of these people. Expressing the neighborhoods heritage, culture and identity differentiates it from the places that surround it while enriching them with its diversity.

Project Row Houses, Holman Street, Houston, present day. A community restored.Abandoned row houses, Holman Street, Houston TX, 1990s.

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North Port St. Joes identity is born of its proud heritage and culture.

Heritage, culture and identity underpin and inform this redevelopment process.

North Port St. Joe


Updating the Master plan

Martin Luther King Boulevard Restoring its heritage Covered sidewalks Architecture Homes Important buildings

Summary

Avenue A and a new town center Connecting the community Traffic calming A new town center

Avenue A gateways Avenue A development opportunities

George Washington Highschool A regional vision Local resources

The Lake Gateways & way finding

Paths and trails The pocket park A catalyst project Phase one

Phase two

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Updating the Master Plan

What has changed?

Connecting Reid Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard was functional, symbolic and central to the St. Joe Companys plan for the new town center for Port St. Joe. It was never built and the Company abandoned its ambitious real etate plans as the economy receded.

Nevertheless, a group of Martin Luther King Boulevard property owners have emerged in recent months, intent on developing their land.

The implications of change. Martin Luther King remains the heart of the communitys redevelopment aspirations. The link to Reid Avenue that was never completed satisfactorily continues to be a priority for the residents of North Port St. Joe.

2009 priorities and themes

Historical significance

Infrastructure

New mix of uses

Security and affordability

Linkages to the community and access

Martin Luther King Boulevard, November 2015

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Restoring its heritage

Martin Luther King Boulevard was once a vibrant, busy retail street serving not only its own local community but also the rest of Port St. Joe.

Campus Corner was a well-known destination, along with Driesbachs Dry Cleaners and the Starlight Restaurant.

2016 redevelopment themes

Where identity, culture and heritage come together.

Bringing enterprise back to North Port St. Joe.

Mixing retail and residential uses.

Recreating a unique part of Port St. Joe, supportive of, but different to, Reid Avenue.

Former businesses located on, or near, Martin Luther King Boulevard. Recalled by attendees of the 2016 Juneteenth Celebration.

Visitors to Port St. Joe are increaing in number. The gateways to Martin Luther King Boulevard are more important than ever. The 800 feet long, three block walk along Martin Luther King Boulevard from Avenue A to Avenue D provides the ideal starting point for redevelopment.

Gants Preschool

Starlight Restaurant

Eara Buies Beauty Shop

Mary Rileys Beauty Shop

Adele Jacksons Boarding House

Driesbachs Dry Cleaners

Alma Bryants Beauty Shop

Ike Mincys Taxi Service

Mamie Gafneys Beauty Shop

Eva Gants Beauty Shop

Peters Laundromat

Eddie Beverlys Bait Business

Allens Grocery

Kings Barber Shop

Georgie Boys Restaurant

Portias Beauty Shop

Dow McNairs Store

Gardners Store

Club Heatwave

Claras RestaurantJones Market

Russ Hair Care

Big 10 Club House

Halls Dentistry, Drug & Liquor Store

Williams Funeral Home

Kings Service Station

Bells Store

Harris Beauty Shop

Campus Corner

Dixie Jewelry

Peters Grocery

The Tavern

The Pool Room

Walter Durens Grocery

Sanders Grocery

Stallworths Grocery

Junior Davis Barber Shop

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Covered sidewalks

There are remnants along Martin Luther King Boulevard of buildings that overhang the sidewalk, providing pedestrians with shade from the sun and protection from the rain. Throughout the southeastern United States there are well-established communities that adopted this form of architecture as a practical necessity.

By widening the sidewalk beneath these canopies, especially on the corner of each block, the street can become more inviting, particularly if shops and restaurants are encouraged to spill out onto the street.

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Arcade covered walkway

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31A large second-floor balcony overhangs the street, providing shelter to pedestrians.

On some lots, more parking can be provided at the rear of the building.

Parallel parking helps the wide sidewalk feel a secure comfortable zone for pedestrians

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard : Architecture

Rosemary Beach, FL.

Mobile, AL.

Columbus, GA

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Avenues A to D

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Arcade/ Covered

walk way

Homes to be

preserved

CAMPUS CORNER

MARTIN LUTHER KING

PLAZA

81028

Mixed use development is deliberately contained in a three block area, anchored by the iconic Campus Corner.

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Homes

This is a quieter residential part of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Baldwin Park, Orlando, FL.

The upper floors of the retail premises, planned for Martin Luther King Boulevard south of Avenue D, should include apartments for rent and for sale and, possibly, office space. The plan for the Boulevard north of Avenue D visualizes town houses, apartments and studios. There is also an opportunity to develop senior housing and a childrens day care centre at the terminus of Martin Luther King Boulevard. This mix of residential uses will help increase density, security a greater sense of community and pedestrian activity on the three northernmost blocks of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

810

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Proposed street section. Greener landscaping replaces the overhanging balconies of the blocks between Avenues A and D

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Important buildings

A very visual and memorable building. The Town Hall and Post Office at Rosemary Beach

A large parcel of land, owned by Philadelphia Primitive Baptist Church, book ends Martin Luther King Boulevard where it terminates at Avenue G. This would be an ideal location for senior living, a use that could provide the Boulevard with an important community center, visible to all those driving and walking its length. At the opposite end of the Boulevard is land owned by the St. Joe Company. It has, once again, been mooted as the ideal location for the Citys new Town Hall; highly visible and a symbol of the new center of Port St. Joe.

Walkable Distance

1,620

Important Building

Columbus, Georgia

Important Building

Rosemary Beach, Florida

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North Port St. Joe



Martin Luther King Boulevard: Summary

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Residential

district

Senior housingDay carecenter

Campus

Corner Covered

sidewalks

Renovated homes

Martin Luther King Plaza

North Port St. Joe



Avenue A and a new town center: Updating the Master Plan

What has changed?

The St. Joe Company believed its new town center concept would be the catalyst for change; bringing Port St. Joe together by creating a highly visible front door on Highway 98 to Reid Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard .

The implications of change

The old ball field was dismantled but there is still an opportunity to change fundamentally the way that Port St. Joe relates to Highway 98, the manner in which Martin Luther King Boulevard connects with Reid Avenue and how the division created by the railroad tracks can be eliminated.


The old ball field: a park and entertainment center

A farmers market

Government & institutional uses

Connecting Martin Luther King Boulevard to Reid Avenue

The St. Joe Companys new town center for Port St. Joe. October 2004.

The St. Joe Company remains the largest local landowner and is, therefore, a stakeholder in Port St. Joes growth aspirations. If the port moves ahead as planned, the Companys interest in Gulf County will grow. The residents of North Port St. Joe have a considerable role to play in how the Companys land along Avenue A can be put to use.

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North Port St. Joe



A new town center: Connecting the community

Seaside and Rosemary Beach are located on County Road 30A in Walton County, Florida. Thousands of visitors pass by these communities daily and are drawn to their attractive village greens and their highly visible stores, restaurants and parking. The village greens are also valuable amenities for the communities that they serve.

2016 redevelopment themes

Linking Martin Luther King Boulevard and Reid Avenue.

Creating the new heart of Port St. Joe.

Encouraging visitors to stop, shop and linger.

Rosemary Beach, FL

This Town Green is a new gathering place and civic center for the residents of Port St. Joe and beyond. Equally accessible from Reid Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, pedestrian-friendly areas encourage outdoor community-wide events and happenings.

Seaside, FL

Connecting MLK and Reid Avenue28

North Port St. Joe



A new town center: Traffic calming

Carefully landscaped medians and dense tree canopies help Rosemary Beach and WaterColor, next to Seaside, slow traffic and allow pedestrians a degree of safety. Port St. Joe, meanwhile, straddles an unforgiving four to six lane Highway with the minimum pedestrian crossing points.

CR 30A at WaterColor, FL.

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The proposed Town Green, bounded by Highway 98, Avenue A and First Street

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CR 30A at Rosemary Beach, FL.

North Port St. Joe



A new town center

The new Town Hall overlooks Martin Luther King Plaza and is visible from Reid Avenue. A pedestrian area links the Avenue and the Boulevard. Town Green becomes the main entry point from Highway 98.

City Hall

Hotel

Inn & cottages

Town Green

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Martin Luther King Plaza

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North Port St. Joe



Avenue A Divided by the railroad tracks, the two neighborhoods that comprise North Port St. Joe are connected along their southern edge by Avenue A. The undeveloped land along this edge is owned by the St. Joe Company. Its value to the community is twofold; as eastward expansion land for the new town center and for more apartments, whether for rental or for sale.

Quiet residential streets

Alternative access to new apartmentsEntrance to

Washington High School

campus

Entrance to Martin Luther

King Boulevard

Potential development sites

Green buffers

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North Port St. Joe



Avenue A: ArchitectureThe land along Avenue A provides natural buffers, commercial and recreational uses and the potential for denser housing, such as rental apartments.

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North Port St. Joe



George Washington High School: Updating the Master Plan

What has changed?

The proposed port will reactivate the rail system, prohibit any realistic chance of connecting Robbins and Garrison Avenue and, in so doing, will underline the fact that the former High School campus is not only an under-utilized resource for Port St. Joe but also the entire region.


Preserve buildings

Add new service-based uses

Connect Robbins Avenue and Garrison Avenue. Garrison Avenue

Robbins Avenue

Highway 98

Washington H.S. campus

The implications of change

Like the Sacred Heart Hospital, the ambition for the campus should be to serve as wide a population as possible. The campus is the largest area of developable, publicly-owned, serviced upland in the region. Its heritage as a community center of learning demands a broad and ambitious vision for its future.

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North Port St. Joe



George Washington High School: A regional vision2016: The four redevelopment themes

Restoring a community gathering place

Creating a new center for enterprise

Making a destination for visitors

Celebrating local natural resources

Four themes connect and reinforce each other. Their components can be phased to meet changing community priorities. The campus is greater than the sum of its parts and is active throughout the day and into the evening, addressing the diverse needs of its users. It mixes learning with making, work with play, residents with visitors, children with adults of all ages and it does so in an open and embracing environment.

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Community enrichment

Job training

Gathering places

Community pool

Enterprises and jobs

Innovative environment

Start-up businesses

Flexible workspaces

Celebrating local food

Back yard farming

Local products

Process center

Attracting visitors

Destination park

Campus coffee shop

Local culture center

North Port St. Joe



George Washington High School

A revitalized campus; based around indoor-outdoor structures and the reused shells of buildings. Or innovative ideas, like adapted shipping containers delivered to the nearby port facility.

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Community

gardens

Public

park

Training

center

Community

pool

Gymnasium

Community

museum

Innovation

center

Community

barn

North Port St. Joe



George Washington High School: Local resourcesEmpty land and abandoned lots that surround the former High School could be put to use growing produce, as well as buffering railroad tracks and supporting local enterprise.

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The Lake

This is a creative use of land that was passed by the City to the Paces Foundation and is being developed, in part, as affordable rental housing. It:

Creates a new way of experiencing North Port St.Joe.

Harnesses the benefits of smart water management.

Adds to Port St. Joes wider lake system.

Leverages the Paces Foundation development and raises further the surrounding land value.

The Lake creates an environment attractive to commercial ventures, as well as providing a valuable local amenity and a visitor destination. The road to the lake allows additional access to the Paces Foundation apartments. A working farm manages the remaining land, reinforces the concept of locally-grown produce and provides a unique identity for the Inn and its cottages.

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Paces Foundation apartments

Lake trailLakefront Inn & Cottages

Garden

Farm facilities

Avenue A

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North Port St. Joe



Gateways & way finding What has changed? The 2013 Port Master Plan proposes an industrial land use for the former Paper mill bulkhead. This replaces the St. Joe Companys 2004 planned water front neighborhood that was to be carefully connected to North Port St. Joe.


Define gateways to North Port St. Joe, off Highway 98

Upgrade the infrastructure along the Highway

Create new retail uses on Highway 98

What are the implications of change? The ports industrial waterfront will require careful buffering to mitigate blight rather than be the cause of it. The gateway Avenues A, B, C and D are more important than ever, directing attention away from the industrial activities of the port and drawing people to the historic neighborhood of North Port St.Joe.

P OR T

S TU D

Y AR E

A

H i gh w a

y 98

MLK

BC AD

? ??

B u ff e r

M I

L L

R E

D E

V E

L O

P M

E N

T

M L K

H i gh w

a y

9 8

R e t a i l a n d o f f i c e s

The 2004 St. Joe Company plan

The Port Study Area, implying an active, industrial site close to North Port St. Joe

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North Port St. Joe



Gateways & way finding

2016 Redevelopment themes

Announcing an historic neighborhood and its heritage

Reflecting the communitys culture

Reinforcing North Port St. Joes identity

The srtreet pattern and boundaries that define North Port St. Joe have been in place for generations; certainly before the paper mill was built in the late 1930s. Now there is an opportunity to signify and define the community more formally. Street renaming, to better reflect this neighborhoods heritage, was discussed enthusiastically at the community workshops.

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New street names should be adopted using a signage system that expresses the communitys pride in its culture and identity.

North Port St. Joe



Gateways & way finding

71

D

C

B

A

72

810

Through gateways, along streets, to the corners that punctuate Martin Luther King Boulevard. Every visitor should be able to appreciate immediately the communitys heritage, culture and identity.

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North Port St. Joe



Paths and trails

2016 Redevelopment themes

Pathways that connect the community

Pathways that invite visitors to explore

Pathways to a destination

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Regional bike path

Proposed bike paths & trails

Existing bike paths & trails

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Proposed bike paths & trails

Regional bike path

Existing bike paths & trails

The Port St. Joe bike and trail system has been improved and augmented considerably over the last several years. It is now an important visitor attraction and a major community asset. It must be extended to North Port St. Joe, as Martin Luther King Boulevard and the High School campus are improved, becoming visitor and community destinations in their own right.

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North Port St. Joe



Paths and trails What has changed? For several years, the A & N Railroad has been cut off from Port St. Joe by an unsafe bridge near Apalachicola. The closure of Arizona Chemicals and other local railroad users made bridge repair unviable. The plans for reopening the port of Port St. Joe have changed radically the railroads outlook. Vital funding, subject to the ports opening, is available to aid the repairs necessary to reopen the railroad.

In 2009, the priorities and themes for connecting the community by a path system assumed that the St. Joe Company would abandon its railroad corridor.

What are the implications of change? An active port will reactivate the railroad. New track will be laid to the canal and across St. Joe Company land to the bulkhead overlooking the bay. The railroad shop and switching areas will be reopened. North Port St. Joe and the Port Authority must begin a conversation about how the railroad will be buffered to secure and protect the community.

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North Port St. Joe



The pocket park: A catalyst project

The project objectives are to:

Energize the community by implementing a relatively fast-track project.

Create a secure and pleasant place for families, kids and adults to meet.

Remove blight with a highly visible demonstration project.

Preserve existing trees to provide shade.

This project has emerged during conversations concerning the need to address blight on Martin Luther King Boulevard. The Pocket Park concept was identified as one of several means by which empty lots in the community could be turned into valuable community assets and provide a public place, close to Martin Luther King Boulevard, for people to gather in their leisure time .

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North Port St. Joe



The pocket park: Phase one

An empty site has been identified. It comprises two contiguous lots; one vacant and the other occupied by a derelict building. The owner and the City are in discussion with the PAC about converting the site into a Pocket Park.

8 4

Alley Greenway

Pocket Park

110

Street side 50 50

30

6 fence84

30 retaining wall

Wood Fence on concrete retaining wall

87

Open Lawn/ Play ground

6 Tall fence

6 Tall fence

Existing trees

Planters with seats

Etched concrete

Toilet

Gravel band

Random pavers

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North Port St. Joe



The pocket park: Phase two Toilet

Lawn Area

Drinking fountain

Splash Pad

6 tall fence6 tall fenceBenches with canopy

30 retaining wall

Planters

Checker tables

Existing trees

The Pocket Park is a symbol of people coming together to redevelop their community. It represents civic pride in this place. It is a small, yet highly visible, sign of change.

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North Port St. Joe


The 2016 Conceptual Master Plan

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North Port St. Joe



The North Port St.Joe 2016 Conceptual Master Plan

The Conceptual Master Plan embraces the Redevelopment Expansion Area while focussing on the communitys priorities. It is an important first step in the redevelopment process.

This document updates the communitys 2009 Master plan. Priorities have been adjusted to meet the economic and social changes that Port St. Joe has undergone over the last seven years. Nonetheless, key objectives of the previous plan remain; to remove blight by systematically redeveloping North Port St. Joe and to unify and make whole the wider community.

This Conceptual Master Plan is an illustration that embraces the entire Redevelopment Expansion Area, while focussing on the communitys priorities. It illustrates land uses and development ideas that reflect the themes explored during three workshops. It is a snapshot of what North Port St. Joe could look and feel like when implementation of this plan is complete.

This conceptual plan necessarily presumes that every property owner, including the City of Port St. Joe, will develop their land in the manner shown. Inevitably, this will not be the case and the plan will change over time.

Nevertheless, the communitys vision, values and aspirations that underpin the themes outlined in the previous pages should be respected throughout the redevelopment process.

To this end, this document and its Conceptual Master Plan will be presented to the Port St. Joe Redevelopment Agency and the City of Port St. Joe Commission for adoption. Following this, the document will form the basis of community rezoning and textual amendments to the Citys Comprehensive Plan.

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North Port St. Joe



The North Port St.Joe 2016 Conceptual Master Plan

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1

Inn & Cottages

Apartments

Lake Cottage Resort

Paces Foundation Residences

Wetlands

Gateway

Sign Posts

Public Park Existing Gymnasium

Innovation

Center

Community

Food

Community Pool

Day Care Center

Campus Corner

Heritage

Walk

New Town Center & Green

New City Hall Martin Luther

King Plaza

Training Center

Dollar General

redeveloping north port st. joe

Government & Nonprofit