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St.George Island,Fla.------Central Business District (CBD) Long Term Development Proposal

In March of 2005 I created this long term view of the St. George Island Central Business District (CBD). This visionary scheme grew out of the Civic Club's
 interest in creating some way of guiding the future of the Island other than just letting things happen as they always had. The scheme anticipates a time when
 the island will no longer be a ward of Franklin County but a full fledged entity in it's own right, creating its own destiny so to speak. The effort included
 extensive collaboration with Franklin County, Fla. DOT, Fla. DEP, Fla. Community Development and other concerned parties. Main features of the
scheme include:

     1- an entryway corridor study for Franklin Blvd. with the intent of building a powerful visual impact on arriving at St. George Island.
     2- establish a community architectural theme and subsequent controls to ensure a harmonious architectural character to an island
         marine village theme. Introduce macro color scheme control--roof type definitions---aggressively use of nautical sculpture--etc.
     3- an upgraded central park to act as a focal point for island life. Possibilities included relocating a reconstructed historic St. George Island Lighthouse.
     4- using  the underutilized Gulf Breeze Blvd 150' ROW for a phased addition of 450 off street parking spaces.
     5- build a 2.5 mile adventure trail that would circle the CBD and include bicycling, hiking, nature studies and a 800' salt marsh boardwalk (see sketch).
     6- create specific plans for a $100,000 state grant to landscape Franklin Blvd. (see entry concept sketch of mine below)
     7- develop a scheme for a 25 acre county park near the old ferry dock area with a 200 slot boat launch, marina, ferry service to mainland destinations.
     8- launch an effort to get state or federal funds for a sewer scheme study for the Island. Possibly an AirVac system to the East Point sewer plant.
     9- create a practical storm water drainage scheme for the CBD that takes advantage of the large Franklin Blvd median retention basin.
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Concept Development Plan for the Central Business District, St.George Island, Fla.
Maintained as an autocad file and subject to change. I prepared this edition around 2005
pdf version of sgi cbd master plan 
st george island street and lot map
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Landscape concept sketch

 For phase 1 landscape development. Spatial thinking was critical to preserve the grand informal axial view to the beach, sail masts, power skies, etc.
One doable concept seriously proposed to Franklin County was to redesign the Franklin Blvd. retention basin as a wild aquatic marsh for available SEEP
grant funds. (Storm water Enhanced Ecological Project) based in  UFla (Gainsville).  Early talks with them indicated a strong interest in this site for demo
purposes in north florida.
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The last opportunity Franklin county will have to avert a tragedy common to Florida coastal development is to preserve at least one decent view of
the gulf from the central business district.. If one places emphasis on this goal then the rest is easy in terms of arranging mass in the central park to
ensure this golden opportunity. By placing the lighthouse out of the main view axis and relocating a sad little toilet right in the middle of the park one
could achieve something much like the view below.
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Part of the finished phase 1- $100,000 Fla DOT landscaping project
In the foreground are over 3000 planted muhly grass (muhlenbergia filipes) in full autumn bloom.  Background are new sabal palms (sabal palmetto
with 5000  sea oats (uniola paniculata) planted as understory. Extensive ground shaping was created to recreate a native wild dune character. A state
of the art drip  system was installed to get the xeriscape material established and then removed. The final look uses no assisted water
but relys on nature to supply its needs as this range of native material has done for thousands of years
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A retention basin on steroids--exploring ways to give those blah retention basins a better rap

or converting St. George's front door into a wild Florida hammock replete with bald cypress, florida lily, alligator weed, egrets, ospreys and much more
right in the heart of the community. The current central retention basin (below left) is a very rigid, bland affair that is screaming out for change. Ecologically
enhanced retention basins (below right) are not only a great deal more aesthetic they are also much more  healthy for the community in that they more
effectively filter storm water as it enters the densely planted holding areas. So you have a win-win situation here with dramatically improved community
aesthetics and much cleaner storm water entering the bay. The state of Florida is actively encouraging communities to make the transition to this new and
much better of way of dealing with polluted storm water runoff. Grant funds are available and an excellent demonstration project can be seen on the
Univ. of Fla (Gainsville) campus.
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Left--existing rigid, boring retention basins that lack any aesthetic appeal .  Right--proposed win-win scenario with  new reshaped basins with tons of
filtering aquatic plants--a more beautiful environment and a cleaner Apalachicola Bay and Sound.
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Below is a typical east west cross section thru the re invented retention basin. One win win objective is to balance the cut-fill ratio on site to avoid expensive
hauling to an off site location and use the cut material to shape natural sand dunes that were in this location prior to the island being "developed".
The re shaped profile will allow for approximately 2' of seasonal fluctuation of the winter and summer water table.
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Below is a view looking north to the gulf of what the completed SEEP project  would look like if maximum advantage was taken of this great opportunity
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Proposed dual use of the 150' Gulf Beach Blvd ROW that runs through the heart of the business district

One practical long term solution for meeting the off street parking needs of the central business district is to fully utilize the 150' Gulf Breeze Blvd right of way
(ROW). Theexisting Blvd only uses 20' of pavement and is unlikely to have to be made wider. This leaves adequate room for a 60' right angle strip of parking
thatcould run most of the1400' length of the corridor in the central area generating  approximately  450 parking spaces which can be phased in over a period
of years as the need arises.

Two additional challenges need to be accommodated with the increased parking. One is resolution of an ongoing serious drainage problem along
Gulf Breeze Blvd.and another is to make the parking solution as beautiful as it is useful. The cross section below indicates how I proposed draining
the area with Cultec vynal seepage containersunder the lot. The short term runoff surges into this huge storage area during heavy rains and gradually
seeps into the very sandy soil beneath the containers.Surplus water would be piped to the retention basins centrally located along Franklin Blvd.

The aesthetic needs of the 1400 lineal foot parking lot would be met by heavy planting of oaks, palms, wax myrtle, yucca and other suitable xeriscape
material in available areas along the corridor length.

An asset readily available for a community that will desperately need it in the future--also see ROW cross section below

An estimated 300 off street parking spaces can be accommodated in the western portion of Gulf Beach Blvd ROW. This includes some 120 spaces
adjacent to the sevenacre St. George Island Park in the center of the scheme fronting onto the gulf. (see scheme below).  Flooding is common for lack
of adequate storm water piping in this area and a nominal 18" storm water trunk line has been recommended to run the entire 1400 ft length of Gulf Beach
Blvd in the CBD portion of its ROW.
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Eastern 3 blocks of Gulf Beach proposed off street parking (150 car max)---upgraded ROW includes improved storm water drainage and new
10' jogging trail
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Typical cross section of the 150'  wide Gulf Breeze ROW as it traverses the 1400' length of the SGI Central Business District, Both the 700' east and
west sidesections are similar but the east side would have a 20' access road to allow better long term traffic flow to occur. Long awaited new storm water
drainage is proposed along existing Gulf Beach Dr. that would discharge into the existing Franklin Blvd. retention basins, Cultec type vynal temporary
storage chambers are proposedunderneath the new parking bays to absorb the surge of storm water typical of rainfall in the area and allow for a slow
seepage into the sandy bottom of the parkingareas, filtering the runoff as well as denying it access into the storm water system.
 cultec storm water type parking lots
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The old Saint George Island bridge was demolished a few years ago during the evaluation phase of where the little community might be headed.
Both one mile end sections were left for fishing, boating, crabbing, etc. It occurred to me that a great little spot for a raw bar would be a " oyster shack"
out on the end of the north pier. I proposed a 120' square floating deck for boat docking including my proposal for a revival of the old ferry service between
the islands and the mainland. Both power and water were there already and a restroom could meet EPA standards with a floating septic arrangement so
common on recreation piers around the world. Below is a sketch of mine that accompanied a simple plan arrangement with floating dock and stairs.
All very doable stuff.
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"Oyster shack" view with the new  small ferry service just docking to allow passengers to feast on raw oysters-shrimp and mullet--The shack is located
on the US inter coastal and would attract international and national boaters as well
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A key part of my central business district revival scheme was a 5 mile connecting loop pedestrian trail for jogging, fishing, bikeing, and nature study.
An obvious link in this loop could be over the marsh down the old existing Bayshore Dr extension. The sketch below is what a 1400' length of this
little marine getaway for locals and tourists alike.
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North florida coastal,estuarine salt flats are one of the states most complex natural environments with a delicately balanced ecological system.
Many hundreds of flora and fauna make their home here. Typical plants include needle rush, sawgrass, smooth cordgrass,  and many kinds of needlegrass.
Fauna includes many fish species including longnose killfish, pinfish, sheepshead minnows and many more. Some of the of migratory and year round
birds that nest here are the blue heron, white ibis, wrens and crains..All said, a truly exotic place to explore and protect.
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A view of the proposed 30ac park that hinges on the county being able to acquire enough money through matching state funds to purchase the
land. Badly need facilities in this scheme include a 200 slot boat launching facility, public beach parking for one of the quality white sand beaches
in the region with a bandstand, picnic gazebo and restrooms. Also shown is a revival of the old ferry dock marina that would have boat slips for around
75, a restaurant and marina supplies.
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kent mccoy landscape architect
po box 976   east point fla 32328       email:   kentmccoy40@gmail.com