ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — It’s no secret that downtown St. Augustine is the city’s pride and joy, with many coming from near and far for events like Nights of Lights and all the area has to offer.
However, many in St. Augustine’s West City neighborhood say it’s easy to feel the area’s been a bit of an afterthought.
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“This area has definitely not had a lot of love for a while, and if you come around to this side of West King Street, you would be able to see that,” West City local Carlye Castle told Action News Jax Sunday.
Now, the city of St. Augustine is looking to change that, with city commissioners voting Monday for the establishment of the West City Community Redevelopment Plan.
The 30-year plan includes millions in funding to revamp green spaces like Oyster Creek Park and beautify the streetscapes of West King Street itself, adding extra sidewalks and connectivity in the process.
Carlye Castle and Ken Wilcox are West City locals who told Action News Jax Sunday they’re excited to see what they say, have been long overdue enhancements to the area.
“It’d be pretty sweet for other businesses to be able to get the same opportunity with increased money and funding and parking and beautifying it and making it look like ‘hey people actually want to be here and enjoy it,” Wilcox said.
While neighbors are excited for the new and improved version of West City that St. Augustine has in store, so are local business owners, who are hopeful that the parking and walkability upgrades only add to their ability to continue to serve the community that they’ve loved so much and feel has sometimes been forgotten.
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“We encountered some parking issues when we first opened, but everybody’s been very kind and Travis Street is open for parking,” explained Stacey Cleveland, co-owner of Maracuya by Llama Restaurant. “The expansion and the attention that we’ll get here is gonna really increase the demand here, so it’s gonna be great for all the business stuff this way.”
The project is also set to be split up into three different ten-year phases. You can find more information on those phases and further details of the project by clicking the link here.
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