NEW URBANISM ROAD TRIP -- PART 2
We race up I-95 north to St. Lucie County. The drive serves as our orientation to all that is overbuilt and wrong with South Florida. Snarled traffic, auto dependence, endless rooflines of lifeless suburbs in the horizon all point to the conclusion that we could benefit from simpler, neighborhood-oriented development.
The first stop is Fort Pierce, a town that forgot its best asset – its waterfront on the Indian River Lagoon.
“Not that long ago, there were parking lots and the waterfront was barricaded off,” said town planner and architect Ramon Trias when he was the city’s development director. “The marina was almost shut down, there was barb wire in the water – it was almost unworkable.”
Today, Fort Pierce is enjoying a renaissance in which its old urbanism – walkable city blocks with historic buildings – meets New Urbanism. Dover, Kohl & Partners developed a plan to link the historic buildings with the waterfront via a new marina pavilion, a new public library and a landscaped roundabout.
The new library on the waterfront is getting a public plaza with benches, landscaping and interactive fountains. The public defender’s office downtown is worth noting – the colorful art deco confection is a new building, but it looks like it was built in the ‘30s.
The landmark Sunrise Theater has been restored to its 1920s grandeur. The 1,200-seat building closed in the 1980s, has been reborn as a performing arts center drawing top-notch acts.
“Fort Pierce has so many restored Mediterranean buildings and so much activity in its downtown; it’s a perfect blend of Old Florida and New Urbanism,” Trias said.
Tomorrow: Stuart Florida
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