City, county outline Ybor Alvarez redevelopment and major county park build‑out

A City of Fernandina Beach representative summarized a redevelopment plan for Ybor Alvarez Park, the city’s softball and soccer complex near the Fernandina Beach Airport, and county staff described broader county investments to expand regional recreation capacity.

The city speaker said earlier federal grants carry obligations that require coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other federal agencies; the city is working through environmental and grant‑assurance issues before proceeding with redevelopment. City presentations showed a plan to relocate soccer fields, add tee hangars at the airport and repurpose existing fields; the airport has a current waiting list for tee hangars of about 90 prospects, the city said.

County staff described a partnership model: the Ybor Alvarez project is a joint city‑county undertaking budgeted as roughly a 50/50 partnership (county contribution cited at $1.75 million). The county outlined its Parks and Recreation Open Space Master Plan (adopted 2021) and a strategy that treats parks as infrastructure, backed by impact fees (approximately $2,000 per unit) with separate streams for land acquisition and facility development. County staff said that since 2021 the county has completed or begun construction on five significant parks, acquired more than 700 acres of active parkland (including land inside the Wildlight development), and plans larger regional amenities including multi‑field complexes and a 10‑lane boat ramp at a future site formerly known as Crandall Boat Ramp.

County staff said the strategy aims to reduce pressure on city recreation assets by providing regional capacity for youth and adult sports and other amenities; staff recommended continued city‑county coordination as projects move from design to construction.