Edgewater vision update: residents favor waterfront access, community center and sidewalks; consultants propose Park Avenue 'Main Street'

Edgewater residents and city staff gathered on a Saturday morning for a community visioning workshop where consultants from Kimley Horn presented survey results and draft themes for updating the city’s 2008 vision.

Eliza Harris Giuliano, a consultant with Kimley Horn, said the updated approach favors a smaller-scale Main Street on Park Avenue rather than the larger downtown the 2008 plan envisioned. "Edgewater doesn't need a downtown. It needs a Main Street," Giuliano said, framing the proposal as a way to support locally owned businesses and modest waterfront activity.

Why it matters: the workshop consolidated two rounds of public engagement, with the second survey drawing more than twice the responses of the first (about 4% of the city’s population). The surveys showed strong interest in waterfront access and improvements to water quality, and roughly 58% of respondents supported creating a community center. Consultants and staff said the priorities should guide updates to the comprehensive plan and economic-development strategy.

Key findings and proposals

- Waterfront and water quality: Parks and green space ranked highest among waterfront priorities, followed by walking and biking trails and waterfront dining and docks. Giuliano noted the city has already secured "over $16,000,000 in grants for stormwater and canal improvements," and recommended including green infrastructure such as rain gardens and water-attention measures in street upgrades to reduce lagoon runoff.

- Community center and City Hall site: The community center was popular in the survey (about 58% support). Staff described a civic center planned near the new City Hall site on West Indian River Boulevard; consultants said design and programming are next steps and that the project is not yet funded.

- Park Avenue 'Main Street' concept: Consultants showed a conceptual option using three city-owned lots on Park Avenue for small mixed-use buildings intended to attract dining and storefront businesses. They emphasized that Park Avenue is currently zoned single-family and that any mixed-use change would require comprehensive-plan and zoning-code amendments and subsequent City Council votes and public hearings.

- Housing and 'missing middle': Survey responses showed mixed interest in housing types; consultants highlighted a local "missing middle" — smaller multifamily options such as duplexes or fourplexes that current zoning rarely permits and that community members said they would like to see in some locations.

- Transportation and trails: Staff described a Sun Trail extension and a proposed trail segment from Roberts Road to Dale Street that would add sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, coordinate with DOT and the railway, and largely use existing rights-of-way.

Public questions and staff responses

Residents raised questions about rezoning Park Avenue and what rezoning would mean for property owners. Giuliano said any comprehensive-plan or zoning amendment would require City Council votes and public hearings and would notify nearby property owners; staff added that the city sends a 500-foot buffer notification around affected parcels.

On whether the city would use eminent domain to acquire property, city staff said such use "is not in any of the plans" and characterized the answer as "a big no." Residents also asked about the status of a privately proposed marina at Boston Road; staff said the city is awaiting permits and plans from the private owner before further action.

What happens next

Consultants asked attendees to leave comments on index cards and at the feedback stations; staff and the consultant team will compile public input to refine the vision themes and identify specific policy changes (for example, comprehensive-plan and zoning updates) and design work (master-planning Park Avenue, design/programming for the civic center). Giuliano and staff said additional public hearings and council actions will be required for any land-use or zoning changes.

The workshop provided a synthesis of community preferences — waterfront access and water-quality investments, a community center, and sidewalk and trail improvements — and outlined the legal and planning steps the city would take to turn those preferences into enforceable land-use changes.