DeBary touts future downtown, Alexander Island nature preserve during 'State of the City'
DEBARY — Turning 30, for many, feels like a watershed age, a time when looking to the future is both scary and exciting.
As the City of DeBary turns 30 this year, its leaders are feeling more of the latter.
"In all our actions, we are focused on increasing amenities and reinforcing the small-town, close-knit community fabric that our residents embrace," Mayor Karen Chasez said Tuesday morning during a "State of the City" event put on by the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce and Orange City Alliance.
Chasez and others touted and expanded on two of the biggest reasons they feel 2023 is off to a great start: DeBary's partnership with the St. Petersburg-based Mosaic Development, LLC, on creating a "Main Street"-style downtown by the SunRail station and becoming the sole owner of an undeveloped piece of property known as Alexander Island.
The few dozen attendees of the chamber's event at the Gateway Center for the Arts also heard from three of the people involved in developing the future downtown: Roxanne Amoroso, founder and lead principal at Mosaic; Eric Comp, senior vice president of construction and development at Mosaic; and Mickey Jacob, vice president of architecture at the Tampa-based architecture and engineering firm Goodwyn Mills Cawood.
"It's going to be quite an undertaking," Amoroso said.
In their letter of intent, the company proposes building approximately 500 apartments with commercial/retail space on the ground floor in a manner consistent with DeBary's Main Street plans.
"We couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this passion project," Comp said.
Jacob said the ground floor along the main thoroughfare will be retail with apartments on the upper floors.
There also will be pedestrian access points that connect to trails, a community pool, opportunities for large art installations and plenty of dedicated parking for both shoppers and residents, Jacob said.
"Parking is key to the success of retail," Jacob said.
Like Amoroso and Comp, the architect said he's excited to be a part of it, and it's rare to "have an opportunity to create a main street like this from scratch."
'A pretty special place'
A couple of miles west of the SunRail station is Alexander Island, an approximately 170-acre site, the majority of which is freshwater marsh; 17 acres of the site are forested uplands.
After failing to reach agreements with Volusia Forever, the county's land acquisition program, or Florida Forever, the state's conservation and recreation lands acquisition program, City Manager Carmen Rosamonda said they decided to go with Plan C, buying the riverside property outright for $3.5 million.
Rosamonda said he expects the city will close on the purchase at the end of the month.
Chasez said the city was approached in 2019 about a possible location for a freshwater research and education center.
Their search for the perfect location landed them on Alexander Island, which had a future land use allowing 64 homes on the uplands portion, an option already being marketed to developers, Chasez said.
Preserving natural property:DeBary officials plan to turn riverside site into public park with freshwater research center
"While we cannot purchase every land parcel, we were able to do so here and look forward to creating some of the most beautiful walking and biking trails in Central Florida and to provide a location for the first state-run freshwater research and education center," Chasez said.
Rosamonda said city leaders agreed it was worth acquiring and preserving the property, also known as Riverbend South, especially with the residential units planned as part of the downtown.
"We put a good plan together," Rosamonda said by phone Wednesday morning. "It's going to be a pretty special place."
More to celebrate
While there's a lot for DeBary residents to look forward to, city leaders also touched on the accomplishments made during the past few years.
Permit required:DeBary residents may drive golf carts on certain roads, sidewalks, trails
Some highlights include:
Eliminating a 15-year backlog of stormwater infrastructure projects
Receiving a state appropriation of $1.25 million for a second fire station
New traffic lights at Fort Florida Road and U.S. 17-92 and Colomba Road and U.S. 17-92
Joint effort with Volusia County School Board on pickup loop at DeBary Elementary School
Permitting golf carts for use on certain city roads
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeBary's 'State of the City' highlights future downtown, nature preserve
