Aviles Street makeover proposed -- City's oldest street to get more flowers, outdoor eating

Aviles Street makeover proposed -- City's oldest street to get more flowers, outdoor eating

PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 08/22/09

The worn, rutted brick road and the quaint shops and restaurants along St. Augustine's Aviles Street contain their own special history and magic, so this week city officials said they want to do a light makeover there to "return Aviles Street to a lively atmosphere."

At the city's request, the Historic Architecture Review Board granted the project a certificate of appropriateness. The next step is to present the plan to the City Commission.

That part of Aviles Street under consideration runs south from King Street to Cadiz Street and includes Artillery Lane.

Halback Design Group Inc. of St. Augustine is working pro bono on the streetscape. Fred Halback, who owns Halback Design Group, is HARB chairman but recused himself from discussions of this plan.

"It would be great if we minimized the potholes and leveled the street out," he said. "We'd get the carriages and tourist trains back. I don't think crumbling infrastructure is quaint or historic. If you have an old house, you fix it."

Project Manager Jeremy Marquis, a landscape architect and Halback associate, told the HARB members that Aviles Street is the oldest street in the Oldest City, and perhaps the oldest in the nation.

A 28-page booklet by the Halback Group explains: "The purpose of the project is to reinforce Aviles Street as a retail destination by increasing access and visibility with low-cost, "design on a dime" techniques."

Marquis estimated the makeover would cost about $100,000.

"On-street parking there is not a sacred cow that can't be eliminated," Marquis said. "Merchants on Aviles Street said that only 10 percent or less of their customers use those spaces."

"There are multiple ways we can make this feel like a safer environment," Marquis said.

Walking on Aviles Street seems dangerous because cars often quietly come up behind pedestrians. "The impact of lighting alone will be huge," he said.

The city does not currently allow outdoor seating for restaurants, but Marquis hopes the City Commission might revisit the issued. The city could "retain a lot of control" with licensing, mandating a site plan and approving the furniture and tables.

Dana Ste. Claire, chairman of the city's 450th Commission and new director of the Heritage Tourism Department, said his goal is to "create destination awareness. This particular street has tremendous potential. Aviles Street was on the 1573 town plan, established by royal decree."

Susan Parker, an historian and executive director of the St. Augustine Historical Society, said Aviles Street contains five of the oldest structures in St. Augustine plus the Society's Research Library, built in the 1780s.

Thomas J. Stack, a city resident supporting the plan, said the city should remove all parking meters on Aviles Street. "This town put parking meters on every postage-stamp (property) possible," Stack said. "We have meter pollution."

Officials said the project would take four to five weeks to complete and be done by February 2010.

HARB member Paul Weaver suggested that the city move quickly.

"Since we began (considering) this project in May, two businesses have already come and gone," Weaver said.

Actions to revitalize Aviles Street include:

* Removing all telephone poles and on-street parking.

* Replacing modern street lamps with building lights.

* Allowing cafe seating on the west side of the street.

* Planting several trees for shade.

* Restoring the removed arch on Artillery Lane.

* Setting out flower pots and historic Spanish flags for color.

* Repainting the welcoming arch on King Street.

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