Waterfronts Florida Update - Vilano Beach Profile

By Dan Pennington, Waterfronts Florida

Like the little engine from the children's story, Vilano Beach ought to be known as the "little community that could" for its efforts to revitalize Vilano Beach Road to become an active town center. Along with Oak Hill and Cortez, Vilano Beach is one of our current Waterfronts Florida Partnership areas. The community, in St. Johns County to the north of St. Augustine, stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Tolomato River. Several years ago the bridge connecting Vilano Road to the mainland was moved north, rerouting the flow of traffic and the business it brought away from the commercial main street. For many communities this could be disastrous, but through the efforts of active citizens, the North Shore Improvement Association, County Planning Department, and Waterfronts Florida Partnership, an aggressive plan of revitalization for the commercial area is taking shape.

First, the Vilano Beach Waterfronts Florida Committee developed a list of specific projects, including redesigning and beautifying the entrance to Vilano from A1A with tree plantings and a new sign, and constructing a boardwalk under the Usina Bridge to link residences to the north with the planned town center to the south. A team of architectural students from Florida A & M University developed various architectural scenarios of how a new town center and signature pavilions could look. The Waterfronts Florida Committee also began developing recommendations to begin redesigning infrastructure to meet the needs of a revitalized town center, and began shaping an overlay zoning district to help define and preserve the desired character features during revitalization.

Even without an abundance of funding, the locally-based efforts have made significant progress through smart local action in combination with strategic advice, resource identification and a very small amount of seed funds provided by the Waterfronts Florida Program. Though still a long way from having a completed town center, the Vilano Beach Waterfronts Florida Partnership has certainly made an impressive beginning in its first eight months. Over the next few years we will hear this group saying "we know we can, we know we can." Given their focus, dedication and chutzpa, they likely will.