Palmetto Looking to Partner with Private Sector for Riverside Park West Café

As part of the plan to revamp the southern gateway of Palmetto, the Community Redevelopment Agency plans to raze the bait shop located adjacent to the Green Bridge Fishing Pier and replace it with a small café that will be repositioned near the seawall.

Officials have tentatively named the iconic building “The Seahorse” as homage to a gift shop by the same name that historically welcomed visitors from the same location for over 20 years.  The undertaking will go before the Palmetto City Commission on Monday.

The current bait shop has been vacant for more than five years and its dilapidated condition attracts loiterers.  Half of the building is located on state property, while the other half is situated on a parcel owned by the city which has caused issues for people wishing to lease the property in the past.  After the CRA razes the building, the new café will be repositioned on city property near the seawall with seating overlooking Regatta Point Marina and the Palmetto Boat Ramp.

“This piece of property is one of the most scenic in the city,” said CRA Director Jeff Burton. “We want to partner with the private sector and turn it into something more; we will be looking for the right candidate to lease the building.”

“The Seahorse” will have approximately 3,200 square-feet of available space for concession, indoor and outdoor dining and a retail establishment designed to sell bait and tackle. The majority of boating enthusiasts utilizing the boat ramp formerly bought their bait from the old shell station, which is now out of business.

Charlie Ugarte, an architect located in the CRA district, used a compass as inspiration for The Seahorse building design.  The building will have a tin roof and a cupola that will allow for natural ventilation.

“You can approach this building from four directions and each one of them seemed to be equally important,” said Ugarte. “There isn’t a front or back, instead the building needed to be aesthetically pleasing from the river, pier, parking area and the Green Bridge. That is where the four compass points came in.”

Over the next few months, the city will issue a request for proposal, or RFP, through a bidding process. Interested businesses are encouraged to submit an offer on a specific commodity or service they plan to provide.

Ugarte said that while the shell of The Seahorse will be undeviating, he is open to working with a potential renter to adapt the interior plans to better suit their business.

“We recognize that the organization of the floor plan is important and understand that it will most likely evolve,” said Ugarte.