West Palm Beach Is Applying For Grant To Raise Seawall, Make Other Improvements At Currie Park

From the City of West Palm Beach:

August 26, 2020

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in 2018 that the State of Florida would receive $633,485,000 in funding to support long-term mitigation efforts following Hurricanes Hermine, Matthew, and Irma through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) Program. This funding is intended to ensure the State of Florida is more resilient to future natural disasters. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (FDEO) allocated CDBG-MIT funds to the State, which launched the Rebuild Florida General Infrastructure Program to provide funding to units of local government, state agencies, non-profits, and non-governmental organizations to implement mitigation activities that reduce hazard risks such as flooding, severe storms, tropical cyclones, coastal erosion, and wildfires.

The City of West Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) are developing an application for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-MIT) Rebuild Florida General Infrastructure Program. The City is applying for approximately $21,392,000 in funding to mitigate the risks to Currie Park, as well as the surrounding street and neighborhood, by creating a living shoreline, resilient seawall, raising the site elevation, improving the stormwater capacity, adding pedestrian walkways, landscaping and site lighting, and establishing a resilience hub – all elements that serve to mitigate the effects of coastal storms and flooding from severe rainfall, king tides and sea level rise. The proposed project is part of a larger effort to redevelop the existing 13.6-acre park to increase the environmental resilience, public engagement and education, connectivity through public promenades and playscapes, and preserve the cultural and historic legacies of the area. Applications to the Rebuild Florida Infrastructure Repair Program must be submitted to the FDEO by September 14, 2020. Program guidelines will be made available at Rebuild Florida Infrastructure Repair.

The CRA in coordination with the City of West Palm Beach has identified a major redevelopment project within the CRA boundaries with the goal to enhance a public asset and provide substantial public benefit to the health, welfare and economic vitality to the surrounding area. Currie Park is located at 2400 N. Flagler Drive adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. The waterfront park consists of approximately 13.6 acres of public open space which includes boat ramps and trailer parking, tennis courts, fishing pier, playground, a landmark memorial to commemorate the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., covered pavilions and restroom facilities.

In order to apply for this grant, a conceptual project image for this project was required, which includes the larger overall design elements that will be carved out more specifically during the future public engagement process. The design of the park will rely heavily on public feedback. Although the CRA has not reached the public outreach phase for the redesign of the park, overall the project may include elements and features such as (but are not limited to) the below. The proposed park elements associated with this grant application are indicated with an asterisk (*) in the list and amount to approximately $21,392,000.

• Raising the site / raising the seawall*
• Living shoreline mangrove planters*
• Beach element / splash pad*
• Pedestrian hardscaping*
• Landscaping & lighting*
• Resilience Hub*
• Rehabilitation of north stormwater pipe*
• Kayak launch
• Playground
• Pedestrian Pier
• Tennis courts / Pickle Ball courts
• Park furniture, Signage

A number of funding sources and grants will be applied to this project. In addition to applying for the FDEO grant, the City also has an $8M parks and recreation bond. The Florida Inland Navigation District and the Florida Coastal Partnership Initiative grants will be applied for to address non-FDEO project elements. The estimated total cost of the Envisioning Currie Park Project is $45.2M ($21,392,000 requested from FDEO).

Public Comment Period: In accordance with guidance supplied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and HUD relevant to the impacts of COVID-19, the public input requirements for this program include the option to post information about proposed funding projects on a public website with the provision of a 14-day public comment period. Comments must be received by September 7th, 2020. A copy of this post and any public comments received will be provided to the FDEO as part of the funding application submitted. To submit your comments, please email: smulder@wpb.org.

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.