City residents got a look Tuesday at three projects aimed at attracting more people into the downtown area.
During his State of the City address, City Manager Darren Gray told dozens of people how the newly created master plan will transform Clermont in the next 5 to 10 years.
“I think it’s important for us to talk to the residents about the future of the city,” Gray said. “It’s going to be a very busy year and an exciting one — plus more to come.”
The plan is primarily focused on enhancements to the downtown and waterfront areas.
“It’s great to have seen this through from the visioning process — where people told us what they wanted — to the master planning process, to the implementation process,” he said.
There are six projects total in the master plan, but three have been tagged as priorities, Gray said.
The first is a project that involves creating signage to lead people to key destinations throughout the city and to the downtown corridor.
The second is the West Lake/Wetlands Park project, which incorporates a necessary stormwater drainage system and pond with a passive park. Construction is set to begin before summer.
The third is project The Promenade, which will change the end of Eighth Street along Lake Minneola from a modest boat launch and pier to an event venue for festivals, rowing and sailing regattas, racing, biking, running and music events.
The Promenade will incorporate a continuous waterfront path and a pier with docking capabilities that city officials hope will generate traffic for downtown businesses.
“What we’ve heard from the community a lot, especially from downtown merchants, is that when there are events at the Waterfront Park and pavilion area, there’s some sort of imaginary wall that keeps people from coming into the downtown area from there,” Gray said.
He said GAI Consultants, the company working with the city on the plan, suggested flipping events that have been held at the waterfront area to the Eighth Street area.
“That makes it so we have a direction and a view from Eighth Street so that people can actually go right into downtown from there,” Gray said.
The Promenade is the master plan’s flagship project, and Clermont resident Will Shoemaker said he likes what he’s heard.
“It (the master plan) looks promising, especially The Promenade,” he said. “I like anything on the waterfront, and I think that will bring more people to Clermont.”
Assistant City Manager James Kinzler said the important thing is that a plan is in place.
“You have to have a plan,” she said. “Without a plan, nothing can be accomplished.”
For a full summary of master plan projects, click here.
