CELCAB holds Mound House parking workshop
The Cultural and Environmental Learning Center Advisory Board held its first landscape workshop Wednesday, June 10, with architects explaining how to utilize town-owned property at 216 Connecticut St. for extra parking. This proposed parking area would be specifically for the Mound House, which sits at 289 Connecticut St.
The site, which is just under 19,000 square feet or a little less than a half acre, is expected to house 20 to 25 parking spaces (depending on if a structure is added to the land) to go along with 15 existing spots at Estero Island’s oldest standing edifice, the Mound House..
Landscape architects David Sacks and Gustavo Santana displayed a power-point presentation about the location’s master plan in terms of program goals for the site, consultants’ analysis of site opportunities and constraints, and an up-to-date summary of public and stakeholder input before opening the discussion for additional comments.
“We have had several stakeholder meetings and welcome additional input at this workshop,” said Sacks. “We will report to on what we’ve heard so far as well as our cutting evaluations as what some of the zoning and regulatory issues are and evaluations of the property. We’ve been strongly advised to consider community input which we always do.”
EDAW, Inc., the architects’ company which specializes in historical landscaping, was originally hired by the Town of Fort Myers Beach in December 2006 to devise a plan for the Mound House grounds. Their contract was recently extended for the proposed parking area.
“Essentially, from our understanding, the bottom line is the town acquired this property in 2003 with the intent to service as supplemental parking for the Mound House,” said Sacks. “With parking comes requirements for landscape enhancement and buffers.”
Sacks made certain suggestions to attract people to park at the proposed site. He thought a contact station or an additional element could induce drivers to pull in to park. CELCAB members proposed a welcome station or kiosk that could provide information for the Mound House and transfix a wayward driver.
The advisory board asked several questions about having a larger structure on the property.
“If there is a strong interest in either including or leaving the option open to include a building in the future, we’ll have to be very careful about how we arrange parking on this site,” replied Sacks. “I think if you did 25 spaces, you could perhaps get a small, attractive open-air space for the site.”
Sacks mentioned that current zoning laws require the property to be re-zoned because parking is not a permitted use on the site. He then said the site could have a two-way drive with 90-degree parking or a one-way drive with angle parking.
“Either of those would require some special design of the buffer,” said Sacks about the 75′ by 253′ lot.
He talked about existing vegetation -currently there is a grove of cabbage palms towards the back of the property and scattered ones towards the edges of the property- and that more native plantings might help shade the area for parked cars.
Other issues ranged from what surface to use for the grounds; available and needed lighting; and other design decisions to the site.
“It’ll be a fun challenge to make a parking lot that is a nice thing to have,” Sacks surmised.
Other pre-meeting stakeholder feedback included compatibility with the neighborhood; aesthetic design in the neighborhood context; traffic; transportation to/from the Mound House; landscaping without asphalt; and if a gazebo were built, could it be used as outdoor gathering space for neighbors.
“The workshop was intended to gain input,” said Mound House director Theresa Schober. “There will be a subsequent workshop to bring alternative recommendations for the layout of the property.”