$20K – $100K – $1.5 to $2 million to expand VIC

At last night’s meeting, Historic City News local reporters watched city commissioners approve initial spending of $20,000 to assess the value in a proposed expansion of the Visitor Information Center on Castillo Drive that will ultimately cost millions.

City Manager John Regan said the total expansion project would cost city taxpayers $1.5 to $2 million, if approved.

Regan’s received the nod to spend $20,000 for a design report as part of an overall request to spend $100,000 to create a business model for the Center. The remaining $80,000 will be spent on architectural and engineering plans.

The scope of the proposed project includes expanding the existing VIC building to 20,700 square feet — including 8,200 square feet of exhibit area. Major elements for such a project are already in place at the VIC and parking facility.

Regan also said that the construction could be completed in time for the 200th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution in March 2012.

There were a couple of questions raised before the expenditure was approved. “What would we use it for in 2016?” Commissioner Don Crichlow asked; referring to the period after the commemorations.

“Can we make better use of the space we already have?” Commissioner Leanna Freeman asked.

Vice Mayor Errol Jones was not persuaded by the two commissioner’s concerns. “Right now we have no space large enough to hold the Martin Luther King breakfast,” Jones said. “Our schools are going to Jacksonville for proms. It’s time for us to meet current and future needs.”

The mayor appeared un-persuaded, as well. Boles, who is also chair of the Council on Aging, says that organization just spent $3.5 million to build River House — a venue at the south end of Marine Street that has food service and offers rental space for private functions.

“We hoped to get enough events to cover some costs,” Boles said. “We now have 76 events booked and 46 weekends next year are taken.”

The mayor supports spending to expand the Visitor Information Center. “We’ve got to have vision,” Boles said. “For $2 million we can have a hall we don’t have now.”

Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline went along with the mayor.

Photo credits: © 2010 Historic City News staff photographer