Fence flap vents steam – but little else

Historic City News reporters investigated complaints that were spawned from construction of a wooden fence on the east side of the Bridge of Lions on property owned by the Anchorage Motor Inn last week.

Friday, an article written by Stuart Korfhage and Sheldon Gardner for The St Augustine Record, quoted Davis Shores resident Penny Chamberlain saying, “Just because you’re allowed to do something doesn’t mean you should.”

According to the article, Chamberlain told reporters that she was filing a complaint with the City of St Augustine and the non-profit organization, Friends of A1A.

A frenzy of Internet complaints caught our attention, as well. St Augustine resident Deanne Newsome started a facebook group “Mince the Fence”. He describes its purpose:

“A social media campaign here on Facebook to gain support and outcry against this ugly eyesore and monstrosity! Maybe we can effect a positive change to get the city to see the err of their ways in approving this. A better fence, if necessary is what’s in order to protect the beautiful vistas of our wonderful old city!”

We received a letter to the editor from one local businessman, Ray Dominey, objecting to the fence, we published it today at historiccity.com

Armed with all of the opinions, we decided it was time to go to the source and find out if there was any basis to halt the fence construction — if there is, we couldn’t find it.

We interviewed Bruce Maguire; who manages the property for his wife, Virginia Whetstone Maguire. He said they were aware of the recent complaints, and then he turned to material organized on a conference table in his office.

Maguire produced aerial surveys made at the time the Florida Department of Transportation began re-construction of the Bridge of Lions. Demarcation of property lines was shown on the survey map. He indicated that he is somewhat surprised at some of the comments that have made about the remodeling work being done to upgrade the Anchorage Motor Inn — including installation of the security and privacy fence.

“We have followed every requirement we are aware of to accomplish these renovations properly,” Maguire said this morning. “I have all of our permits and it is our intention to comply with all construction regulations.”

The FDOT contractor SKANSKA, did not rebuild the abutment to the Anchorage Inn property on the east end of the bridge in exactly the same shape as it previously existed. When an inspector from the Department of Transportation came to inspect the fence, Maguire shared his copy of the prior survey — the minor modification was noted and discussed. Using GPS coordinates; the concrete foundation was marked to indicate the current property line where the fence can be built.

When we made our observations and took photographs today, we learned that the fence tapered from a maximum of 12″ down to only 1″ of variance from the new surveyor’s marks. The height and materials conform to current local building codes. The permit issued by the city is valid and when the minor adjustment is made to the angle, the remainder of the work may continue. The final location of the fence and its appearance will be almost undetectably different from what you see today.

The Anchorage and it sister property, the Edgewater Inn across Anastasia Boulevard, suffered huge losses when the Bridge of Lions was shut down; followed by nearly five years of demolition and construction which caused critical vehicular traffic to be diverted away from the motel properties.

The reality is, in today’s hotel accommodation market, the vacationer demands a level of security, amenities, and appearance that the aging motor inn could no longer provide. Now that the bridge construction has been completed, the transformation of the old Anchorage Motor Inn to the new Dolphin Cove Inn can begin.

In addition to the fence installer, there are masons, plumbers and electricians working with all deliberate speed to transform the minimalist 1960’s motel rooms into beautiful, modern boutique hotel suites that promise to rival comparably priced accommodations anywhere else in town.

Most visitors to the property will tell you that the location is the property’s greatest value — its views, its convenience and charm. Maguire says that when you add the increased safety and security of the perimeter fence and the privacy that it will afford, guests of the new hotel will be able to make enjoyable use of the full “back yard” including the private dock and other amenities yet to be installed.