The West Melbourne City Council on Tuesday is expected to take the first step to create its own town center.
- City council wants to create downtown feel
- City leaders looking for central hub on Minton Road
The city, which has been around for nearly 60 years, does not have a downtown like neighboring Melbourne.
However, city leaders want to change that.
“That’s the goal, to develop a physical location that people say yeah, that’s sort of the heart of West Melbourne,” said City Manager Scott Morgan.
The city council is expected take the first step in a town center project, approving a new zoning district on Tuesday night at its meeting.
City leaders are looking for a central hub to be located somewhere on Minton Road, between Helen Street and the Interstate 95 over-cross.
“It’s really about identification of the community. West Melbourne has a good identity, but it doesn’t have a central place where people can walk and gather and spend some time,” said Morgan.
Next month, an advertisement about available land in the area will appear in development magazines to determine if there is any interest on a national level to develop a town center, complete with shops, restaurants and homes.
“We want to see if we can get some private investment that makes it a place where people get out and walk, recreate, and dine and shop,” said Morgan.
In addition, Tuesday, the city council will consider banning future service stations from setting up in the corridor. Morgan say gas stations do not fit the town center model.
The city council meets at 6:30 p.m. at the West Melbourne City Hall.