DOWNTOWN
Featured in The New York Times April 4, 2010
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Banquet Facilities Available
901 Ave. D, Lincoln
Theatre District
Fort Pierce, FL 34950
772.461.9533
ED DRONDOSKI
This plan shows where the new docks will be and names all the new islands.
Empty oyster shells in mesh bags, carefully placed around the edges
of the islands will attract juvenile oysters who will move into empty shells
and call them home. The oysters filter the water, cleansing it and making it
a healthier place for sea life to grow.
says. “This was essentially a downtown neighborhood when
we lost it because of people who lived aboard their boats. It
was 30 to 40 percent of the downtown business.”
Clubs used to visit frequently, with members docking at
the marina and then going to dinner and shows at the Sunrise
Theatre, shopping at the Farmer’s Market, and strolling
through downtown, he says.
The base of the new islands will be rubble, built up with
soil and then planted with trees and grasses. Empty oyster
shells will be placed around the edges to attract juvenile oysters
that will then move in and grow up there. Both Martin
and St. Lucie counties are already participating in oyster reef
construction programs with the aid of volunteers.
On April 7, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. oyster-lovers can look
for an oyster festival at the waterfront park by the marina,
Kubitschek says. The empty shells will eventually find their
way to the edges of the new islands, along with shells saved
by local seafood restaurants.
UNIQUE HABITAT
The Fort Pierce project is the first of its kind in the state.
“We are really creating a laboratory that can be studied
when we create this habitat,” Kubitschek says. “We have to
do two years of monitoring for the state and watch how the
fisheries and birding evolve. If everything looks positive,
then the state will open the window for other areas to do
something similar.”
During construction of the islands some of the popular
downtown Farmer’s Market vendors will have to move away
from the fountain area, said Ed Seissiger, who has managed
the project for the city since 2005. The same goes for the
monthly Friday Fest vendors.
The move won’t take place until fall, and nobody really
knows how many vendors will be affected, he says. Heavy
equipment will be at the southern end of the park working
on some of the islands during that time, and it’s a matter of
safety for children and others in the area, he says.
Kubitschek, looking forward to better times ahead, says
he’ll be taking reservations for dock space in June 2013.
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