DeLand CRA board ranks Voorhis Avenue streetscape project number one

DeLand CRA agrees with resident survey results

Potentially good news for DeLand residents who want to see Voorhis Avenue made over — the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency largely agrees.

The board, which is comprised of members of the City Commission and two local business owners, on March 15 voted 6-1 in favor of having Mike Grebosz, assistant city manager, move forward with pursuing additional pricing information with the Voorhis Avenue streetscape project being the top choice.

The City of DeLand made an online survey available to residents for about a month to gauge how the community would prioritize spending about $600,000 available in the CRA’s coffers. There were 702 submissions made, and the Voorhis Avenue streetscape project received the most No. 1 votes.

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The board decided its second choice would be renovating Painter’s Pond and Sunflower parks, and the third choice would be paving the dirt parking lot between Rich and Church avenues.

“I think that it’s probably the most forward-thinking and all-encompassing project in terms of economic opportunity, inclusion, many of the things that people have commented on,” Ella Ran, board member and co-owner of Outsiders, said of Voorhis Avenue.

Ran cited renovating the parks as her second choice.

“I think that it could be a great draw; it’s one of the only places that has a big outdoor space near downtown that can be utilized by families,” Ran said. “There’s not really much for families to be doing downtown, other than shopping.”

Bill Budzinski, board member and owner of The Elusive Grape, said as a business owner, he sees a need for more parking, but it still comes in second to his preference to dedicate funds to Voorhis.

“I think with the amount of money that we have in reserves, to not do something really big with it and impactful on the community would be a mistake,” Budzinski said.

Public weighs in on Voorhis

During public comment, the board heard from eight members of the community including Joyce Cusack, a former state representative and former at-large member of the Volusia County Council.

“It’s growing by leaps and bounds, our downtown, and we want to make sure that the history of African Americans who have contributed to this city is included,” Cusack said. “I implore you to try and make sure that this happens.”

Voorhis Avenue is home to the J.W. Wright Building, which was at the center of what was once a thriving business district for the Black community. In February, the 101-year-old building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Mark Shuttleworth, who owns downtown’s Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage, is working on restoring the site, which is owned by Greater Union Life Center Inc. Mario Davis, husband to Commissioner Jessica Davis, serves as the executive director of the DeLand-based nonprofit.

Mario Davis addressed the commission in person about the impact the streetscape project could have on the area, and Shuttleworth, along with Joan Carter, shared some ideas with commissioners in an email.

Carter also addressed the commission in person.

“I think it’s an opportunity that we have to address some of the substantial issues of change that are taking place not just in DeLand but everywhere,” Carter said. “It’s high time we took a look at our entire downtown to figure out how we can be more inclusive about what happens here.”

Two local artists also addressed the commission about their preference to focus on Painter’s Pond and Sunflower parks.

John Wilton is vice president of the board of directors for the nonprofit ACED (Arts, Culture, Entertainment District) DeLand and is secretary on the board of trustees for the Museum of Art – DeLand.

Wilton said the museum’s public arts committee has already acquired five sculptures “as a sign of commitment” to seeing the parks renovated.

Ray Johnson, who started downtown’s sculpture program, said dedicating the funds to the parks, and perhaps bringing a botanical garden to the area, would be, if done right, more meaningful than multiple smaller projects.

Johnson said he could see it becoming a place “where people want to mix, mingle and enjoy maybe a picnic.”

In the city’s survey, in addition to prioritizing projects by ranking them, residents could also indicate if they would rather see the funds dedicated to one large project or multiple smaller projects and if they would support financing to be able to complete more items.

Multiple smaller projects received 442 votes while a preference for one large project received 260. There were 383 votes cast in support of financing and 319 votes against it.

Grebosz said trying to complete all of the projects included in the survey would cost approximately $2 million.

The projects listed in the survey and the potential costs are: