CLEARWATER, Fla. — Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said there's plenty of room for development in the growing City of Clearwater.
He's comparing how downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg have changed over the years to Clearwater and the future.
"The waterfront is certainly a key point of developing our waterfront. That's how you know Tampa and St. Petersburg really revitalized their downtowns: by starting on the waterfront," Rector said. "So we really feel like this is our most important opportunity to inspire growth and change for the rest of Clearwater."
Rector said there's been significant growth on the beach and along US 19.
"We've gotten a lot of opportunity out there to grow and make Clearwater thrive even more. So, we see Clearwater as a blank canvas. There are lots of areas that could really use some revitalization. And we are getting a lot of interest from those outside of Clearwater coming in with outside resources, private partners to help us do that," Rector said.
The Rector's vision for downtown Clearwater is part of that. However, the amount of property the Church of Scientology owns has stalled much of that vision.
"So far, we've just shared our vision with what we want to do, and they've shared their vision with how they see developing downtown. We've not gotten to a path forward to do that. Not necessarily working in partnership with them, but helping us both realize what we both want to do downtown, that we continue to be open to communication and invite them to talk about how we can make Clearwater thrive," he said.
But some projects are moving forward. Plans call for a new city hall and marina in Clearwater.
"We're having to navigate that, to not do everything at once and be fair to the taxpayers, many of whom are struggling with utility bills and property taxes," Rector said. "But we've got long overdue improvements to the Clearwater Marina. The Marina is important regionally. It serves fishing boats and excursions that serve our entire Tampa Bay region."
The city hall plans to call for a brand new two-story building that will accommodate multiple city departments.
The marina project is expected to start this fall and take about two years to complete. It involves replacing aging docks and reducing congestion along Coronado Drive.
