Daytona's beachside has been undergoing improvements 'street by street, block by block.'
DAYTONA BEACH — Weathered and timeworn metal sign frame structures turned into colorful public art. Blighted back alleyways constantly littered with trash and junk finally cleaned up. Sun-baked traffic light poles getting fresh coats of black paint. These are beachside projects tackled by city government workers over the past few years. They might seem like small improvements, but for the people who live near them, they're long-awaited refurbishment and reassurance the city cares about them and their neighborhood. "It helps us to understand and see we have support and a backup," said beachside resident Brad Gonzalez. "That gives us the drive to improve our community even more." The improvements, and more like them, began with a commitment over three years ago from Mayor Derrick Henry to work with Seabreeze neighborhood residents on remedying the chronic problems making their beachside community look and feel blighted. "Sometimes when you work with the community, you get something better than you thought," Henry said as he reported on the improvements during the March 5 City Commission meeting. The project went so well that the mayor wants to duplicate it now and do the same thing in other areas of Daytona Beach. "I'm ready for the next community and neighborhood because beautification is something we should take as a priority all across the city," Henry said. Little projects add up to big changes The mayor's Beachside Action Committee was established at the beginning of 2021. The aim was to pursue improvements that could be made relatively quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Most of the projects were approved and planned in 2021, and the goal was to complete them as quickly as possible. Despite some supply chain challenges and tropical storms, about a dozen projects were completed in 2022 and 2023. One project involved a colorful outdoor welcome sign that alerted passersby that road beautification work was starting late last year on East International Speedway Boulevard. The sign featured three large palm trees and said "Welcome to our beachside." The sign stationed at the city's main gateway to the beach was also placed there to give people hope that beachside blight is being addressed. A second project grew out of a plan to remove large metal sign frames along Seabreeze Boulevard in early 2021. The towering frames were paint-starved and looking beat up. An out-of-the-box suggestion was to repurpose them as public art. The sign frames now have ocean-themed pictures of turtles, fish and a sunrise. They're covered in durable paint that will need minimal touching up. Another project centered on the unsightly trash scattered around beachside alleys and the rear of some businesses. Pictures before work got underway show stacks of wood, piles of trash bags, cardboard boxes, overturned trash cans, and buildings with graffiti and scattered junk. "That looks horrible. We don't want to look like that," Henry said when he saw photos of the alleys and side streets before they were cleaned up. In early 2021, the Public Works division began improving trash pickup and litter removal at businesses. Code Enforcement officers prioritized the back alleys of Seabreeze Boulevard bars and commercial Dumpster enclosures. After some time passed, the junk and trash vanished, trash cans were neatly lined up, and pressure washing and paint made the buildings look much better. "That's a remarkable difference," Henry said when he saw the post-cleanup photos. Improvements to sidewalks, curbs, signs and park In the middle of 2021, the city started a new pressure washing and maintenance program that focused on beachside sidewalks and curbs. Repairs improved pedestrian safety, and the sidewalks and curbs were left with a much cleaner, refreshed look. The sidewalk repairs were also done in a way that allowed much-needed shade trees to remain in place. Sidewalks along Seabreeze Boulevard also got drainable landscape covers for palm trees planted in those walkways. The gray-colored covers give pedestrians a smoother and safer surface to walk near, and they reduce stormwater debris. Faded, damaged and vandalized street signs and beach access signs were also replaced. Colin's Park also received new playground equipment including swings, landscaping, signs, sidewalks, picnic tables and parking. The pavilion received much-needed paint and picnic tables, and new benches were also added. Residents say the improvements brought families back to the riverfront park off of University Boulevard. Neighbors working together A parade of Seabreeze Boulevard-area residents came to the March 5 City Commission meeting to take turns at the podium thanking Henry, but the mayor said others also deserve credit. "It's not about me," Henry said. "It's about beachside residents who stood up and decided they wanted to participate." The mayor said "high praise" is also due to city staff members who partnered "with the residents to work day by day, street by street, block by block to beautify the beachside." Residents said they're grateful for the improvements. "Neighborhoods with a strong sense of place help people to flourish," Joyce Case said. When Case moved to her Seabreeze-area neighborhood in 2001, she said there were a lot of investment properties and not a lot of owner-occupied homes. But she couldn't resist her 1939 home two blocks from the beach, so she took a chance. Another Daytona neighborhood improving:Daytona Beach's new approach for riverfront vagrancy: Network of vigilant security guards Slowly but surely, she's seen improvements. First came traffic calmers, then improved code enforcement, and then an earlier bar closing time. A neighborhood watch group formed, a police department substation was opened, and various efforts have been made to reduce late-night problems generated by Seabreeze Boulevard bars. Case said the improvements have "inspired neighbors to work together."
A look at Daytona's Boot Hill Saloon
When Bike Week roars into Daytona Beach for its annual 10-day run starting March 1, one of the must-do experiences is a visit to the venerable Boot Hill Saloon on Main Street, among the landmark watering holes forever tied to the event. Longtime fans of the bar, however, don't need a special occasion to make the pilgrimage to the establishment that marked its 50th anniversary in 2023. “I've been coming here about 30 years,” said Coleman Leonard, 71, a retired cabinet maker from Edgewater, who rode his Harley- Davidson Street Glide to Boot Hill for a quiet beer on a recent afternoon more than two weeks before Bike Week's opening day. “It's the history of the place,” he said as a vintage Deep Purple song, “Child In Time,” wafted from the speakers above his head. “It's always here, always a good time.” Here's a look at the Boot Hill's history and its appeal to the Bike Week crowd: As Bike Week evolves, Boot Hill remains 'authentic' Among the afternoon crowd on the bar's front deck, Tom Prusaski, 61, said that has been patronizing Boot Hill since the mid-1980s, a time when Bike Week was more like the “wild, wild west,” compared with the corporate sponsorships and tourism promotion that characterizes the event nowadays. “This was a hardcore biker bar,” said Prusaski, a retired auto mechanic, who traveled from Grant in Brevard County for a Boot Hill visit during Speedweek. “They didn't sell T-shirts in the Boot Hill in the 1980s and it wasn't always pretty, either.” Although Bike Week and the Boot Hill have lost some rough edges over the years, the bar still offers a genuine biker experience, Prusaski said. “This bar and the Iron Horse (in Ormond Beach) are two of the older bars that are still pretty authentic,” he said. “Things have definitely gotten more commercialized, but we always come here when we can.” Boot Hill shifts into high gear for Bike Week At the inside merchandise counter, around the corner from the bar, there's a new assortment of Bike Week T-shirts on display, part of an inventory of merchandise that also includes doo-rags, ballcaps and other trinkets. Many of the items offer a nod to the Boot Hill's famed slogan that “you're better off here than across the street” at the Pinewood Cemetery. During Bike Week, the bar also will host a lineup of dozens of bands on multiple indoor and outdoor stages throughout the 10-day event. The marquee out front touts the “Boot Hill Saloon and Museum,” but evidence of the latter is hard to find unless you consider a bra once worn by serial killer Aileen Wuornos a historical artifact. It's displayed behind the bar, where dozens of less famous under-garments also hang ceremoniously from the rafters. Almost every inch of wall space is cluttered with ancient business cards and faded snapshots that document the bar's history. So maybe it is a museum? For its fans, Boot Hill offers family connection Beyond the T-shirts and the bands and the beers, Boot Hill has endured because it offers a family connection, said Patti Raimondi, who handles merchandise at the bar. “People feel like they're home,” she said. “They have that comfortable feeling and that's pretty much it. You just feel like you're with friends and family. Great food, great friends, great fun. What else is there?” For more information on the Boot Hill and its upcoming Bike Week events, visit boothillsaloon.com or the bar's Facebook page, facebook.com/boothillsaloon
Opening day set for Costco at One Daytona. What to expect from membership club.
The huge Costco store nearing completion at One Daytona now has an official opening date: Feb. 22. An official with the One Daytona entertainment/retail complex across the street from Daytona International Speedway confirmed the opening date. The official referred all further inquiries to One Daytona President Roxanne Ribakoff who is on vacation this week and unavailable for comment. The News-Journal could not reach Costco officials for comment. Here's what to know about the project: It's going to be massive The 161,774-square-foot Costco will be One Daytona's largest tenant when it opens. Bass Pro Shoppes currently holds that distinction at 67,068 square feet. The CMX Daytona 12 Luxury Theatres directly east of Costco is 50,000 square feet. The Daytona Beach Costco will also be bigger than the nearby membership wholesale club stores of its two biggest rivals: The Sam's Club store that opened in 2019 across town at Tomoka Town Center is 140,000 square feet. The BJ's Wholesale store that opened in 2013 in Port Orange is 85,000 square feet. It will include a members-only gas station The Costco at One Daytona will also feature a 24-pump members-only gas station and a tire store with five loading bays. Costco is known for its competitively low gas prices, which could spur other area gas stations to keep their prices low as well, similar to what's happening with Buc-ee's and the Sam's Club gas station across the street next to the Interstate 95/LPGA Boulevard interchange. It will sport a unique Daytona-specific exterior design The new Costco store will feature an exterior look that is unlike any of its other stores: a checkerboard design similar to Victory Lane at the Speedway. "It's a nod to the rich history of motorsports racing at the Speedway," said Ribakoff in an interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal in September 2023. It will create hundreds of jobs David Sherwood, a spokesman for Costco, told The News-Journal in September that the chain's stores typically employ "somewhere in the range of 500 people." He added that he did know the specific number planned for its Daytona Beach location. What's the cost to join? A personal "Gold Star" membership to Costco is $60 year (not counting sales tax) and includes two cards. The chain also offers "Executive" memberships for $120 a year. Like its competitors, the higher-level membership comes with perks beyond what basic members receive. In comparison, Sam's Club offers basic "Club" memberships for $50 a year and "Plus" memberships for $110 a year. BJ's charges $55 a year for basic "Club" level memberships and $110 a year for "Club+" memberships.
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