Destination Down Town Parking Garage
It’s been exactly one year since I published my last letter in this publication. In that time I have heard much controversy about the approved parking garage development my company, OG Enterprises, is proposing on the corner of A1A and Minutemen.
A short recap…
For those of you who don’t know me my formal name is Oshri Gal but my friends call me Mosh. Our family moved to Cocoa Beach in 1991, the same year my father opened the first Beachwave on the corner of 520 and A1A. After running the business for 15 years himself, I officially took over in 2006 and successfully grew our business to the biggest beach retailer on the Space Coast. I sold the retail operation in 2021.
In early 2021, I was working towards a proposal for a project on the corner of A1A and Minutemen in Downtown Cocoa Beach that I had dreamt of owning as a child. This development would have combined bottom floor high end retail space, parking and a roof top restaurant unlike anything else on the Space Coast.
Initially it was met with enthusiasm and encouragement from city staff and our elected officials. At the time I considered two options for developing that corner. One was an approximate $4-$5 million 45 ft parking garage and one was a $13-$15 million 65 ft garage, retail and restaurant space. For the development to work it required a 20 ft height variance for the rooftop restaurant. I invested the time, money and resources to get a concept plan together. This and other documents are required to request a height variance from the City of Cocoa Beach council members. I knew what a project like this, on my dream property, would mean for Downtown Cocoa Beach, the surrounding businesses, residents and visitors alike.
However, as luck would have it before we could present it… city elected officials approved a height variance to Westgate and additionally supported a $30 million grant to Westin/Driftwood… two out of town, large development groups.
From there things quickly spiraled out of control. The City and its elected officials became engulfed in controversy over the variance and suddenly I was facing fierce opposition. It became clear at the City Council meeting the variance would not be approved so I made the tough decision to rescind the request, take the loss and give up on that dream.
Ironically, a month after the city council meeting for my variance request a height variance was approved 5-0 for another developer.
It was so disheartening to know the town I love and have supported for the last 30 years chose to give leniency and preference to other development groups whose proposed development had no community benefit like ours.
Let me be clear… My dream is to tastefully invest in Downtown Cocoa Beach and create gathering spaces we can all be proud of. It concerns me that Downtown Cocoa Beach lacks a clear vision for managing development. Six buildings including City Hall have been demolished in the past few years and now sit vacant. While many see this as a sign of development there is a big difference between a proposed project and actual development. Many of these ‘proposed projects’ are on hold due to financing, approval and zoning issues.
On another prime downtown corner, the City Hall project is currently on hold due to ‘financial reasons’. The truth is the building was torn down prior to securing financing and without proper plans and approvals, leaving the future of that project currently in limbo. It is unknown when City Hall will be built, how it will look and how much it will cost.
Even more troubling, the population of Cocoa Beach has decreased by almost 1% since 2020 while Orlando is seeing record growth of 2% every year for the past decade. Our tax base is decreasing and our Downtown businesses are floundering despite the fact we are the premier beach destination for Central Florida daytrippers.
I know. Why should you listen to me? I’m a developer and I have a dog in this fight. But make no mistake, Cocoa Beach will grow with or without us at the helm. I want the growth to be steady and managed in a way that benefits our future generations. We rely on our local economy to support our families, our neighbors and our collective livelihoods. What we need is a development plan that creates jobs, revenue and above all property taxes to support our beloved City, not more newly vacant undeveloped land.
Due to my love for our community and the desire to be a good steward for our future generations, I am about to do something unprecedented as a developer. While I already have the “political” approvals in place for the parking garage and am confident it is a sound and savvy investment… I am asking for community feedback on whether or not to move forward with building the parking garage. And before you ask no, I do not intend to bring back the previous proposed development.
If you love Cocoa Beach and are vested in its future, I would like to hear your opinion about the parking garage.
Scan the QR code to take our poll or follow this link: downtowncocoabeach.com
~ OG
