By Taylor Boyd
The Stuart Town Council on Aug. 19 noted that restoration remains underway on the caboose, situated at the head of the Mayo River Rail Trail.
So far, the railing is painted yellow and other areas are cleared for the next phase. Town officials said they hope to begin clear coating the caboose within the next few weeks, depending on the weather.
“We are going to get our red back” soon, Stuart Mayor Ray Weiland said.
Additionally, council members announced plans to have Stuart’s downtown area designated as a historical site, which would make the area attractive to potential buyers.
The designation would give “property owners down there tax advantages, and would encourage someone to possibly purchase those properties and fix them up because they would get some help and some tax benefits” at the state and local levels, Weiland said.
Although the designation zone is the downtown area, not all buildings would automatically qualify, according to discussion at the meeting. To qualify, buildings must be a contributing building to that district.
So far, council members have discussed including the Star Theater, the Slate Building, Beasley’s, Plantiques and others along Patrick Avenue in the designation.
Rebecca Adcock, council member, said this will be the town’s second bid at the designation. It tried in 2000 and was denied.
“They decided to overturn it. They now say that we fit 20 years later, since the historical zoning really starts at 50 years back,” she said.
Weiland and Adcock said they both feel confident the town will secure the designation.
“I hope that’s going really help our downtown area, and once we get that designation maybe we’ll see some activity down there and some property improvements,” Weiland said.
The historical designation is on the agenda for the review board’s meeting in September.
