VERO BEACH — Downtown is getting a makeover, one tree at a time.
Main Street Vero Beach — a nonprofit community advocacy group, working to revitalize the downtown area — has undertaken an initiative to wrap downtown’s numerous oak trees in lights, hoping to beautify and brighten the area.
Main Street is focusing its efforts around Pocahontas Park, at 14th Avenue and 21st Street.
“The goal is to inject a little bit more life into the area,” said Main Street Board President Morgan Reynolds. “What better place to start than lighting up the night?”
Starting small
Main Street has partnered with Shack Shine — a property detailing company — to wrap the trees. The project is donor-funded, and Shack Shine estimated it would cost $60,000.
It costs $2,000 to $3,000 to wrap each tree, Reynolds estimated. As of April 28, three trees on the west side of the park have been wrapped. The first tree was wrapped in December.
“We started work utilizing grants,” explained Reynolds. “Now, we’ve moved onto the fundraising portion of the project.”
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Local resident Barbara Ruddy donated $1,000 to get the ball rolling and to inspire other to donate. Those wishing to donate can donate on Main Street’s website.
“It’s a great project that will make a big difference,” Ruddy said. “Hopefully, as people see this project come together, it’ll encourage them to donate.”
This project is in conjunction with other downtown projects the city is undertaking including replacing the 14th Avenue flower pots; replacing 14th Avenue benches; replacing mulch and pebble areas; and limited lighting improvements.
“All of this is a labor of love,” said Reynolds. “We want to make downtown as beautiful as possible, and this is a small way of achieving that.
“A little bit goes a long way.”
Nick Slater is TCPalm’s Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at Nick.Slater@tcpalm.com and 224-830-2875.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vero Beach parks project trees downtown renewal lighting donations
