By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

Jefre, the artist who was selected to design the water art feature in the reconstructed Kissimmee Lakefront Park, will be updating the City Commission along with city staff on what the project will ultimately look like — and cost — at an 8:30 a.m. workshop Friday.

Jefre, a Kissimmee native, was tabbed by the Community Redevelopment Agency in 2009 to design a signature art piece for the park’s Ruby Plaza project, which will ultimately connect the beginning of Lakefront Park at Ruby Street to the lakefront itself.

The artist, who has spent a considerable part of his career utilizing a background in architecture and fine arts and contributed to public art projects in locales like London, Rome, Abu Dhabi, Miami, New Orleans and Philadelphia, designed a spectacle called “Rain”.

It was originally conceived as an interactive 30-foot cube with an integrated fountain capable of being the backdrop for projected images. This “base model” of sorts was originally proposed on a $750,000 budget.

Other optional features included a below-grade vault that would allow for viewing the cube from below through a reflecting pond, but adding to the originally-conceived project would reportedly double the cost of the project and require refined design concepts and cost estimates.

Since separate city consultants reviewed the plans and concluded the original design could not be built for the budgeted amount, no formal contract with Jefre finalizing designs, costs or funding were ever pursued. Private funding, also an option, has not been secured as no firm design costs estimates have been available to give to potential funders.

Jefre is scheduled to present new options Friday for the commission’s review.

City Commissioner Jerry Gemskie said he is in favor of spending tax money on such a project, with the rewards matching or outweighing the costs.

“I think it’s a critical piece of the entire project,” he said. “This is big-city artwork; Atlanta and Chicago have similar attractions. It would be a draw to the park and an icon for the city of Kissimmee. This could put us on the map again.

The Lakefront Park renovation, a $25 million project, began with the design stage in 2006.

At Friday’s workshop, CRA Director Gail Hamilton also  will give updates on the CRA plan for the Downtown Kissimmee CRA and the environmental and future use studies on the former Hansel energy plant property.