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A rendering of what the St. Cloud Lakefront could look like with the addition of a seaplane base. The orange pins denote a new feature. GRAPHIC/CITY OF ST. CLOUD
St. Cloud politics heated up an otherwise non-election year this week, with Tuesday’s primary for City Council Seat 3, and Wednesday’s (tonight's) public workshop on plans for revamping the city’s Lakefront Park.
The city will host that workshop on the second floor of the Marina building (go to Crabby Bill's, then take the stairs or elevator) from 5:30-7 p.m. tonight (Wednesday).
Renovating the park has been in the works for years. And while exactly how the lakefront makeover will turn out is also up in the air following tonight's public meeting, possible plans do include a public seaplane base on East Lake Tohopekaliga, to join ones already in the region in Tavares and Winter Haven.
The city obtained a Florida Department of Transportation aviation license in October 2020 following the Federal Aviation Authority designating the St. Cloud base with an official location identifier — a three- to five-character alphanumeric code pinpointing aviationrelated facilities inside the U.S., according to the Orlando-based aviation consulting firm AVCON.
St. Cloud’s seaplane base FAA identifier is 3FL and it’s now on a national registry and open for business on East Lake Toho.
During the development of the licensing application package, AVCON established a sea lane about one mile north of Lakeshore Park. The unlit water path runs east-west and is 3,000 feet long by 200 feet wide, according to the company.
The new seaplane base is part of the 2017 Envision St. Cloud Citywide Master Plan that identified Lakefront Park as a “node of opportunity to serve as the centerpiece for the growing city.”
Starting with concept development and permitting, the city hired AVCON in 2016 to assist with the seaplane base/Lakefront Park redevelopment project. Plans include building a seaplane ramp and parking areas at Lakefront Park and eventually a fueling station.
Part of AVCON’s work included coordinating with the FAA to make sure the new East Lake sea lane wouldn’t interfere with existing air traffic patterns at nearby Orlando International Airport and Kissimmee Gateway Airport.
While city officials tout the plan as a potential economic driver for the city, there’s already a little history regarding seaplanes in the Soldier City.
In the early 2000s, local historians identified a WWII-era airmail postcard sent from St. Cloud to California that read: “Dedication, Seaplane Base, St. Cloud, Fla., Jan. 18, 1940.” Another historical record said the seaplane base was christened with a bottle of orange juice among a crowd of 3,000.
But not all St. Cloud residents support the seaplane base project.
“A seaplane dock is not in the interest of the whole community, just a select few, and requires an extensive overhaul of an already lovely lakefront. I feel that this entire project is motivated by a few individuals with self-serving interests. If St. Cloud is going to spend this much money, it should be in an effort to create spaces that nurture relationships, promote health, provide recreation, and connect us with nature,” read one public comment on the interactive site plans on the city’s website: www.lakefrontparkplan.com/participate
Still, another comment read, a seaplane base will be a boon for the city.
“As a seaplane operator that trains pilots to fly them and rents them out, one of the biggest complaints is there are so few places for seaplanes to go and explore and visit in central Florida. We have customers that come from all over the USA and the world, they bring a lot of revenue to Central Florida and they would provide tremendous economic support for this.”
Public input so far has included three focus groups and two public open houses where St. Cloud residents could provide input on the future of the park. The meetings were facilitated by the AVCON consultancy team staff.
Read more about Wednesday’s public meeting this week at www.aroundosceola.com.
