LIVE OAK, Fla. — Kimley-Horn’s Jon Sewell presented the Heritage Square Master Plan draft to the Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday evening.

“The purpose of this master plan is to pull together the ideas from the community,” Sewell said.

The CRA held a community outreach meeting in February to get input from community members and stakeholders.

Heritage Square encompasses the area between U.S. Highway 129 on the west, Duval Street on the north, Mussey Avenue on the east and the railroad on the south.

Sewell said the plan was created using the input received at the outreach meeting.

“I’m proud to say that I think this is some of our finest work and the reason it is, is because of your staff and your general public and you, the elected officials,” Sewell said.

He added that he has not heard a negative comment from the community so far.

The Phase 1A area includes the Suwannee County Train Depot and the Suwannee County Historical Commission building, which resides in the old freight depot.

For Phase 1A, the plan includes building a parking lot in the open space between the depots and the railroad tracks, landscaping the area and installing pedestrian crosswalks across the CSX rail corridor.

Sewell said the parking lot will provide immediate space for a food truck night or other activities.

Phase 1B is further down Haines Street, near Mussey Avenue. The plan includes the establishment of stormwater utility, relocation of two existing stormwater ponds, stormwater system design and design and construction of multi-use trail.

There are nine phases total. The other phases also include potential restaurants, retail buildings and apartments.

Sewell stresses that this is a general planning document, not a step-by-step plan.

“We have to be opportunistic when grant funding becomes available,” Sewell said.

He added that the city and CRA will not acquire land from unwilling sellers.

“We can work around any parcel that remains private,” Sewell said.

Bill Williams, of the Suwannee County Historical Commission, asked about the plan to convert the commission’s building into space for artists.

“That was a suggestion by some stakeholders,” Sewell said. “It is just an idea thrown out there.”

He added that it was just an idea and nothing has been done.

“This is an absolute awesome rendering and vision for our community,” Kerry Waldron said.

He suggested possibly moving the location of the apartments on the plan further away from the railroad tracks or installing a sound buffering wall to keep the noise down.

The next step is for the CRA to approve the Heritage Square master plan and concept plan. Then CRA staff can start looking for funding for the project.

The estimated full buildout cost would be $5,182,000.

Phase 1A and 1B are estimated at $581,038.