PALM CITY, Fla. — Anne Welsh is growing many things in her yard in Palm City. Vegetables, flowers, plants— it’s all growing there.
“You get excited about it, simple life, you know?” said Welsh. “ The simple life, the simple world. That’s what it’s about.”
But beyond her yard, there’s other things growing.
“Its really going fast,” said Welsh. “It’s really going fast."
It’s growing right beyond Welsh’s fence on Mapp Road.
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“We had all of this was all woods here and now it's developing all around us,” said Welsh.
The growing Welsh sees is the result of the $6.7 million Mapp Road Town Center Project that is part of the larger community redevelopment area plan for Old Palm City, more than two decades in the making.
“People were not coming here to put a business or to live and work,” said Susan Kores, director of Martin County Community Redevelopment Agency.
Kores said one of the things they wanted to do was grow Mapp Road, creating a "Complete Street." Kores said they added larger sidewalks, more parking spaces, crosswalks, bike lanes and better drainage.
They also added a new outdoor space and patio for residents, called Palm City Place.
“What happens is people also want to put their business here, because now people are walking by,” said Kores.
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Kores said it’s working and told WPTV 20 new small businesses set up shop since 2021. But Kores said the growing isn’t over.
The Old Palm City CRA Plan wants to make improvements on Cornell Avenue and at Charlie Leighton Park.
Neighbor Jack Wapner told WPTV, all this growing, might be too much for them to handle.
“I think at this point, it’s starting to outgrow the infrastructure,” said Wapner. “The roads are just not handling the traffic.”
But for Welsh the growing, is growing on her.
“This is inevitable,” said Welsh. “As long as they keep that quaintness, then it's fine with me.”