The City of Key West was deeded a free gift a few years ago. Military base closure people decided the waterfront area between Southard Street and the Outer Mole, where the cruise ships dock was surplus to requirements. Presto! The city of Key West grew by some 34 acres by Act of Congress. This is a gift of epic proportions and carries with it strings of unintended consequences.
The Navy prepared the land for hand over, emptying its old buildings, emptying its last remaining guard huts, pulling down an elderly, creaking water tower and spiffing up the open space for new users.
Some of the new users are actually old users, like the State Park at Fort Zachary, a chunk of land in the southwestern-most corner of the waterfront, long since dedicated to civilian recreation. The Navy funneled traffic to the park along a special, fenced off road for civilians, reserving the other road to the military. Nowadays, with the military withdrawn from the land there are two roads that both lead to the park entrance:
During winter in particular there are many many visitors who make the trek to enjoy the city's best swimming beach at Fort Zachary, making their way by car scooter and whatever means works for them:
But the Navy only retreated they didn't leave altogether. There are still installations along here including satellite dishes and antennae aimed at Cuba, military housing and who knows what all else behind the fence. This visitor is walking to the park, and in the distance behind her is the entrance to the Truman Annex Navy Base: 
Key West has been a Navy town since its founding and even today the navy presence is bigger than ever. Since Vieques closed down its base off Puerto Rico the Navy has expanded its flying schools in Florida and Key West is glad for the money the Navy brings in. Spouses also take jobs in the city and provide a stable competent workforce in a town that can't provide civilians a place to live at less than astronomical rents. Its a symbiotic relationship. Truman Waterfront is illustrating that relationship in a whole new light. Not least because of the presence looming over the waterfront of Truman Annex, that gated community of "Key West style" homes:
With the hand over of the waterfront the Navy decided, after the Al Quaeda attack on the Twin Towers, to retain control of the Outer Mole and has agreed to let the city dock cruise ships there as long as the Navy doesn't need the pier, seen here across the basin that should soon become a new luxury civilian marina:
The new users that have already moved into the Truman Waterfront include the Eco Discovery center in their new digs, associated with the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are national Marine Sanctuary boats docked here as well:
And a World War Two Coastguard Cutter Mohawk is docked as a floating museum:
Further north is the waterfront sold to the owners of the Westin Hotel who also have a marina on their property:
Next to the Westin is the white block visible from miles at sea, of the old officer's quarters now a condo complex known as the Shipyard: 
And on the remaining side lies the private property of Truman Annex:
The Truman waterfront is pretty much surrounded on all sides, making easy access by water a viable option and I suppose one could take a ferry if such a service were offered. Hell there's even a boat ramp, used these days by sailors who come to town in January for Race Week:
Hold on though because there is a street that leads into the Truman Waterfront, its Southard Street which starts, or ends, here.
The trouble is, and what big trouble it's turning into, is that Southard Street traverses the gated community of Truman Annex. The Annex has worked out a deal with the city to close off Southard`Street with a couple of gates, because God knows the riff-raff need to be kept out at night. There was some uproar about allowing a private community to effectively control a city street, but Key West is nothing if not flexible and for the sake of peace and quiet and to avoid lawsuits as is the modern fearful way, agreed to let the Annex gate the street, which the annex claimed it bought when the property was sold to the developer a few decades ago. The city has no records stating otherwise so there it is. Now of course having given an inch the city must yield the rest of the ell because apparently the only way to keep the riff-raff out properly is to build gates taller than those allowed by ordinance so a variance is being considered. Southard Street should remain open by day to hoi-polloi, goes the agreement, and closed at night to all but residents:
All signed sealed and delivered with much huffing and puffing and minimal civic protest. However, the deal makers forgot the Navy. But the Navy is not allowing itself to be forgotten. The Base Commandant, scheduled to be reassigned later this year, has announced that National Security requires no gates on Southard Street and no impediment to Navy access through Southard Street. Cynics have suggested the city cut the deal so quickly with the Truman Annex because they fully expected the Navy to step in and trump the deal. Others, yet more cynical, suggest the Commandant's departure scheduled for the Fall may allow a more amenable replacement to go along with the deal. Which mouse roars loudest roars last I guess.Meanwhile the debate over what to do with all this municipal munificence goes on. Some want a retirement home on the waterfront, others want parkland, others want luxury homes and other opinions want workforce housing. It's always the way with expansive gifts, they end up causing more irritation than joy. Which is a shame because there is lots of land to go round:
And some of it is quite pretty. I've never, for instance, seen a date palm growing out of a baobab:
There aren't many trees on this open space which mostly resembles a wasteland, with the odd tropical trunk sprouting:
There are still some Navy buildings...
...and Navy fixtures...
...and even old navy cannon barely visible behind the old fire hydrant, in the distance, and old Rodman presumably liberated from Fort Zachary. There's so much land down here that parts of it are little more than a parking lot or a junkyard, be it ever so picturesque:
And over it all hangs the Southard Street question:
And some of it is quite pretty. I've never, for instance, seen a date palm growing out of a baobab:There aren't many trees on this open space which mostly resembles a wasteland, with the odd tropical trunk sprouting:There are still some Navy buildings......and Navy fixtures......and even old navy cannon barely visible behind the old fire hydrant, in the distance, and old Rodman presumably liberated from Fort Zachary. There's so much land down here that parts of it are little more than a parking lot or a junkyard, be it ever so picturesque:And over it all hangs the Southard Street question:In my perfect world the gated community would have ended at Southard Street's northern side and homeowners on the southern side would have had to take their chances with Bahama Village like the rest of the city, which seems to do just fine unfenced. But poor decisions in the past have led to impossible situations for present day city leaders and here we are with everyone hoping the noise will go away, the waterfront will be developed into a thing of useful beauty and gas will go back to $2:00 a gallon. Fairy tales all, I think.
