New Beautification Projects

As you drive, walk, run or bike through Venetian Isles over the coming weeks, you’ll notice work underway .Thanks to the V.I.H.A.'s Beautification Committee, spearheaded by Lisa Schwartz, numerous enhancements and maintenance projects are now underway in Venetian Isles.

Entrance Monuments
Venetian Isles has been awarded a matching grant from the City of St. Petersburg to replace the monuments at all 3 entrances to Venetian Isles (Overlook Drive, Montana Avenue and Mermaid Point).  The existing monuments are 10 years old and are starting to deteriorate.  Construction of the new monuments, which will require less maintenance than the current designs, will commence as soon as permits are approved.

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​Overlook Drive
 As you may have noticed, the grass by the bridge on Overlook is brown.  This is intentional as the City has just installed an updated sprinkler system and will be replacing all the existing grass with Bitter Blue sod.  The City will also be trimming the hedges, removing weeds and dead vegetation and replacing several green ficus plants.  Once the work is completed, we will be hiring a company to maintain the new landscaping on Overlook Drive as well as Grand Canal Boulevard.  In addition, we are in the process of installing new electrical service in order to power the irrigation system and light the palm trees with new LED lighting.  

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​Grand Canal Boulevard
The Beautification Committee is replacing the dead / missing bougainvilleas along Grand Canal Boulevard and installing additional sprinklers in the causeway planter beds.
 
Grand Canal Causeways and Bridges
The City of St. Petersburg and Duke Energy have recently completed the following work:

• Trim sidewalk overhangs from seagrape trees
• Repair the underground wiring between light poles (corner of Overlook Drive & Grand Canal and Massachusetts Ave South)

In addition, the following maintenance work has been requested by the Beautification Committee:

• Replace loose / damaged bricks on bridges
• Clean algae along the Grand Canal and Kansas Ave bridges
• Repair damage caused by sinking bricks and cracks in the seawalls
• Straighten leaning street signs resulting from Hurricane Irma or vehicle collisions

Paint transformers (Point Overlook Drive and Hawaii Avenue North)