Major Milestone Reached in Castillo Visitor Center Project

Press Release

Major Milestone Reached in Castillo Visitor Center Project

Rep. John Mica (R-St. Johns County) announced today final passage of the 2010 Interior Appropriations bill which included $500,000 in funding for the new Castillo de San Marcos National Monument Interpretive and Visitor Center. Below is the text of a letter the Congressman sent to local officials regarding the project:

As you may know, restoration of the Castillo de San Marcos and construction of a Visitors and Education Center to accommodate the millions of visitors to one of Florida's most historic sites has been one of my priorities. In that regard I wanted to share with you some exciting news.

With a vote today in Congress, this important historic preservation and St. Augustine enhancement project received its most significant boost by securing initial federal funding to launch this initiative. In today's action by the House of Representatives, in appropriations legislation that will become law in the coming days, a half-a-million dollars was granted specifically to begin final design and planning work on this project.

This has been a long and much more complicated process than I had expected when my work on this initiative began in 2002. As you may know, our first attempts were rejected by the Department of Interior because a separate authorizing bill had not been previously approved by Congress. Even after introducing my bill, "The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument Preservation and Education Act in 2003", it took until December of 2004 to secure passage and President Bush's signature.

With passage of that Act and because the Castillo is such a significant national monument and historic site, more than three years of study, review, hearings and compliance with complex regulations finally led us to the development of a Final Plan for the project. Only then, and fortunately now, both the Department of Interior and Congress were ready to proceed.

I believe this funding may be one of the most significant milestones in the fort's nearly 400 year history. What is more exciting is that we can now complete this Visitors and Educational Center in time for our 450th St. Augustine Celebration.

That means a significant boost in jobs to build the $8 million complex and a great future accommodation for visitors to the national historic monument. Millions of visitors, along with countless students and citizens, will have a greater understanding for St. Augustine's rich history and the fortress' role over the ages.

Interestingly, in a survey required prior to the funding commitment, we uncovered artifacts, documents and historic items relating to the city and fort. In fact, more than 8,000 valuable mementos and archeological objects have been inventoried in local, state and national collections. Many of these formerly closeted treasures will now have a public venue in some of the museum space planned.

It is difficult to express how very pleased I am with this critical stage in this project being reached. My special thanks to you; Gordie Wilson of the National Park Service; Dr. Bill Adams (retired); St. Augustine past and current officials including Jess Childre; and so many others for helping make this happen. Now we must again roll up our sleeves and finish what will be a great improvement to a great historic site in one of the most historic communities in America.

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