RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Antonio Neely opened up his barbershop just over a year ago at the intersection of 21st Street and Avenue E in Riviera Beach.
"We came to this area because there was no other barbershop on Avenue E," he said.
Neely said since he's been in business, he's been hearing news about redevelopment up and down Avenue E. Now that the work is about to begin, he is excited.
"It's bringing more business to the table, more job opportunities, and it's more of a great outlook for people who want to come to Riviera Beach," Neely said.
The redesign of Avenue E is for 15 blocks beginning at Blue Heron Boulevard.
Andre Lewis is the senior project manager of the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.
"Our initial phase has been approved by the board for $5 million. That will start off with the nuts and bolts, the underground utilities, starting the sidewalks and the roadways," he said.
The next phase will be a public-private partnership looking to bring residents and businesses together.
"We want to have some mixed-use development, some three-story, two-story residential, and we want to give our neighbors and our residents the ability to walk to retail," he said.
Lewis said the CRA is looking to have the proposed development for the marina and Avenue E work in concert with one another.
At the barbershop, Neely said the end results offer hope.
"I see opportunity knocking," he said.
