The effort to rebuild Humiston Park’s historic boardwalk appears badly in need of a shot in the arm.

A year ago at this time, enthusiasm seemed high across Vero Beach. There was an optimistic feeling of community cohesiveness as a fundraising drive launched by this newspaper and two city councilmembers drew pledges as high as $100,000 to rebuild the historic boardwalk, which had been badly damaged by Hurricane Nicole in 2022.

First built in the 1930s as a wooden structure and later replaced with a concrete version, the 427-foot- long walkway with benches and a pavilion overlooking the ocean was “part of the fabric of Vero Beach,” in the words of former mayor Tony Young. Generations had grown up with it and many residents were delighted that it would be restored.

The city council had voted the previous summer to replace the shattered structure with a sidewalk set back slightly from the beach that would have cost a modest $800,000 and been more resistant to storm damage, but that vote brought first a sigh of community disappointment and then an outcry.

In December 2024, the idea of a rebuild-the-boardwalk fund suggested by city councilmembers John Carroll and Aaron Vos was championed by Vero Beach 32963 and donations surged.

By mid-January, the city had received $175,000 in pledges, along with a promise of construction material worth hundreds of thousands more.

Seeing the upsurge in enthusiam, the city council that same month voted unanimously to drop the sidewalk plan and replace the beloved boardwalk, estimating the cost at $2.2 million. City Manager Monte Falls said work would begin in November, after turtle nesting season.

Momentum was maintained in February, when the county commission agreed to contribute $400,000, and in March the state legislature approved a $350,000 FDEP grant. 

Five months later, some of the air went out of the balloon.

Gasps from city council members were audible at a mid-August meeting when Falls delivered the jaw-dropping news that the estimated cost to rebuild the boardwalk had more than doubled to $4.6 million, including design, engineering and permitting.

Work did not begin in November.

At present, the project appears to be stalled, but Falls and Mayor John Cotugno say they are still determined to do the will of the people and get the boardwalk rebuilt.

“I’m hoping the public is still as enthusiastic about a boardwalk,” Falls said. “I believe we can cobble the funding together with the city, county, state, feds and philanthropy.”

“We haven't really stopped the philanthropic drive,” said Cotugno. “The Indian River Community Foundation is still the focal point for that, and we are still actively engaged with them.”

The current hope at city hall is to start construction this November, a year later than first planned.

But that seems far from a sure thing.

The city has kicked in $1 million, and cash donations and pledges have topped $300,000. Other funding raises the current total available for the project to about $2.5 million, while the current cost estimate has inched higher, to $4.7 million. That leaves a deficit of $2.2 million, the same amount as the initial rebuild estimate.

And that estimate is not set in stone. Right now, the city has a schematic drawing of what it wants to build, but no detailed, biddable building plans, and it still needs permits.

Mayor Cotugno told 32963 he is cautiously optimistic that the cost won’t climb higher. “What gives us encouragement is that [updated] estimates that have come in for the wastewater treatment plant and the marina were equal to or slightly below [earlier estimates].”

Another FDEP grant, this one for $400,000, has been approved by the Florida House of Representatives in the current legislative session. If that makes its way to the governor’s desk and is signed, it will shrink the deficit to about $1.8 million.

Closing that gap, however, remains a challenge.

Congressman Mike Haridopolos is working with the city, and the mayor said he is hoping for $1 million from the federal government. Falls continues to reach out to philanthropic groups in Vero, writing letters asking for assistance. The county commission could increase its contribution to match the city’s, since many county residents who live outside the city use the park and adjacent beach, along with tourists whose spending benefits the entire county. Or the city could dip into its budget to put more money into the project.

Or another wave of giving from small donors and island philanthropists could put the project over the top.

In the meantime, it remains in limbo.