"Why don't we just, for a placeholder, put it on for December to give enough time for the community to have meetings for BVRAC to address this and give us some advice," Mayor Sam Kaufman told the Key West City Commission on Oct. 1. The item on the table would have let the city manager move ahead with demolishing the former Diesel Plant at Angela and Fort streets. The commission postponed it instead, after Commissioner Aaron Castillo asked that Bahama Village have a say in what happens to the building.
That gives the neighborhood about ten weeks. Those ten weeks also hold the busiest stretch of Bahama Village's own calendar: a museum opening on Olivia Street, two days of Goombay on Petronia, and a block party in December. Several of the people who will help decide the plant's future are on the program at these events. This fall, the neighborhood's celebrations and its say over its last big undecided building share both a calendar and a cast.
Thursday, Oct. 15, on Olivia Street
The first date belongs to the Frederick Douglass Community Center Museum at 111 Olivia St. Its official grand opening runs all day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Keys Weekly. The day has three parts:
- 10 a.m.: a community welcome with continental breakfast.
- 4:30 p.m.: a meet-and-greet for community members, former students, supporters, volunteers and visitors, held in the space that houses the Frederick Douglass School Black Educators Memorial Project.
- 6 p.m.: the official opening, with an introduction to the museum and a presentation of its history and purpose.
Here is the 6 p.m. speaker list:
- Mayor Sam Kaufman
- District 6 Commissioner Aaron Castillo
- Former Commissioner Clayton Lopez
- Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee chair Patricia Eable
- Key West Poet Laureate Arida Davis-Wright
Three of those names were central to the Oct. 1 decision. Castillo pushed for the postponement and said, "I'm not for demolition at all with the building." Kaufman had already told a press conference that he was "strongly opposed" to tearing the plant down, according to Keys News. Eable chairs BVRAC, the committee the commission now expects to advise it. So the museum opening, two weeks after the vote, puts the mayor, the district commissioner and the committee chair in one Olivia Street room during the window they set aside for public input.
The building itself shows how long these projects can take. Funding for the new community center behind the historic Douglass Gym took nearly a decade to settle. Construction took 17 months, and residents celebrated its completion on March 6, 2025.
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16–17, on Petronia
On the same Thursday, Goombay crews start setting up a few blocks away. The city's approval names the Bahama Village Community Coalition, Inc. as organizer. It closes Petronia Street between Duval and Fort for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16–17, with an approved window of noon to 11 p.m. The official Fantasy Fest listing says "noon to midnight," so check the organizer's closing time before planning a late night on the block.
The Fantasy Fest schedule runs Oct. 16 through Oct. 25 and lists Goombay on its opening Friday and Saturday. The island's ten-day festival therefore opens with Bahama Village's event, on Bahama Village streets. The approved application covers live entertainment, food and arts-and-crafts vendors, and two Junkanoo parades. The Saturday parade leaves Nelson English Park at 6:15 p.m. The permit names the starting point but not the full route.
The main stage stands at Petronia and Emma. The posted lineup is almost entirely local:
| Day | On the Petronia and Emma stage |
|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 16 | Bahama Village Music Program Jr. Junkanoo Group, Hebrew, Conchfusion, Konkoction Band |
| Saturday, Oct. 17 | Bahama Village Steel Pan Group, Bahama Village Music Program, Coffee Mill West African Drum and Dance Program, Robert Albury, Hebrew Edwards, The V-Connection, New Generation Bahamian Junkanoos, Caribbean Explosion Band |
The Bahama Village Music Program plays both days. Its junior Junkanoo group opens the Friday listing. The Keys Weekly calendar listing names the dishes the festival is known for: conch fritters, cracked conch, jerk chicken, curries and fried fish.
The building at Angela and Fort
From the Petronia stage, the Diesel Plant is close by. It sits at the edge of Truman Waterfront Park, next to The Lofts. The city bought it in June 2017, after voters approved the purchase in a November 2016 referendum. Since then, each attempt to reuse it has stalled:
- 2018: the city's chief building official ordered three of the site's buildings demolished and two repaired. HARC then recommended preserving key structures, and the commission accepted its nonbinding opinion encouraging reuse compatible with Bahama Village and Truman Waterfront Park.
- Several proposals that did not proceed: a museum concept, a proposal from the Key West Art & Historical Society, and an unsolicited Rams Head proposal.
- 2022: a request for proposals produced no workable reuse. Environmental uncertainty was cited as a key barrier.
- 2026: a public-private partnership solicitation drew no proposals at all.
The city's own estimates explain why the question keeps coming back:
| Path | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Demolish the structures and dispose of the equipment | $1.5 million |
| Stabilize the buildings and make them weathertight, per a 2025 Artibus Design assessment | $6 million to $7 million |
| Convert the plant into a working building | $10 million to $15 million |
Stabilizing the buildings would cost at least four times as much as clearing them, and a full conversion at least six times as much. A staff memo describes the building as blighted, with significant structural damage, and possibly at risk of collapse in a severe storm. The memo also says removing it could open the site to small-scale commercial use, or to a mix of commercial space and affordable housing, in line with the Bahama Village Redevelopment Plan.
Kaufman said any reuse would take "a lot of money." He also said an investor would probably need a much longer lease than the law normally allows, which would likely require a referendum. He noted that city code requires HARC to approve the demolition of historic buildings, and that the city does not "condone demolition by neglect." He added that it would be hard to argue the city has not neglected the building over the past eight or nine years.
The mayor said some Bahama Village residents have asked that at least part of the buildings be dedicated to the neighborhood's history. He strongly supports that idea, and he said members of the Key West Art & Historical Society were looking for ways to save the buildings. Commissioner Monica Haskell raised a separate point. The ground is contaminated and must be cleaned up whether the buildings are rehabilitated or demolished, so she recommended the city start remediation regardless of the postponement.
From the Petronia stage to the December vote
The request for a museum dedicated to Bahama Village history comes as the neighborhood opens one on Olivia Street. These are the remaining dates on the path to December:
- Monday, Nov. 9, 5:30 p.m.: BVRAC's last scheduled meeting of 2026, in City Hall Commission Chambers. The committee had not yet looked at reuse options when the commission voted. The Diesel Plant was not on its September agenda.
- Dec. 4–6: Coast Is Clear returns to Bahama Village venues, and organizers say the full schedule will be released in November. The city has approved a free block party on the 300 block of Petronia for Saturday, Dec. 5, permitted from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- December, date not yet set: the Diesel Plant returns to the commission. Because the city manager placed the item, it can be brought back at any time.
Petronia Street will close for a neighborhood event twice before the end of the year, once for Goombay in October and once for the Coast Is Clear block party on Dec. 5. Commission and committee meetings are the formal channels for input, and the Oct. 15 open house on Olivia Street is the first public gathering after the postponement.
The Spottswood family has watched Key West debate buildings like the Diesel Plant for generations. If you want to talk through what the December decision could mean for the blocks around Angela and Fort, The Spottswood Team is happy to have that conversation. Get in Touch.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
