Evans Grocery teardown clears way for community center

Excavators ripped down the beige walls of the old Evans Grocery last week, clearing the way for what neighborhood leaders say will be a catalyst for a stronger community and re-energize residents who have long been waiting for progress.

The two story-building soon will be replaced with the Evans Center, a nonprofit grocery store, soul food deli, youth job-training center, clinic and community meeting place.

“We’ve been waiting on this for a long time,” said James Bartell, president of Evans Center LLC, the community board that will run the new facility.

Construction on the new 6,000-square foot center — estimated to cost over $1 million — will start when organizers have sufficient money on hand, said Lynn Brockwell-Carey, executive director of Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition, one of three groups partnering to form the Evans Center board. Powell Subdivision Neighborhood Watch and Congregations for Community Action round out that partnership.

Evans Center has $290,000 committed for the project and another $370,000 in pending grant requests, Brockwell-Carey said. Roughly another $400,000 is needed depending on the outcome of the grants.

The group hopes to spur fundraising by promoting tax breaks available to potential donors because the project is in Palm Bay’s Enterprise Zone. Florida businesses would be eligible for state corporate tax credits or sales tax refunds of up to 50 percent of the donation.

Originally owned by Roosevelt “Ross” Evans, the grocery store had been a cornerstone for the predominately black neighborhood that stretches across northeast Palm Bay and south Melbourne.

But after Evans died, the property was sold to different owners who let it fall into disrepair. The building became a haven for drugs and crime and the site of several shootings.

The community, however, fought back and, with the help of the city of Palm Bay, reclaimed the building. The city took ownership in 2007 after the property amassed nearly $500,000 in code violation fines.

Palm Bay granted the non-profit Evans Center, LLC a long-term lease in 2009 and partnered with the organization to try to revive the grocery store to the condition Ross Evans maintained.

Plans to raze the building in December stalled after asbestos tiles and other hazardous material were found in the second floor apartments shortly before the planned demolition.

The finding brought on a flurry of paperwork seeking permits to remove the material and showing the work was done according to federal guidelines, said Bill Pehaim with Palm Bay’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, who was responsible for that work.

“Finally we’re making visible progress for the community. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that the community never sees,” he said. “Now, to have something visible is wonderful. Yes, there is progress being made, and yes, there is going to be a grocery store that is going to be viable for the community.”

And that helps ward off fears among residents that the project they’ve been waiting for might not happen.

“People just get a little down,” Bartell said. “People will see some action and will be re-energized again.”

There’s plenty of reason behind the community’s excitement.

At least 5,000 people live within a mile of the proposed Evans Center, according to the organization’s website. More than half of the households make less than $25,000 per year. Almost seven out of 10 families here have limited access to transportation, which makes driving to the nearest grocery store — located more than a mile away — a challenge.

The lack of transportation coupled with limited incomes makes access to health care an issue, one that the Evans Center hopes to correct.