PORT ST. LUCIE — A 41-acre mixed-use development may be coming to the Southern Grove area of Tradition, across Village Parkway from the city-developed “jobs corridor.”
The land, owned by developer Mattamy Palm Beach LLC, was rezoned from agricultural to mixed-use at a City Council meeting last week, paving the way for a complex that could include residential and commercial uses.
Property to include residences, possible home-improvement store
The property is located west of SW Village Parkway and north of SW Becker Road, within the Southern Grove Community Redevelopment Area, or CRA. The city has been developing the 1,200 acres across the street, with large warehouses for companies such as FedEx, Amazon and Cheney Brothers already in place and a Costco distribution depot in the works.
Much of the land west of Village Parkway — other than two properties owned by the city — has long been under private control. Mayor Shannon Martin pointed out last week that many of the development rights there were assigned decades ago, including for the parcels in question.
The Mattamy-owned property would be split into two parcels. A north parcel would be primarily used for residential purposes, said Steve Garrett, vice president of land planning firm Lucido & Associates. Mattamy committed to at least 30% of that parcel going towards residences, Garrett said last week.
The south parcel would be a shopping center, developed by Pebb Enterprises. It is planned to include “a large home-improvement store and series of commercial outparcels,” according to city documents. Garrett said a national home-improvement retailer has committed to the project but declined to name the company.
Unanimous for rezoning, with some conditions and requests
While the rezoning received unanimous support from the council, there were concerns.
Martin told Garrett that Mattamy is already building a self-storage facility in the city, and she does not want to see another one at this location, which she called “a gateway to the city.”
“Please, no self-storage on the corner of Village Parkway and Becker Road,” Martin said.
Garrett made no commitments, but said the people behind the project were listening to the meeting.
Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo said she is worried about an oversaturation of home-improvement stores in the area, with a Home Depot store on SW Gatlin Boulevard and Home Depot and Lowes stores on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
Martin seemed unconcerned, however, pointing out how drug stores such as Walgreens and CVS often are directly across the street from each other. Caraballo asked that the developers just keep the issue in mind.
The rezoning passed with the condition that construction begins on traffic lights at Village Parkway and Legacy Park Drive within 12 months of the council approving the development, and that those lights be certified within 18 months of approval.
Building out Southern Grove area, on city side and private side
Developments in the Southern Grove CRA west of Village Parkway, which already include multiple residential projects, come as the city is working to fill out the property it acquired in 2018, between Village Parkway and Interstate 95.
Much of the industrial sections of the city’s “jobs corridor” project are already built out or contracted, leaving the lots directly along Village Parkway. City officials have indicated those lots are to be used for mixed-use developments as well, with two already sold by the city to Tradition Entertainment District LLC.
More:Less than six years in, the Southern Grove ‘jobs corridor’ in Port St. Lucie is almost full
More:Port St. Lucie sells another 45 acres for ‘entertainment district’ in Southern Grove area
Also at last week’s meeting, the council received a general update on the city’s three CRAs, including Southern Grove.
There are six parcels left available in Southern Grove, Project Manager Frank Knott told the council. Previous maps presented to council in recent months had shown five lots left, once occupied and contracted ones were accounted for.
Plans for a realignment of Anthony F. Sansone Sr. Boulevard, necessitated by the Costco development, resulted in a shift of parcels north of a planned Marshall Parkway extension, said Jennifer Davis, director of the city Community Redevelopment Agency, in an email Tuesday. That shift reduced the size of one available lot by about 10 acres and created a new available lot of about 11 acres. That change leaves six available lots in the jobs corridor, instead of five.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.
