41-acre mixed development could bring home improvement store to area
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…
