The Port St. Lucie Governmental Finance Corporation (GFC) authorized two land sales at their March meeting, leaving just 22 acres in the 1,200-acre Southern Grove Jobs Corridor unaccounted for.
“We are near achieving full completion of the implementation of the Southern Grove Master Plan,” said Jennifer Davis, director of the PSL Community Redevelopment Agency.
“It’s amazing that we only have 20 acres left,” said Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo, expressing surprise at how quickly full completion has been achieved.
One land sale was to Costco and the other to Tambone Companies, LLC, which acquired 7.36 acres at the northeast corner of SW Village Parkway and the future Destination Way with a purchase price of $2.57 million.
Four of the 7 acres are slated for a 42-bed, 55,800-square-foot, two-story acute care facility with the possibility of adding 12 additional beds.
Asked what would be developed on the remaining 3 acres, Richard Tambone of Tambone Companies said there was nothing definitive but that they were looking to gear it toward something medical. “The one element that hasn’t really been expanded upon is medical. We’re excited to concentrate on the medical side,” said Tambone.
As to the acute care facility, Phil Schuck, executive vice president of Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate, explained that patients would transition there after being in the hospital, with most stays between 10 and 14 days. Patients would have a minimum of three to four hours of therapy five days per week divided between physical, occupational and speech.
“There’s a lighter amount of traffic in this kind of facility,” Schuck said.
“It’s going to pair well with the Cleveland Clinic,” Caraballo added.
“More medical is definitely needed,” said Mayor Shannon Martin.
The third item on the agenda included acceptance of a revised letter of intent issued by the Sansone Group regarding the development of the Becker/Village Lifestyle Center in Southern Grove allowing for cooperation with the GFC on the commercial side.
The project is located on approximately 60 acres of land “bound by SW Becker Road, SW Village Parkway, SW Anthony F. Sansone Sr. Boulevard and SW Legacy Park Drive.”
It has two key components: a resident parcel of 16.26 acres and a commercial parcel of 43.59 acres.
The project will be developed in multiple phases over a period of about three years, with the GFC and Sansone working together on the commercial side of the project, which could end up being larger than originally planned, depending on market conditions.
The original phase is expected to include about 300 multi-family residential units and 100,000 square feet of commercial space, with subsequent phasing based on market demand. It is expected that a hotel will also be developed.
Sansone Group Regional Director Peter Crane said, “We’re excited to be here. This corner has been earmarked for a very long time. We are looking at this as our front door.”
The balance between commercial and residential was a concern for city council members. “The population is here. We need to look in reverse,” said Caraballo. “Tanger Outlet – wouldn’t it be fantastic to give Port St. Lucie something very, very special?” She hinted that the three retailers already looking at the space might want to build an outlet center.
The completed project is anticipated to consist of up to 660 multi-family residential units and approximately 250,000 square feet of retail and commercial space including a hotel.
The project will include construction of all related infrastructure.
“Sansone has been an amazing partner with the city,” said Mayor Shannon Martin.
What exactly will end up at the Becker/Village Lifestyle Center is not yet known, with the balance of residential and commercial to be determined.
What is known is that a Costco is coming to Southern Grove.
PSL’s Governmental Finance Corporation approved the sale of 22.8 acres of land to Costco at their March meeting.
That sale will pave the way for an upscale 170,000-square-foot Costco retail store and gas station to be constructed on Village Parkway on property adjacent to the massive Costco Depot Distribution Center scheduled to open later this month. The price of the land is $6 million, for which a $300,000 deposit is required. There is a 270-day development approval period.