Vero Beach’s city manager is expected to ask the city council June 23 to extend a 120-day negotiation period with selected redevelopers of the three corners the city owns at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard.
Developers representing a consortium of investors, architects and other specialists selected last year are expected to visit the sewer plant, former electric plant and postal annex June 17 and 18, Monte Falls said. Then he’d have a better idea how much more time the developers would need to complete their due diligence on the property and negotiations with the city.
“I wish this would have progressed a little more,” Falls told me, echoing Three Corners Project Manager Peter Polk’s comments the developers are now thoroughly examining the sites. “I don’t see that the developers are not bullish on this project.”
That’s OK. The community has only one chance to get this exciting project right. It would take years to complete and presumably be around for many decades.
Vero Beach project still includes top companies
Spending hundreds of millions of dollars to turn a 1960s-era power plant into a hotel and marketplace, build other overnight lodging, waterfront restaurants, walking trails, a skate park, marina and fishing pier is no simple task.
Firms working on the project ― from HOK architects of St. Louis to Madison Marquette, a Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate investment, development and operating firm ― are involved in some of the nation’s top redevelopment efforts.
What developer Clearpath Services of Bloomington, Indiana, proposed in gaining city council approval to negotiate in April 2025, would be the boldest, most grand project open to the public ever in Indian River County.
It would be done in phases over several years.
Delays came last year after Clearpath announced it had lost its original financiers, then reached a partnership with Madison Marquette and others — whose latest proposal the council ranked second — to work together.
It took from 2007, eight years before the power plant was shut down, to 2019, before the council hired urban planner Andres Duany to get public input and design a master plan for the site. It got 79% voter approval in November 2022.
A few more months of due diligence and negotiations should be worth it. Everyone ― developers, the city, taxpayers ― is entitled to clearly know what lies ahead after the developers do more detailed environmental and economic studies.
And who knows what the result of November’s property tax referendum might have on the city or developers, expected to lease land from the city.
Polk said developers are now getting down to the nitty gritty of what’s on the site, potential risks and what things will cost. Possible changes to boat speed limits and other manatee protection efforts could impact how many slips are built at a proposed day marina.
Fort Pierce project delays a cautionary tale
“We’re moving in the right direction, but it’s slow,” Polk said, adding with so many developer consultants involved in numerous parts of the project, “there are a lot of moving parts … you know how it is, nothing goes as fast as you would like.”
Some good news: The Youth Sailing Foundation is progressing with its building on the south side of the Alma Lee Loy Bridge. Likewise, the city’s water-treatment plant is being built on the east end of its airport so the lagoon-front plant can be closed.
What’s most important to me is the city executes a contract that is not only fair to developers — so that it doesn’t have issues that force them to bail out — but to city taxpayers as well.
Fort Pierce still is waiting for its former downtown power plant across from the lagoon to be redeveloped into King’s Landing, a mixed-use project including residences. The plant was shuttered in 2010, but the project now has its second developer and construction has begun.
Jersey Shore issues involve Madison Marquette
Meanwhile, I could not reach anyone at Madison Marquette to comment on problems that have plagued its redevelopment efforts in Asbury Park, New Jersey. There, investigative reporters at our sister newspaper, the Asbury Park Press, have been busy looking into, among other things, why some deals the company has had with the city since 2010 haven’t come to fruition.
Among the most visible issues: The city’s historic and iconic boardwalk-front Convention Hall and Paramount Theater have not been restored as anticipated. And the city seems powerless to wrestle them back from Madison Marquette and take matters into their own hands.
Still, the company’s website touts its successes on other segments of the boardwalk, including renovating the Stone Pony, one of the nation’s great rock music clubs.
Vero Beach must ensure the same kind of issues do not happen here. Developers must rehab the power plant ― one of the key components of the plan voters approved — in a reasonable amount of time. They should not be able to delay, leaving the city in limbo.
Vero Beach officials must be careful and detailed in contracts, even if it takes longer.
I really like what Clearpath had to offer — and hope it can execute. But if things don’t work out, city officials must have the guts to say no, and start over.
This column reflects the opinion of Laurence Reisman. Contact him via email at larry.reisman@tcpalm.com, phone at 772-978-2223, Facebook.com/larryreisman or Twitter @LaurenceReisman.
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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hope Florida waterfront project not like Jersey Shore one | Opinion
Reporting by Laurence Reisman, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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By Laurence Reisman, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
