St. Lucie County OKs spending $25 million to buy land at Port of Fort Pierce

ST. LUCIE COUNTY —  The County Commission on Tuesday unanimously gave final approval to purchase 12.3 acres of waterfront land for $25 million at the Port of Fort Pierce, the first step in converting the property into a mega-yacht refurbishing center.

The vote comes about a month before the commission celebrates its 100th anniversary of being named a port authority.

“So, you have to ask yourself what do you want to be when you grow up?” Commission Chairwoman Frannie Hutchinson asked. “I think it is about time we decided.”

In addition to the property, the purchase includes submerged lands around the property and a 10 percent stake in the 67 acres owned by Destin Beach Inc., owned by Lloyd Bell family, wich has been reluctant to sell or develop the property.

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The county plans to hire a company to operate a mega-yacht-refurbishing business at the port to capitalize on the overcrowding of these facilities in South Florida.

In the past two years, three mega-yachts received refitting services at the port.

The county plans to close on the property on Jan. 31, officials said.

The next step would be soil cleanup. An environmental assessment conducted by Ardaman & Associates showed high levels of arsenic in the soil, which could have come from railroad spurs that run through the property, the engineering firm said.

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The cost to clean up the site would be $300,000-$400,000.

 “A lot of the cleanup is fairly easy to do … but you won’t know until you actually go in there and start digging,” said Dan Zrallack, Ardaman & Associates branch manager.

Revitalizing the 290-acre port, just north of downtown Fort Pierce, is a key component in Fort Pierce's and the county’s economic-development plans to bring jobs to the northwest part of the city.

The purchase follows the guidelines in the port master plan, the document that outlines development. It calls for the north area of the port and Harbour Pointe Park, a 20-acre parcel in the north end of the port, to be used for traditional port work and mega-yacht activity.

Fisherman's Wharf would be a buffer between traditional industrial activity and the business and residencies in downtown Fort Pierce, according to the master plan.

More:Could Port of Fort Pierce create 600 jobs for the community, St. Lucie County?

The downside of the county buying the property is a loss of about $212,000 in property taxes.

But County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said that is “drop in the bucket” compared to the estimated $100 million the county could gain if the site is developed into to a mega-yacht refurbishing center.

“We are investing in infrastructure so that private investment would come in and operate the facility and create jobs, create businesses," Dzadovsky said.

The county estimates the land purchase and redevelopment of the port would create 900 full-time jobs with an average annual wage between $45,000 and $50,000.

Commissioner Cathy Townsend said she had mixed feeling about supporting the purchase because of a high risk to taxpayers and the idea of local government owning a 10 percent stake in another company.

“I think we need to move forward with the port, but I don’t want us to be setting ourselves up for failure,” Townsend said.

Port of Fort Pierce

• 290 acres
• 28-foot depth, authorized by Army Corps of Engineers
• 98 undeveloped acres
• 67 undeveloped acres owned by the Lloyd Bell family 
• 20 undeveloped acres owned by St. Lucie County

Source: Treasure Coast Newspapers research