Southern Grove Summary and Fact Sheet Southern Grove Summary
SOUTHERN GROVE
HISTORY | SUMMARY
Port St. Lucie’s history is not traditional. Incorporated less than 60 years ago,
its original master developer marketed the area as a retirement haven and
systematically divided it up into 80,000 quarter-acre lots. As that developer
left, and the City grew and changed throughout the years, it became clear
the City needed appropriate space for the creation of jobs, or it would forever
remain a bedroom community. Because of its special history, the City does
not have a traditional, historic “downtown” where residents go to work.
In the early 2000s, City leaders looked to the west – specifically, the area
that is now known as “Tradition” -– to diversify its economy and to find the
right place for an employment center. Tradition is one of Port St. Lucie’s
premier mixed-use developments, and City leaders identified 1,321 acres
along Interstate 95, inside a part of Tradition called Southern Grove, as its
best bet for a future “jobs corridor.” A 2004 Urban Land Institute report also
identified Southern jobs corridor as the economic future of the City of
Port St. Lucie.
Today, in 2018, the jobs corridor is taking shape. Tradition
Medical Center is thriving, Torrey Pines Institute for
Molecular Studies has relocated its corporate headquarters
there, City Electric Supply is about to break ground on
its 400,000 square foot manufacturing headquarters
and the City received a $3 million job growth grant to
build a loop road to jump start the Tradition Center for
Commerce. Southern Grove is already home to Keiser
University, Florida Center for Bio-Sciences and multiple
commercial residents.
The City’s vision for Southern Grove remains resolute
and strong. Because of its development history, there are
no other similar vacant, large commercial and industrial parcels
in Port St. Lucie – and all of South Florida -- that could be developed
into this jobs corridor with the potential to create more than 22,500 jobs.
Southern Grove has a current estimated market value of $225,395,103, and
it has an estimated value of $2,003,341,448 at 80 percent build out. The
jobs corridor in Southern Grove is the only location for a large footprint
commercial and industrial development in Port St. Lucie.
This is the backdrop as City leaders now face a major crossroads for its
jobs corridor.
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SOUTHERN GROVE
121 SW PORT ST. LUCIE BLVD | PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. 34984 | 772-871-5225