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. READ MORE SOUTHERN GROVE 121 SW PORT ST. LUCIE BLVD | PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. 34984 | 772-871-5225