Port St Lucie officials reject developer's land bid

PORT ST. LUCIE — City council members may be eager to develop the northern finger of Riverwalk, but a majority says they're not so desperate they'll sell land for $60,600 an acre.
That's the offer West Palm Beach developer Jonathan Gladstone has made for 16 1/2 acres on Midport Road between Veterans Memorial Park and the Walden Woods condominium complex. Although Gladstone is paying the city $400,000 an acre for 9.75 acres along the southern fringe of Riverwalk, he said the northern piece is much less valuable because of its thin, linear shape and lack of waterfront access.

Like a dozen other developers who once pondered a public-private partnership to develop all or part of the city's long-awaited north Riverwalk project, Gladstone was not interested in the northern piece until council members asked him to make a bid on it.
He offered $1 million for 16 1/2 acres and proposed to build 42 townhomes, two small restaurants, a bed-and-breakfast hotel, two buildings for retail, office and living quarters, and a canoe-rental area.

Assistant City Manager Bonnie Dyga said with building lots selling for up to $100,000 apiece, the land beneath the 42 townhomes should generate $4 million alone. Most council members said they agree the price is too low and will seek an appraisal before selling it.
The item was scheduled for council consideration Monday night but pulled by Gladstone, who wants to meet with council members individually.

"I can't go much higher than $1 million," said Gladstone, who is planning a more ambitious project at the southern Riverwalk parcel on Westmoreland Boulevard. "This is not big money-making stuff, and it's going to be an expensive project to produce."

He estimates it will cost $15 million to develop the buildings, access roads, parking lots, canoe and kayak launch and two wildlife viewing towers proposed.

Dyga said the council recently adopted a policy to have all city-owned land appraised before it is sold. Mayor Bob Minsky, a former real estate agent, would like to do just that. "Rather than give it away prematurely, I think it's advisable to wait," Minsky said. "I'm not willing to take a low value and (allow) that many homes," Councilwoman Michelle Berger said. "It's fine if it doesn't get developed. It's serving a purpose now."

Even Councilmen Chris Cooper and Jack Kelly, among the staunchest proponents of Riverwalk, said they have several questions about the proposal.

"It's not quite what I was looking for," said Cooper, who wants the district to extend north of Walden Woods to Midport Lake and Lyngate Park. "At some point it will appeal to somebody."
While Kelly said he's excited by the chance to jump-start Riverwalk, he wants to know how much Gladstone is spending on public amenities before agreeing to a price.

Vice Mayor Patricia Christensen said she's in no hurry to develop the parcel, part of the 24 acres the city received in a three-way land swap involving land across from St. Lucie Medical Center.
"I want to see what Mr. Gladstone puts on the southern piece," Christensen said. "The city may need to use this land for our own recreational purposes at some point."