St. Lucie growth sparks battle

By ALEXI HOWK
FORT PIERCE — Gearing up to fight what they describe could be an uphill battle with the county, city officials are preparing to pull out all the stops to prevent a Fort Lauderdale developer from building 974 multi-family units on land preserved for light-industrial development.

Fort Pierce Angle Road Trust and Riverstone Metzger LLC, comprised of three partners based out of Maryland and Fort Lauderdale, is proposing to build "attainable workforce" housing on 75 acres on what some officials say could eventually become withering industrial land meant to attract businesses and job growth.

"This might be the first of many battles with the county on many projects that affect Fort Pierce where traffic and roads aren't addressed," said Fort Pierce City Commissioner Eddie Becht.
The property, west of Angle Road and east of Fort Pierce Westwood High School, lies within the city's utility service boundaries and will eventually be annexed into the city.

City officials complained the county is approving development projects that will largely affect the city without taking into consideration the city's concerns.

The city's main objections to the project are that it's too dense, poses a
traffic nightmare and lessens the amount of land needed to attract businesses to the area.
"Here's a huge development right adjacent to a school in an area that needs road improvements," said Mayor Bob Benton. "The county has no plans for improvements to Angle Road and we don't have the infrastructure to support this when we have thousands of other homes going up in the area."

Last week, the county's Planning and Zoning Board also had issues with the plan and postponed sending it on to the County Commission for a vote until Aug. 17.

"It's not appropriate to put, in my opinion, residential next to industrial. It's not compatible with the surrounding uses. That's the bottom line," Board Chairman Bill Hearn said Monday.
Jan Stewart, one of the principles involved in the project, said he and his partners have either met or will meet all of the county's requirements.

"We have been working with the county for two years on this," he said. "We've done everything they've asked us to do so far. Our sincere objective is to create affordable housing for St. Lucie County. There's no other product out there. That is the concern that is driving this residential development we're trying to put together."

Stewart estimates prices for the units to be between $150,000 to $200,000, though he recognizes the prices could fluctuate depending on shifts in the market.

"Because of the density the county commissioners approved, you can build a less expensive product with a higher density," he said. "The land is less expensive per unit."

Proposed development
• 974-unit proposed development on 75 acres zoned light industrial west of Angle Road and east of Fort Pierce Westwood High School.
• 720 three-story condominiums and 254 two-story town homes.
• About 13 units per acre.
• Condominiums from 1,200 to 2,400 square feet. Town homes from 800 to 1,700 square feet.
• The developer is Fort Pierce Angle Road Trust and Riverstone Metzger LLC of Fort Lauderdale.
• The County Commission on May 15 approved a future land-use amendment allowing high-density residential. The amendment has been adopted by the state Department of Community Affairs.
• The county Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the proposal last week and postponed the plan until Aug. 17 until conditions are met.