STUART, Fla. — The city of Stuart has one of southeast Florida's most popular downtowns.
Now, city leaders are looking to give a boost to an often-overlooked neighborhood not far from the city center.
Along Martin Luther King Boulevard in East Stuart, sits a 2.5-acre parcel of land next to the police and fire station.
Right now, among several empty buildings, only the local NAACP chapter is at the site. But chapter President Jimmy Smith thinks better times are not far away.
"That'd be great to have more companies," Smith said.
Using grant money, the city this week agreed to purchase the property for $1.6 million.
"In this project, when it's done, it will probably do more for redevelopment in East Stuart than anything we've done in the past," Mayor Troy McDonald said.
The mayor said on their wish list is a partnership with Indian River State College to bring vocational training classes to the area.
"It could be cosmetology. It could be graphic design," McDonald said. "It could be nursing skills. It could be automotive repair."
On top of that, the plan is to develop a small business incubator center.
"It's a low-cost space where a business can have an address, a place to go," McDonald said.
The transformation of the property is just one of several investments being made in the Martin Luther King Boulevard corridor.
A 10-unit apartment complex is also being renovated and new rehabbed space is looking for a tenant.
"Economic justice, as I like to call it, is really what helps uplift people," McDonald said.
It wouldn't be the first business incubator on the Treasure Coast to make a difference.
A nonprofit transformed the former Means Court School into the Incubate Neighborhood Center in Fort Pierce.
Smith said the key is to keep capital in the neighborhood.
"Self-sufficient with economic development and money circulating in the community," Smith said.
The city is expected to close on the property by January.
It is unclear when a more detailed plan for the property will be ready.