PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. — Tradition in Port St. Lucie could soon be getting an "entertainment district" full of fine dining and restaurants, nightlife, retail and more.
This month, Port St. Lucie City Council members voted to start a land deal negotiation with Gustavo Lumer, a real estate developer from Miami, for the 100,000 acre plot of land between Southwest Village Parkway and Interstate 95.
The district, if built, would be located north of the Amazon warehouse by the planned Costco Distribution Center.
"With so many homes coming to the area there’s a need for entertainment, a need for places to walk to dinner," said Lumer.
Lumer is already putting in four restaurants, including Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse and First Watch on the empty plot of land near the Panda Express and Dunkin Donuts on Southwest Village Parkway.
"We ran out of room," Lumer told WPTV's Kate Hussey. "We have larger restaurants that want to come, more investment and some entertainment, some indoor sports."
The district would cost about $6.8 million dollars, which Lumer would fund. It's one of several parcels of land in that area that could be developed, and would likely rake in thousands if not millions of dollars to the county and city.
"It’s going to generate some great jobs," said Pete Tesch, economic development council director for St. Lucie County. "We are working with the developer through their site plan and development and we'll consider doing a detailed economic impact analysis once we know the capital investment, jobs and consumer spending habits."
Tradition resident Steven Widows was thrilled to hear about the potential plans.
"This area is growing tremendously, especially the past couple of years, and there’s not enough entertainment so to speak for it," Widows. said “I think having something local would be smart. Maybe a little nightlife action, maybe some shopping, a movie theater, a breakfast spot please?"
David Reeves, who moved to Port St. Lucie recently, said he saw both positive and negatives to the project.
"It's the way it’s wielded, whether for good or for bad," Reeves said. "With the development there’s going to be more congestion, more people, the roads are going to be harder to traverse."
Resident Trina Long, who has lived in Port St. Lucie since 1999, said she feared the added development would bring more congestion and confusion.
"The houses are being built so fast, people are coming and they can't keep up," said Long. "It's so congested and crowded, what used to be a 5 to 10 minute drive can be 15 or 20 minutes now."
Lumer addressed those concerns, and said he took traffic into consideration before planning the project.
He told WPTV's Kate Hussey that he partially chose the district's location because of its current infrastructure, not in spite of.
"It's an easy way in and an easy way out," Lumer, of Village Parkway, said. "We will build enough parking spots for everybody so there's plenty of space and we wont create a traffic jam.
"So, you don't foresee any backups that would be caused by a project like this?" asked Hussey.
"No, I don't think so," Lumer replied.
WPTV reached out to the city of Port St. Lucie, who declined to comment since no official project plan has been submitted.
However, in the city's meeting earlier this month, Mayor Shannon Martin said the plan fits in with the city's 2018 Master Plan.
Remember, nothing is approved yet aside from the city moving forward to negotiate a potential land sale.
If that eventually goes through, Lumer said the next step would be development.
