PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Tradition area of Port St. Lucie has been around for about 20 years, but it has recently seen explosive growth.
WPTV spoke with city leaders and residents about the challenges of making sure there are enough goods and services as the population continues to grow.
Enjoying the fountain on a recent sunny day, Ben Swalwell said Tradition is a wonderful place to visit with his wife and young daughter.
"For a 3-year-old, it's great, the splash pads, the parks," Swalwell said.
But as a high school teacher, he said he hears complaints from his students.
"Although the city is big itself, there's not as much to do," Swalwell said. "They wish there were more amenities geared toward the younger kids."
Cindy Jackson grew up in Port St. Lucie, moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, but returned with her family.
"I moved down here with a handful of teenagers, four girls, and they just keep saying, 'Where are all the young people? And why is everyone so old?" Jackson said.
Mayor Shannon Martin said every year they conduct surveys to find out what residents want in Port St. Lucie.
"Obviously, everyone wants a Costco, but we know that's going to Stuart," Martin said. "Everyone wants a Trader Joe's or a Cheesecake Factory."
But wants aren't always fulfilled since the city does not select the brands that come to the area.
"We could have all the wants we want, but if we don't meet their demographics, if we don't meet their disposable income levels, if we don't meet those criteria that these businesses are looking for, then it's less likely they're going to be here," Martin said.
And that's a conundrum for city leaders.
With nearly 240,000 people, this is no longer a small town.
But while it may have a small-town feel, residents want big-city amenities.
"I love the Fresh Market, I was thrilled when it opened," resident Pamela Harris said.
And other national chains have opened with more to come.
"If you look at the Village Parkway corridor, in the beginning, it was just the Landing at Tradition, Tradition Square, those commercial businesses," Martin said. "Now, you're seeing it start to funnel throughout the corridor, and it's now down to Discovery [Way] where we have commercial businesses. We have the hotels going in."
Another issue with a rapidly growing population is whether or not there are enough people to take care of residents if they get sick.
"As far as physicians go, I think the biggest area of gap is primary care," Dr. Rishi Singh, vice president and chief medical officer of Cleveland Clinic Martin hospitals. "It's a huge need across the country, and it's even bigger in this area."
Singh said they have 5,000 employees in their three-hospital system, which includes Tradition and Martin North and South. Many employees work at all three locations.
"Since 2019, when Cleveland Clinic essentially integrated into Martin Health, we have increased staffing by 15%, and all of our staff across the board," Singh said.
The doctor said he's encouraged by the opening of a new nursing school at Indian River State College to grow health care providers locally.
The hospital also works with local schools and provides scholarship opportunities in an effort "to help them pick us as their employer and pick a career in health care," according to Singh.
Cleveland Clinic is also scaling up its call center to handle a 30% increase in the number of calls coming into its facilities.
From health care to hospitality, several sectors are addressing the growing pains of the constantly growing city.
