FORT PIERCE – South Hutchinson Island’s Seaway Drive could see major hotel, condominium, marina, retail and dining development, including a 23,000-square-foot convention center, according to plans submitted by two separate developers seeking City of Fort Pierce approval.
An expansive, five-building high-rise plan has already gotten substantial approval from city planners for development of Causeway Cove, on an $8 million land parcel at 601 Seaway Dr. It’s currently occupied by a 50-year-old, 1,500-square-foot building with adjacent deck and dock.
Records show that project is headed by Ashton DePeyster, a Palm Beach philanthropist and real estate developer, under the name G. FLASH General Partners Inc., West Palm Beach.
A second development encompassing 1710-1820 Seaway Dr., located between Square Grouper and Manatee Landing restaurants, will begin formal public review Thursday before the city’s Technical Review Committee. The project, called Boardwalk on the Inlet, is under development by Woods Family Limited Partnership II, led by Sanford L. Woods Sr., of Tampa, owner of car dealerships in Florida and Michigan, including Treasure Coast Lexus, Fort Pierce.
That partnership already owns six land parcels on Seaway Drive it says are currently leased to the city for overflow parking, serving public beach access at the inlet and businesses.
Boardwalk on the Inlet proposes construction of two towers. The East Building would include 127 hotel rooms, a cigar lounge, restaurants, rooftop terrace, conference center and ground-level retail space.
The West Building is designed for 54 residential condos, 48 hotel rooms, hotel amenities, a fast-casual restaurant, a private club and retail spaces.
The larger Causeway Cove project includes a complex of five buildings, ranging from 14-17 stories tall. The largest proposes 180 condos, a 204-room hotel, a convention center, bar/restaurant, retail and club space. A second building proposes 365 residential condos, ranging from studios, 1- and 2-bedrooms, while a third building shows 40 condos ranging from 1- to 3-bedrooms and a 203-room hotel. Two other buildings will each feature 164 condominium units, and nearly 14,000 square feet of retail space.
The city has said 40 percent of the residential units must be maintained as “affordable housing” for 30 years. No dollar figure is listed in the proposal defining price ranges for affordable housing.
One transportation study has suggested that Seaway Drive be widened from two to four lanes from Binney Drive to South Causeway Park and that a dedicated northbound right-turn lane is needed at Seaway Drive and U.S. 1.
Causeway Cove is proposed in an area that is currently zoned for that use and city staff says the project “has demonstrated environmental compliance.” The city set some additional conditions that must be met to accommodate transportation demands. But city officials have said the project is “consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan” and “Land Development requirements.”
Boardwalk developers say their project “will provide the City of Fort Pierce with both enhanced property and sales tax revenues as well as employment opportunities for over 100 (estimated) positions in support of the hospitality side of the project.”
Still, new South Hutchinson Island development has elicited opposition from some community members who argue it will diminish the area’s “old-time Florida vibe” and replace it with the more commercial tenor of South Florida’s more populated coastal tourist locations.