Hundreds of residents from Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce gather at Shoppes at the Heart Plaza located at Southwest Village Parkway and Southwest Discovery Way, for Mattamy Homes’ public grand opening of their Heart in the Park sculpture at the Shoppes at the Heart Plaza on Aug. 23, 2025, in the Tradition development in Port St. Lucie. The 73-foot $7million sculpture, paid for by Mattamy Homes, is world's tallest heart sculpture.

Hundreds of residents from Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce gather at Shoppes at the Heart Plaza located at Southwest Village Parkway and Southwest Discovery Way, for Mattamy Homes’ public grand opening of their Heart in the Park sculpture at the Shoppes at the Heart Plaza on Aug. 23, 2025, in the Tradition development in Port St. Lucie. The 73-foot $7million sculpture, paid for by Mattamy Homes, is world’s tallest heart sculpture.

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I take my family to see the world’s tallest heart sculpture each time they visit the Treasure Coast.

The 73-foot-tall, stainless steel heart sculpture at the intersection of Southwest Village Parkway and Southwest Discovery Wayin Port St. Lucie has been compared to St. Louis’ Gateway Arch and Chicago’s Cloud Gate (colloquially known as The Bean).

My family enjoys grabbing brunch at Sara’s Kitchen or dinner and drinks at Southpaw Brewing Company. Afterward, we’ll walk around the sculpture and marvel at how our reflections twist and turn within the stainless steel. Next, we’ll sit down and savor a gooey sweet treat at Peach Cobbler Factory. I might even pick up some groceries at the nearby Aldi to cap off our trip.

Heart in the Park has shaped up to be a defining symbol – and a literal reflection – of our community. Funnily, most people I talk to about the sculpture are either apathetic or vitriolic.

To paraphrase some of the community’s critiques: It’s tacky. It’s blinding. It’s a waste of money (the $7 million sculpture was paid by Mattamy Homes without public funds). It’s a concrete slab that’s not really much of a park at all.

Heart in the Park? More like “Heart in the Parking Lot.”

Last year, I brought these criticisms to Jefre Figueras Manuel, widely known as JEFRË, who spent years designing and developing the sculpture. He has a stacked portfolio of stainless-steel monuments. But Heart in the Park is among his largest and most controversial. Despite harsh words levied by critics, JEFRË was proud of his work and seemed to appreciate the 73-foot-wide splash his sculpture was making in the community.

“Port St. Lucie has the biggest heart in the world,” JEFRË said. “I tried to do that in a literal sense. Obviously, art is subjective. That is the beauty of public art.”

Heart in the Park was commissioned by Mattamy Homes in 2021. A few years later, the City Council approved a new slogan for the city: “The Heart of the Treasure Coast.”

Construction began March 2024 and wrapped up August 2025.

It’s gaudy. It’s commercial. It’s suburban. But that’s what much of the Treasure Coast is. I find it telling when people rag on Heart in the Park. It’s one of the only notable third spaces in Port St. Lucie.

It’s shiny. It’s fun. It’s worth a visit. It’s also hard to miss.

Jack Randall is TCPalm’s economy and real estate reporter. You can reach him at jack.randall@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Visiting Florida? Be sure to see Heart in the Park in Port St. Lucie

Reporting by Jack Randall, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers

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This story was originally published November 1, 2026 at 5:00 AM.