PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The city of Port St. Lucie is working to grow its industrial footprint.
City leaders on Monday took the next step to welcome a 365,000-square-foot facility that will bring hundreds of jobs.
Cheney Bros. will be the newest tenant to join the 1,200-acre jobs corridor in Tradition known as Southern Grove.
After getting the site approved Monday, Cheney Bros. will now need to move forward with the final sale of the property before it can begin construction.
Company executives said they plan to be finished with the facility in early 2023 and have been ordering construction materials 60-80 weeks out to help combat the ongoing supply chain crisis.
State data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity shows roughly 62% of St. Lucie County travel across county lines for work.
Cheney Bros.' future Port St. Lucie location will bring 275 jobs to the city with more to follow after the completion of its first phase.
"We think because of these excellent job opportunities, you know, in this case, average wages are looking close to $65,000 a year, that some individuals would say, 'Wow, I can work right here in Port St. Lucie. I don't have to drive an hour or two every day to go to work,'" said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County.
The project with Cheney Bros. and Port St. Lucie has been in the works for more than two years and was recently paused during the pandemic.
"It's very important to us. It adds to our distribution network here in Florida between Ocala, Punta Gorda, Riviera Beach and now we're adding Port St. Lucie," said Warren Newell, director of development for Cheney Bros. "Of course, all the growth has been going north along the Treasure Coast, so as Cheney Bros., we're looking to just follow the restaurants and our customers."