PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Without its own stretch of beach, the city of Port St. Lucie has been working for years to create an inland waterfront destination.
"I like everything about it. It’s beautiful," said Allen Richard.
Richard and his wife love the recently expanded boardwalk along the St. Lucie River.
"We come here like twice a day, meet people, say hi, very friendly," Richard said.
Extending the boardwalk again is just one project coming to the city’s Port District.
"The Port District is an area where people can really connect to the river," said CRA Project Manager Jennifer Davis.
A new playground is on tap this year and a developer is proposing a different kind of all-ages dining concept.
"To build what we call a food village, a dining village here on the river that wouldn’t offer just one dining opportunity, but a few smaller venues where you could get food and then have dining outside," Davis said.
Part-time Floridian Paul Sparkman doesn't just play golf when he visits.
"Another reason is to go to new restaurants, different restaurants," Sparkman said.
While he's excited about the proposal, Richard and his wife are a little more cautious.
"And it's up high where you can sit and see the water and watch people walking, that would be something nice," April Richard said. "One restaurant, OK. But to have a bunch of them I think is going to spoil it."
To learn more about the development here at the port and other projects taking place around the city, you can take part in the Citizen Summit. There’s a virtual event on Feb. 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and an in-person event on Feb. 5 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Event Center.