It’s one of the fastest growing cities in our area.
Now, Port St. Lucie city leaders are taking the next steps to make sure as the city keeps growing, there are also enough opportunities for people to work in the city.
“Historically we’ve been a great bedroom community. But, we’ve always wanted to be a full city where you could, in addition to living and playing, also have that work,” said Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec.
The city is redirecting its focus on an area of Tradition called Southern Grove. Some of the area is residential, but nearly 1250-acres have been designated as the city’s ‘jobs corridor’. Southern Grove encompasses the area west of I-95 between Becker Rd. and Tradition Parkway.
This week, the city has welcomed the Urban Land Institute to advise the city on exactly how to develop the area. In other words, which businesses would be most successful for the city, and also be beneficial for people living in the city who want to work in the city?
“Look at things like the number of people that commute outside of Port St. Lucie every morning. What kind of work do they do? Can we capture a percentage of that?” Oravec said. “That's what's supposed to fuel our economy today and especially tomorrow."
The city of Port St. Lucie approved the Southern Grove community in 2012.
The Urban Land Institute will spend the next week interviewing community stakeholders to get a feel for what would be best for the city. The group will give its report with findings and recommendations to city leaders Friday.