FACILITIES
58
RESEARCH COAST
people have put a lot
of time and effort into
this project, which is
90 percent complete.
I’m walking in after
all of the hard work
has been done.’’
For the last several
years, TCERDA has
been designing and
developing the park
with an emphasis
on water management,
green energy,
conservation, strict
building standards,
native plant landscaping, wildlife management and public
meeting places. “We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount
this past year,” says DeVries. “For the last few years we’ve
had a headwind. We’ve wrestled with annexation, provision
of utilities, land transfers and control issues, zoning and entitlement.”
But DeVries is proud that the group has received
approval from the South Florida Water Management District
and the Army Corps of Engineers, among others, to create a
134-acre campus to house 1.3 million square feet of research
and education facilities.
The park, at King’s Highway and Pruitt Research Center
Road in Fort Pierce, comprises1,650 acres anchored by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 170,000-square-foot
Horticultural Research Laboratory and the university’s
90,000-square-foot Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences facility.
DeVries is pleased that the St. Lucie County School Board
now has title to 60 acres within the park. This opportunity
opens the land to house a K-16 school that DeVries describes
as a lifetime learning facility. In keeping with its focus on education,
TCERDA’s Board agreed that future lease covenants
require park lessees to collaborate with the school system.
And with the county conveying a 97-year lease to TCERDA,
the Park is ready to get its “horizontal” infrastructure in
place — roads, parking lots, landscaping, a lake, an amphitheater
and a fire suppression water system so the “vertical”
structures can go up.
“Our focus is to recruit and retain research institutions to
propel the economy, add jobs and diversify our economic
base,” says Melville. “This Park has a lot of competitive
advantages. We just need to go out and tell the story. We are
playing to the strengths that we already have such as the
agri-sciences. Where in the world can you find a location that
has labs, greenhouses, and fields all in the same location?”
Melville adds that the area boasts two growing seasons, making
it even more attractive to research.
DeVries, who is also chairman a statewide organization
called the Florida Research Park Network, points out that the
Park has 40 nationally recognized senior scientists conducting
research onsite. “If the U.S. economy has any prospect of
improving, it’s going to start with research,” says DeVries.
“Our current scientists can help further private enterprise,”
says Melville. “We have about 1,200 acres of research park to
fill up. When you start the job multipliers, it’s significant. The
quality of jobs will be high, the skill sets great and the partnerships
for local businesses will be fantastic.” DeVries agrees that
the future economy is, indeed, a knowledge-based economy.
TO BUSINESS BANKING THAT
WORKS FOR YOU
TO A MORE HUMAN WAY TO BANK
800.706.9991 | SeacoastNational.com
*Loans subject to credit approval.
4899 Seacoast Indian River MAG April_outlines.indd 1 2/24/12 4:28 PM
A front-end loader clears land at the Treasure
Coast Research Park.
/www.seacoastnational.com
/SeacoastNational.com
