HUTCHINSON ISLAND
SOUTH BEACH
GETS NEW LOOK
Sometimes the way to move forward is to take a giant
8
Road work, park construction improve appearance
leap and hope something good will come of it.
Fort Pierce native Brian Paul spotted his business
opportunity about a year ago on South Beach and
jumped on it. A motel in a prime place was for sale.
No matter that the 10-year road reconstruction project on
South Hutchinson Island had already caused major headaches
for businesses from one end of Seaway Drive to the
other. Or, that the work was far from finished. Paul, longtime
owner of Pelican Seafood, knew the beachfront location
across from South Jetty Park was right, and he hoped that
by the time he was ready to open, the road project would be
nearly finished.
It took months to complete the major renovations needed
to get the former Beachwood Motel in tiptop shape, but
Paul renamed it the Inlet Beach Resort and Inlet Beach Bar &
Grille, and opened it in July.
“The road still wasn’t finished when I opened,” he said.
“But now that it is, what they did is fantastic.” Patrons now
have access from Seaway and from Ocean Drive, which also
underwent reconstruction south to Ocean Village.
More entrepreneurs may follow in Paul’s footsteps. The >>
CHAD WARD
South Beach is gleaming with new features — new sidewalks, a new roadway, new landscaping, new turtle-friendly streetlights, new roundabouts, new
parking, newly expanded South Jetty Park, new bike lanes and new paving all the way to Jensen Beach.
BY SUSAN BURGESS
Ellyse Trethric
South Jetty Park still has everyone’s favorite
amenities including a fish cleaning table
and picnic tables on the water.