DOWNTOWN
AUDUBON DEVELOPMENT
The proposed $85 million King’s Landing development, seen here in the proposal
looking east from North Second Street, will include a hotel, restaurants,
shops, offices, condominiums and townhomes. Audubon Development hopes
to break ground on the project this summer.
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KING’S LANDING
The 7.2 acres between Indian River Drive and Second
Street in downtown Fort Pierce that formerly housed the H.D.
King electric plant could be transformed into an $85 million
development featuring a hotel, townhomes, condominiums,
retail and office space.
The Fort Pierce City Commission in June selected Audubon
Development as master developer of a plan called King’s
Landing. The centerpiece would be a 100- to 125-room hotel,
surrounded by upscale townhomes and 60 condominiums,
and apartments fronting onto the Indian River Lagoon. Forty
thousand square feet of retail, 14,000 square feet of restaurant
and office space will complete King’s Landing.
The plant was demolished in 2008 and more than $4 million
in city and federal soil remediation efforts rendered the
land usable again. Over the years, a number of community
planning meetings have made it clear what the people would
like to see on this important vacant property: a hotel, retail
stores and restaurants, offices and upscale housing.
Those elements would extend downtown northwards and
breathe new life into the city center. Incorporating residential
development would add to the city’s vibrancy, especially
outside work hours.
While the city is contributing the land worth $2.8 million,
master developer Audubon is responsible for installing all
the infrastructure — street layout, utilities and building pads
for specific users who will come later — about $2.5 million
worth of work. Individual parcels will then be sold to a hotel
operator and builders for the condos and townhouses.
“We expect to break ground in June or July 2020, with occupancy
by November 2021,” said Dale Matteson, Audubon’s
president and CEO. “We’re currently in the permitting, analysis
and utilities stage — all pretty unglamorous stuff.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the retail and commercial
opportunities. We want to reflect the community and to make
King’s Landing a destination.”
The site is unique. It’s technically called “urban infill,’’
meaning the property has been filled in from the adjoining
Indian River Lagoon. At the same time, it’s in a town enjoy- >>
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