Construction 'imminent' on $140 million King's Landing development in downtown Fort Pierce

FORT PIERCE — Permitting is done and meaningful construction is "imminent" on the long-anticipated King's Landing development in downtown after more than a year of hurdles, according to the developer.

Over the next week, 500 dump trucks will be coming onto the site to fill in a hole left when concrete was dug out and removed, said Audobon Development President and CEO Dale Matteson.

Some equipment already has been moved onto the property.

"We've got the site with a soil fence around it. It was put up last Friday. Some cranes arrived (Thursday), so equipment is coming onsite to prepare to receive all of this dirt," Matteson said. "It's imminent, it's just any day when they can make it all happen."

The $140 million development — between Indian River Drive and Second Street on the site of the former H. D. King Power Plant — is planned to include more than 100 hotel rooms, multiple restaurants and shops and more than 100 condos. It has also been floated as a location for the promised Treasure Coast Brightline train station, something Matteson acknowledged still is a possibility.

Construction, though, is expected to take a while. Once the hole is filled, Matteson said, ground-level and below- ground infrastructure will take about 18 months to complete. Then will come vertical construction, with the complex ultimately topping out at 11 stories. That will take about three years, Matteson said.

Some aspects will come online sooner than others. Ten villas are to be built across Moore's Creek from the main development, with construction there to begin during the 18 months of groundwork at the main site, Matteson said.

Matteson said it feels "anticlimactic" to finally begin meaningful construction. The project has experienced a number of delays and has had to gain multiple levels of approval from the City Commission and the Planning Department, including an increase of the area's height limit.

One delay came from the 1,500 tons of concrete that once made up the power plant's foundation. Audobon was not made aware of that material before beginning the project, Matteson said, and the company spent about $400,000 removing it and donating it to be used for artificial reefs. The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency covered $170,000 of the cost.

"People say, 'Well, when are you going to the groundbreaking?' And for me, I broke ground a year ago when we had to get the concrete out of the ground that wasn't supposed to be there," Matteson said.

Further delays came from planning changes. After hearing complaints about the design of the villas from Edgartown residents, Matteson said, he made changes but without realizing those changes would require additional city approvals.

"We finally have all of our permits in hand. That happened last week," Matteson said.

Work is now slated to begin, more than a year after the city first granted the approval needed for construction.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Large downtown Fort Pierce project moves forward, prepares to build