King's Landing project will revitalize downtown Fort Pierce ... eventually | Opinion

King's Landing will be a project that transforms downtown Fort Pierce for the better.

After the site at 311 Indian River Drive is fully developed with a hotel, housing and commercial space, it's going to make the central city area a magnet for people in a way it's never been.

There will be more people living and working in downtown Fort Pierce day and night, which is bound to attract even more businesses and liven up the local entertainment scene. Rather than being a place where (with a few exceptions) the streets could be rolled up after 5 p.m. on weekdays, downtown Fort Pierce will have more vitality extending well into the evening hours seven days a week.

But it isn't happening overnight. And it won't.

How much longer must we wait? Put it this way: There are seniors in high school now who will be of legal drinking age before the rooftop bar people hope will be a feature on the development's tallest building opens.

It's been more than a year since the Fort Pierce City Commission approved a site plan that includes the hotel, more than 100 condominium units, 10 luxury villas, several restaurants and shops.

Audubon Development, the company overseeing the project, closed purchase on the former H.G. King Power Plant site last April.

Dale Matteson, the company's chief executive officer, said he expected to take over a property that had been completely cleared and ready for development. But there was a surprise.

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Matteson said workers have spent 10 months excavating concrete that once made up the power plant's foundations. Some of the pilings were nine feet thick.

"This stuff wasn't supposed to be there, but it was," Matteson said.

In all, Matteson said his crew removed about 1,500 tons of concrete, which was donated to a foundation that creates artificial reefs. Presumably, the power plant's final remains will end up as a habitat for fish and other sea critters somewhere near Fort Pierce Inlet.

Matteson said the total cost of the concrete removal work was about $400,000. The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency reimbursed $170,000 of that amount, but has no plans to pay for the rest.

According to documentation provided by the city, $170,000 is the amount of reimbursement specified in Audubon's development agreement.

Matteson said he's awaiting approval of permits needed for the first phase of the project, which includes the hotel and the 10 luxury villas.

Already, Audubon has contacted prospective villa buyers who put their names on a reservation list. The villa prices are starting at $1.5 million (who said living like a king was going to be inexpensive?). People on the list have until March 31 to indicate if they plan to move forward with their purchases.

Matteson said he expects construction to begin "in the next 90 days." He estimated the villas will take about 18 months to build.

The hotel is expected to take about two years to finish, so the grand opening may not be until 2026.

According to city officials, Audubon must begin construction by Sept. 20 and the first phase must be completed no later than Feb. 5, 2026.

Paul Thomas, the city's building director, indicated there are still some bureaucratic hurdles Audubon must clear before the permits are finalized and construction can commence.

"They have not applied for a building permit for vertical construction since they have not been approved by all review agencies in the development review (DPCR) phase of the process," Thomas emailed a few days ago in response to questions about the project. "There are various departments that are still waiting to receive responses from the contractor/design team addressing deficiencies that they were informed of in September 2022. Once all the DPCR review agencies have approved the application, then the contractor can submit the building permit application for review. After approval by the Building Department and the SLC [St. Lucie County] Fire District, the building permit will be issued and construction may commence."

I understand not everyone in Fort Pierce is rooting for the developers to succeed. King's Landing has been a controversial project, particularly since Audubon made (and was granted) a request to increase the height of the project's tallest building from eight to 11 floors.

Some see that as a step toward "Browardization" of Fort Pierce, the first of many skyscrapers that will eventually dominate the city's skyline.

It's understandable people want to proceed with caution. Residents on the Treasure Coast should be mindful of how the region develops and remain wary of the mistakes our South Florida neighbors have made.

However, in this case, I think the fears are unfounded. Fort Pierce is a long way from becoming Fort Lauderdale. And there isn't much available land downtown for skyscraper development, even if developers suddenly decided that was a new trend they wanted to exploit.

King's Landing is being built in phases, so it's true economic and social impact won't be felt until several years from now. When it is, I believe it's going to be worth the wait.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at blake.fontenay@tcpalm.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: King's Landing is moving forward, just not at warp speed | Opinion