Will Vero Beach City Council move forward with Three Corners master plan? Vote planned Feb. 1

Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·3 min read

VERO BEACH — Voters could be getting closer to having their say about about what they want done with the city-owned property at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard, known as Three Corners.

The City Council is taking a final look Feb. 1 at the master development plan, and if it gets the green light there, it would go on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The city charter requires voter approval for any commercial use of the property.

The council's meeting has been moved to 6 p.m., to accommodate as many people from the public as possible.

Vero Beach has been working from this iteration of a conceptual plan for the three corners it owns at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard. This plan was part of the Vero Beach City Council agenda Nov. 16, 2021. On that date, consultants suggested moving some things around.
Vero Beach has been working from this iteration of a conceptual plan for the three corners it owns at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard. This plan was part of the Vero Beach City Council agenda Nov. 16, 2021. On that date, consultants suggested moving some things around.

The council last year approved a master conceptual plan, which includes commercial and recreation uses on the two sides of the property. The plan is mostly unchanged from what consultant consultant Andres Duany created two years ago, said City Manager Monte Falls.

More: After standing O, don't destroy Duany's 3 corners plan by nitpicking it to death | Opinion

The City charter restricts use of the property to recreation and government purposes, so voters must approve any commercial use, in this case the the hotel, waterfront promenade, restaurants and retailers planned for the north side, Planning Director Jason Jeffries said.

The south side, now home to the city wastewater-treatment plant, would be kept as a recreational and cultural area, according to the plan. The Youth Sailing Foundation is leasing part of that property, while some of it would be kept as open green space for festivals and overflow parking, Jeffries said. The arts and cultural component, which would include one of the two existing water towers, would be leased to an arts organization.

While on a tour through the former Vero Beach power plant on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, City Council members, community members and the steering committee got a first-hand look of the inside of the building. The 12-member steering committee was created last month to help guide the process of what to do with the city-owned three corners at the 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard intersection.

More: Will developers really want to build the Three Corners project? Vero Beach to ask them

More: Consultant: Vero Beach master plan for hotel, restaurants would be viable use of Three Corners

The master plan offers no guarantees the 61-year-old power plant, which closed in 2015, will be saved, Falls said. The plan is to repurpose the power plant, known as Big Blue, into a hotel and event center only if feasible, Falls said.

"We're not going to dictate (to developers) that Big Blue has to be kept at all costs," Falls said.

Marketing consultants have told the City Council the master plan can work. If the council approves it, the city will solicit developers for interest in building the commercial component. Developers, who would pay for the project, would be offered a long-term lease for the property, Falls said.

Qualified developers would be asked to submit proposals only if the referendum passes in November, Falls said.

If the referendum fails, the city still could develop the south side of the property as planned because the charter allows the proposed recreational and arts uses.Without the commercial component on the north side, city officials say, the future use of the property would change.

"You would limit what could go there," Falls said. But, according to Jeffies, "It would never be a destination." Jeffries said.

Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com or 772-978-2235.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vero Beach to vote Feb. 1 on Three Corners master development plan