Development in Port Saint Lucie (Orlando, Port St. Lucie: waterpark, income, shop)

[pslnewby]

I was wondering if anyone knows if they are going to build the largest mall in America in Port Saint Lucie or not? Ive been hearing rumors that they have but I cant find anything on the web about it.

[julz]

I heard something about this as well but there don't seem to be any facts to back it up.I heard it was to be in the Becker Rd area.

[pslOldTimer]

I guess sometimes being the old timer can hurt. I haven't even heard such a rumor! There have been plenty of rumors over the years, however, at one point it was rumored we were going to have a pirate-oriented theme park (since we're on the Treasure Coast) and another time it was going to be a major auto racing facility.

[dynamic8]

Here's the scoop. Taubman Company is proposing a large regional mall in southern PSL. It should be the size of wellington green. I even heard talk of a waterpark! Who knows? Anyway, it will be very large and is scheduled to be completed in 2011, if all goes as planned.

[ddlove01]

They've been talking about a waterpark and a Six Flags in this area for over 10 years (I'm pretty sure old timer would agree with me). They haven't even finished the West Virginia Corridor which they started talking about 7 years ago. Build it, they will come.

I really hope they build the mall. You have to go all the way down to Jensen Beach or Vero. Sometimes the traffic is really rough. I've been here since '93. I remember when you could get to the mall in 10 mins from ANY part of PSL. Those days are over <sigh>. OK, OK, I'll get off the soapbox. : )

Here's the link in case anyone wants to read about the plans:
News Article (http://plainvanillashell.com/article.asp?ID=7870 - broken link)

The Mall at Wellington Green

[pslOldTimer]

Oh, they're definitely planning another mall near Tradition, and there will probably be one in the Becker Rd area -- the city is setting that corridor up to be a showplace shopping area. The question I heard was regarding the "largest mall in America", and that I most definitely doubt.

As far as a waterpark is concerned, not only is ddlove01 correct, but it was actually the city, itself, that was talking about building one, much like having a municipal golf course. They went so far as to visit at least one other city that owns its own waterpark, and there were serious discussions about it -- maybe even one of the ubiquitous consultants. Some cooler heads prevailed, however, and said that the city should leave private-type businesses to private business.

[dynamic8]

Pslot, I agree. They probably will not build the largest mall in tradition. The city already has too much traffic to deal with, and we are still growing. I'm glad they aren't, because I use i-95 all the time, and it would be a real hassle navigating around with a mega mall! By the way, thanks for that link, ddlove01.

[dynamic8]

Taubman's portfolio looks promising. Mall at Millenia in Orlando was created by Taubman and Forbes Company. That seems to be the style for malls nowadays. It's a very nice mall, near downtown orlando.

[TriMT7]

I just don't know if the area can "handle" an upscale mall, which is why I doubt anything will be built that is over by Tradition. North Palm Beach County People who want to shop high-end stores will simply hop on down to the Gardens Mall, with it's ever-increasing supply of ultra-high end stores, and people in Stuart will still have Treasure Coast Mall (though that isn't exactly a classy mall, it's still got many of the good "mall basics")...... is there enough people in the Western part of Port St. Lucie with disposable income to support a full-fledged mall? I dunno about that.....

[dynamic8]

To answer that question, yes. Now it may not seem like now, but with developments like Tesoro and Verano, and the proximity to PGA, I'm sure it will have some upscale options. Remember, PSL is only 45 years old, compared to Palm Beach, that has been around for quite some time.