More industrial land needed for research coast cluster
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By Jim Turner
Posted at 10:29 AM on December 05, 2007
Centex Homes has recently announced plans to convert 104 acres along Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce from residential to industrial, while ComNet Realty plans to make the Florida Furniture Mart, also in Fort Pierce, into 160,000-square-feet of lab and office space.
However, Larry Pelton, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, said that is not enough.
With construction of Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies on-going and the Mann Research Center LLC having entered into a contract with Core Communities to purchase 22 acres at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition, interest remains high in the region from other such companies, Pelton said.
Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow for the Urban Land Institute- South Florida/Caribbean District, said it's a good sign that the area is being talked about. While the Treasure Coast either comes down, or has landed depending upon who you talk to, after a decade of higher than high residential and commercial real estate sales, it's when no one is talking about you that you're future is bleak, Blank said.
Bank told more than 175 builders, bankers and Realtors gathered at the Tradition Town Hall Tuesday that they should expect to see the downward market trend continue through the first half of 2008. But they should not expect any recovery to be as strong as the local market saw just a few years ago when Port St. Lucie was ranked as one of the fast growing communities in the nation.
Still, the western Port St. Lucie community of Tradition that played a big role in the region's rapid growth, may also be a big reason the Treasure Coast should be optimistic about a soft landing for the falling market, Blank said.
"Focus on mixed use, 24 hour residential, they want to be closer to where they work and outlets, something like this (Tradition) which I had a chance to drive around is incredibly appealing," Blank said. "I think everyone should look at this as a real role model."
Blank added that "green" construction along with building transit oriented communities will be at the forefront of any upward trends.
According to Blank and other panels at the ULI meeting, there are other reasons to remain high on the Treasure Coast: cold weather will still drive people south to the sun; research will help build a base for Treasure Coast real estate growth during the next several years; and industrial growth from South Florida, the area that fueled the residential construction boom, will continue to move north.
Still, different sectors will face different futures.
One area that could suffer in the future: tourism. The hotel and tourism industry may struggle as businesses cutback on travel and promote teleconferencing, Blank said.
Posted at 10:29 AM on December 05, 2007
Centex Homes has recently announced plans to convert 104 acres along Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce from residential to industrial, while ComNet Realty plans to make the Florida Furniture Mart, also in Fort Pierce, into 160,000-square-feet of lab and office space.
However, Larry Pelton, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, said that is not enough.
With construction of Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies on-going and the Mann Research Center LLC having entered into a contract with Core Communities to purchase 22 acres at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition, interest remains high in the region from other such companies, Pelton said.
Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow for the Urban Land Institute- South Florida/Caribbean District, said it's a good sign that the area is being talked about. While the Treasure Coast either comes down, or has landed depending upon who you talk to, after a decade of higher than high residential and commercial real estate sales, it's when no one is talking about you that you're future is bleak, Blank said.
Bank told more than 175 builders, bankers and Realtors gathered at the Tradition Town Hall Tuesday that they should expect to see the downward market trend continue through the first half of 2008. But they should not expect any recovery to be as strong as the local market saw just a few years ago when Port St. Lucie was ranked as one of the fast growing communities in the nation.
Still, the western Port St. Lucie community of Tradition that played a big role in the region's rapid growth, may also be a big reason the Treasure Coast should be optimistic about a soft landing for the falling market, Blank said.
"Focus on mixed use, 24 hour residential, they want to be closer to where they work and outlets, something like this (Tradition) which I had a chance to drive around is incredibly appealing," Blank said. "I think everyone should look at this as a real role model."
Blank added that "green" construction along with building transit oriented communities will be at the forefront of any upward trends.
According to Blank and other panels at the ULI meeting, there are other reasons to remain high on the Treasure Coast: cold weather will still drive people south to the sun; research will help build a base for Treasure Coast real estate growth during the next several years; and industrial growth from South Florida, the area that fueled the residential construction boom, will continue to move north.
Still, different sectors will face different futures.
One area that could suffer in the future: tourism. The hotel and tourism industry may struggle as businesses cutback on travel and promote teleconferencing, Blank said.
