If St. Lucie county commissioners get their way, the Port of Fort Pierce in central Florida will see a megayacht refit and repair yard be established in the near future.
The creation of such a megayacht facility has been discussed as far back as the early 2000s. It’s due to port officials wanting to revitalize the area, and due to overcapacity in South Florida. Just last November, two megayachts, Double Down (ex-Lady Lau) and Freedom, underwent refits at the Indian River Terminal in Fort Pierce, with contractors brought in from around the area and as far south as Fort Lauderdale. The Indian River Terminal is the only working portion of the port. But, now that several undeveloped acres are up for sale, officials will solicit proposals this summer to create a maritime complex.
The Port of Fort Pierce, north of the downtown section of the city, comprises 290 acres. Ninety-eight acres of it is undeveloped. Included in those 98 acres are 67 owned by a local businessman, Lloyd Bell. Bell has held the property for some time. Back in 2001, Lürssen expressed interest in acquiring it for a stateside facility. Bell decided commercial use was a better fit; that never came to pass, however. Bell has now offered the land for sale again.
“The Bell property is the heart of the port and key to any development at the port,” Howard Tipton, the county administrator, tells the Vero Beach Press Journal. “We would like to create a maritime complex of manufacturing and repair, with compatible industries.” That complex includes a maritime school, light cargo ship loading and unloading, and megayacht service work. The county is also seeking a long-term lease for 20 acres it owns, though it doesn’t have set ideas for the usage.
While the county serves as the overseer of the Port of Fort Pierce, the city’s planning and zoning rules take priority. It’s due to the waters being within the city itself. Both county and local officials agree that dredging needs to be done to welcome more megayachts. In some areas, according to Don West, the county public works director, depth is just four feet. “We want to be able to handle a ship of some size, and to do that we need at most 20 feet, at minimum eight feet,” he tells the newspaper.
Leave a Reply