PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The City of Port St. Lucie has finalized a deal to purchase roughly 111.59 acres of surplus land from the St. Lucie County School District at their Sept. 22 meeting.
The acquisition was approved by the city commission and is aimed at furthering the city’s goals of expanding conservation areas and parks.
The land, which the school district declared surplus after determining it was no longer needed for educational purposes, is located across multiple sites in Port St. Lucie.
One location includes two parcels off Walton Road and Tiffany Avenue, each roughly 20 acres. Another larger parcel, roughly 73 acres, is located off Southbend Boulevard.
Jennifer Davis, Director of the Port St. Lucie Community Redevelopment Agency, described the purchase as a significant opportunity.
"A really great opportunity to partner with the St. Lucie County School District with some property they no longer need for and recently declared surplus by their board," she said. "It is roughly 106 acres."
The acquisition will be paid over the course of three years. While the full payment won’t be made immediately, Davis clarified that the city will take full ownership of the land once the deal is finalized.
"Our agreement with the school board is for an $11.6 million dollar acquisition," she said.
The purchase will allow the city to expand its green space and parks, in line with the goals set out in its 20-Year Parks & Recreation Master Plan.
"Not only will the disposition of these properties assist the school district and some projects they're working on in the future, but it also helps the city achieve some of our goals," Davis said. "Conservation land, green space, additions to our parks program, things like that."
Mayor Shannon Martin also expressed her support for the purchase, emphasizing its alignment with citizens' desires for more green space.
"One of the things we've talked about for several years, especially as it relates to our own citizens, who have told us in a citizen survey that they do want us to spend funds on acquiring green space and conservation land," she said. "This will be three parcels in the last two weeks that we have acquired specifically for green space."
The city commission unanimously approved the motion to proceed with the acquisition.