STUART — The Martin County Board of County Commissioners has approved the final site plan for the long-anticipated Rio Marine Village project, a mixed-use waterfront development planned along the St. Lucie River in Rio.
The project, which received master site plan approval in 2022, will redevelop about 16 acres of previously developed land to include residential, commercial, and marina uses. The plan combines 192 dwelling units consisting of apartments, townhomes, and live-work spaces while maintaining public access to the waterfront.
“The final site plan contains two live-work buildings, eight multifamily buildings, one townhome building, a marina clubhouse, and includes public access to the beach and waterfront,” said Brian Elam, principal planner with Martin County’s Growth Management Department.
Elam said the site is divided into two distinct zones intended to support a range of uses and encourage pedestrian activity.
“The Core Subdistrict is assigned to the CRA Center Future Land Use and is intended to be a pedestrian-oriented center for surrounding neighborhoods with a broad mix of uses,” Elam said. “The Waterfront Subdistrict is assigned to the Commercial Waterfront Future Land Use, which promotes a mixed-use waterfront environment with restaurants, entertainment, residential uses, and access to the waterfront. The Core Subdistrict allows 15 residential units per acre, and the Waterfront Subdistrict allows 10 residential units per acre. Both subdistricts require 20 percent minimum open space and a 40-foot maximum building height.”
Phase 1 of the project, which covers the eastern portion of the property, will include 178 apartments in eight three-story buildings, four townhome units, and eight live-work units, for a total of 190 residential units.
“Density and open space for the Rio Marine Village project are calculated at the master site plan level,” Elam said. “The total proposed density is less than 12 units per acre by way of the density blending and the use of 0.43 acres of adjacent Waterfront Subdistrict right-of-way.”
Elam added that the project’s design balances residential density with significant open space and shoreline protection.
“For this particular development, there’s a requirement for a 25-foot shoreline protection zone, so that spans the entire almost 3,000 linear feet of water frontage along the southern side of the property,” said George Missimer, a representative of Cotleur and Hearing, the project’s planning and landscape architecture firm. “Within that 25 feet, we have our 10-foot pervious public walkway, and then a majority of the existing shoreline is hardened with those existing boat basins.”
Missimer said a portion of open beach on the site will feature a newly designed living shoreline to promote sustainability.
“There’s a section of open beach currently along a section of the frontage of the property in that kind of half-moon bay shape, and in that location we’ve actually designed a new living shoreline,” he said. “There’s a few small pockets of mangroves, but really not much, and so what we’ve done is we’ve designed additional mangrove locations as well as riprap, native grasses, and even oyster bags, again, trying to protect that shoreline and provide some additional habitat as much as we can.”
Missimer also said maintaining scenic views and efficient traffic flow were priorities in the design, which includes two new roundabouts.
“There is an existing roundabout at the intersection of Dixie and Martin Avenue, which is going to be removed, and then the two new roundabouts — that was something that was approved as part of the master plans,” he said. “In terms of phasing, that would be the first work that’s done to make sure that the right-of-ways are finished for the community.”
Commissioners voiced strong support for the redevelopment effort.
“I think it’s Rio’s turn to have a project like this,” said Vice Chair Edward Ciampi.
The motion to approve the final site plan passed unanimously. Construction on Rio Marine Village is expected to begin in 2026.