VERO BEACH — Vero Beach has granted a fourth extension for negotiations over the proposed Three Corners waterfront development, with a new condition requiring city officials and the developer to meet in person before the City Council’s Dec. 8 meeting.
The extension gives the city more time to review updated funding information, but some council members have signaled they are running out of patience with the process.
Councilmember Linda Moore said she is nearing the limit of how much additional time she is willing to grant without greater financial certainty.
"This would be, I think, the last extension that I would be super comfortable with unless all the finances are like i's dotted, t's crossed," she said.
Negotiations over a lease agreement began in March. City Manager Monte Falls said the additional time will allow the city to examine new funding information as discussions continue.
Clearpath, the project's developer, has been meeting with city officials weekly through Microsoft Teams. The city now wants more direct discussions, with Mayor John Cotugno serving as a liaison during the in-person negotiations.
Falls said the parties need to make progress toward an agreement that can be presented to the council by the deadline.
"We need to have the meetings," he said. "And we got to get to a point in agreement, and get that to the city council at the deadline."
Councilmember Aaron Vos pointed to the site's infrastructure challenges as one reason the negotiations have been complicated. He said the potential consequences of abandoning the project should also factor into the city's approach.
"It wouldn't be easy to back out of this and start all over again. And there's the time element there as well," he said. "We really want this property developed."
Randy Lloyd, president of Clearpath, defended his team's ability to deliver a project of this scale, citing its experience and continued participation in negotiations.
"If we didn't think we had a viable project here, we would not continue to show up," he said. "We would not continue to negotiate. We believe we've put together just a fabulous team with fantastic experience for a project of this size, for this complexity."
Lloyd also emphasized that Clearpath's proposal involves infrastructure improvements beyond the development site itself, adding to the project's financial scope.
"We've got skin in the game. I mean, we have a lot of skin in the game and we're prepared to put a lot of skin in the game," he said. "I don't want it lost on the council that part of our project is also off-site infrastructure. Our development project looks at how we actually improve Indian River Boulevard and the 17th Street access. That's a lot of money."
The next deadline is the City Council's Dec. 8 meeting, when the parties are expected to bring their negotiations to the council.
The proposed $250 million Three Corners project would redevelop the former "Big Blue" power plant site into a waterfront destination with restaurants, hotels, retail stores, parks and other uses.