Consultants pitch opt-in overlay and predict up to 21,000 jobs for Kings Highway corridor

Economic-development consultants told the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA) board on March 17 that an opt-in overlay district, coupled with infrastructure readiness, could speed industrial and mixed-use development along the Kings Highway corridor and produce large local economic gains.

"The water and wastewater services are already available to support the planned growth in this area because of FPUA's planning and implementation of expanding its water and wastewater services," said Leslie Olson of District Planning Group, describing the corridor between Orange Avenue and the Turnpike as “poised for growth.” Olson said Phase 1 of the study identified slow, uncertain approvals caused by split city–county jurisdiction and a lack of design standards for industrial buildings.

The overlay Olson described would be voluntary for landowners and developers: those who opt in would commit to design and landscaping standards and measurable job-creation benchmarks in exchange for a streamlined, administrative approval process that avoids separate rezoning or future-land-use amendments. Olson said that the overlay is intended only for job-creation projects and would not prevent commercial uses such as convenience stores from following regular entitlement channels.

"If they agree to doing that, then they can build faster," Olson said, adding that both the City of Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County would need to adopt the overlay for it to work across jurisdictional lines.

Consultants also shared Phase 2 economic-impact modeling. "At full build out of that core study area, our consultant determined that it could create up to 21,000 direct jobs, nearly $9,000,000,000 in economic output, $45,000,000 in county tax revenue, and $35,000,000 in municipal City Of Fort Pierce tax revenue," Olson said. The estimate assumes a land-use mix including industrial, office, commercial and mixed use.

Wes (presenter) underscored the need for permitting certainty when competing for projects. "These economic development projects are very competitive when they're looking for locations, and certainty is often going to win out over a good location," he said, urging coordinated code work and early policy engagement to craft ordinance language this year.

Board members pressed consultants on timeline and incentives. Olson said Phase 2 work is expected through the current calendar year, with staff workshops translating feedback into a draft code to be reviewed by city and county staff and policymakers. Consultants said incentives under consideration include ad valorem tax exemptions, impact-fee mitigation and job-growth investment grants, and that the overlay would use a points matrix—landscaping and job creation among the criteria—to qualify applicants for administrative review.

The board requested that staff return with the overlay draft once Phase 2 is complete; consultants said the approach is opt-in and that existing entitlements would remain governed by the processes under which they were approved.

Next steps: staff and consultants will translate workshop feedback into ordinance language, meet with city and county policymakers, and return with a draft overlay and implementation details for review.