Riverland developer GL Homes is going to make a lot of southwestern Port St. Lucie dog owners very happy.
GL Homes plans to build a $2.3 million public park complete with fenced running yards for all sized dogs near the entrance to its Valencia Cay subdivision.
The proposed “Riverland Paseo Park” will also feature a large softball field with restrooms, a scoreboard, bleachers and dugouts. It will be the first city park developed in the booming area west of Interstate 95, city records show. GL Homes proposed developing the park and turning it over to the city in exchange for credit on the city’s park impact fees for new development.
Riverland’s development order requires GL Homes to provide the city 141 acres for four parks while building 11,700 residences and 1.2 million square feet of retail and institutional space in the next three decades.
The City Council agreed in concept on Aug. 19 to accept the 13-acre park on the southwest corner of Community Boulevard and Stockton Place, but didn’t act on the impact fee credit and naming rights issues.
“I would be happy to convey the naming rights if you would just donate it without requesting park impact fees,” Mayor Greg Oravec told Riverland’s representatives.
More than two acres has been designated for the dog park, which has separate fenced-in areas for small-, medium- and large-sized dogs.
The amenities include a dog wash, pet waste disposal stations, climbing boulders, bow-wow barrels and shade structures.
The new park will also be linked to the Paseo multi-use path system being developed through the 3,845-acre Riverland property west of Community Boulevard and south of Discovery Way. “You’ll be able to jog, walk, bike along this stretch of heavily landscaped linear park,” Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Brad Keen told the council.
Riverland will convey the park site to the city by Sept. 23, GL Homes Vice President Kevin Ratterree told the council.
Construction is expected to start in March and be completed within a year, Ratterree said. Initially, the park will only be used during the day and have no regular staffing, Keen said. Plans call for a second softball field to be developed in the future and for both fields to be lighted.
