The dedication of the Lake Harvey Stormwater Project – the culmination of one man’s vision – is slated for Monday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 a.m.
The public is invited to attend the St. Lucie West Services District event. The about-$500,000 project at the intersection of St. Lucie West and Cashmere boulevards was finished toward the end of last year. Dennis Pickle, manager and utilities director, said the combination of the Basin 4E-5 interconnect project and Lake Harvey will move about 5 inches of rainwater off St. Lucie West Boulevard between Cashmere and Bethany Drive during a 100-year storm event.
Lake Harvey came about because of one man’s foresight. “This was all thought up by Harvey Cutler,” Pickle said.
Cutler was the chairman of the district’s board of supervisors. He was appointed to the board in 2008 and subsequently won elections. He served until his death in 2015.
The 12.5 acres where the district built Lake Harvey was once slated to become a grocery store and parking lot.
“There were several developer companies looking at (the lot),” Pickle said. “One of the sales would have gone to Walmart to build the neighborhood market.”
That plan met a lot of resistance.
“It went through zoning and planning at the city,” Pickle said. “They met opposition from the public about the traffic.”
And more. With St. Lucie West Boulevard largely filled with stores already, a lot of folks wondered aloud why Walmart didn’t move into Cashmere Corners where an Albertsons had been from 2000 to 2012. That retail location was vacant, and many wanted to see it filled before developing more along St. Lucie West Boulevard. Walmart did open the Neighborhood Market there in 2016.
“When Walmart pulled out of it, Harvey (Cutler) came to me and said we have some stormwater issues at the location.”
Pickle said Cutler worried that more development at that intersection would exasperate storm-water problems. He proposed that a stormwater management project there would be the best use. But, Martin Health System owned the land and needed to fetch a reasonable price.
“I said we don’t have the money for it,” Pickle said.
Nevertheless, Pickle – who’d last heard Martin wanted somewhere near $10 million for the land – checked into it. The price was much lower than that at the time, and Martin was flexible. “We ended up negotiating the price with Martin to purchase the property,” Pickle said. “They came down from what they would have sold the parcel for.”
Pickle said Martin dropped its asking price largely because the district was using the land for a public benefit. The final price was $4.4 million. But, Cutler led the board of supervisors in resisting any talk about raising water rates to purchase the property.
“We went to the city and talked to the mayor and council and they were brought on board about helping us purchase that lot,” Pickle said.
The district receives 75 percent of a stormwater management assessment on property-tax bills paid by residents of St. Lucie West. The district pitched the city on shifting the other 25 percent to finance a 15-year bond. “(The city) said we can commit to $400,000 a year for debt service,” Pickle said.
With that, the district was able to get a bond issued and the deal was sealed.
Pickle said Lake Harvey is an important legacy for Cutler for many reasons. For one, the additional drainage helps speed Port St. Lucie’s hurricane recovery. Home Depot, Lowes and two grocery stores are at the intersection of St. Lucie West and Cashmere boulevards. But, hurricanes are infrequent. Folks drive into St. Lucie West daily, and aesthetics matter.
“But, like (Cutler) was saying, it was a great idea to take it off the (water) loading from the roadway, and it would be a gateway into St. Lucie West,” Pickle said.
Even as the district negotiated the purchase of the lot to build the eight-acre lake, folks started bringing up the idea of using remaining acres for a park.
There was a rub.
“We’re not able to spend district funds for a recreational use,” Pickle said.
The district approached the city about building a passive-use park at Lake Harvey. The Port St. Lucie City Council approved examining the proposal last February. The council will discuss moving forward with the proposed park project at a meeting scheduled after press time, but before publication.
Parking for the dedication will be at western side of the Lowe’s parking lot, 701 NW St. Lucie West Boulevard.
