Building the Riverwalk Boardwalk extension, an ultra-modern playground and a historic village in the park under construction on Westmoreland Boulevard will set the stage for a much-desired waterfront restaurant.
That’s the new plan for the $16 million Riverwalk South project, Port St. Lucie City Manager Russ Blackburn and Community Redevelopment Director Wes McCurry told the City Council Monday.
The uncertainty surrounding various projects in the 10-acre park south of the Botanical Gardens has made it difficult to find a restaurant developer willing to build and operate a waterfront eatery, McCurry said.
As a result, the city is going to wait until the playground is designed and the park’s site plan is updated before issuing a request for proposals or qualifications for the waterfront restaurant, McCurry said. That’s expected to happen in February. It’s important to finalize the park plan “so anyone who looks at it has got a firm understanding of what’s around them and how they’re going to fit into the mix,” McCurry said.
In the meantime, city officials and consultants have been meeting with restaurant operators, developers and brokers at the riverfront site to discuss ideas about how to make it an attractive business proposition, McCurry said.
“We are also researching other municipal ground-lease offerings for best practices and insight regarding successful recruitment for a restaurant at this location,” McCurry said.
Retail Strategies, a consultant helping the city attract stores and restaurants, toured the site with a restaurant broker who has several clients, McCurry said.
“That restaurant representative is going to show the site to some of his clients who he thinks might have some interest in the site,” McCurry said.
The city will pay the costs of preparing the site, including constructing the foundation pad and installing water and sewer and drainage facilities, Blackburn said.
“What’s anticipated is we’re going to offer just a pad for the development of a restaurant,” McCurry said. “The cost will be borne by the developer or restaurant operator to actually construct the facility.”
Councilman John Carvelli asked McCurry to determine the typical unit cost of building a restaurant like the one the city envisions in the park.
Carvelli also suggested offering restaurateurs an incentive to stay in the location for the long run.
Blackburn said the widespread questioning of restaurant industry players will provide city officials with a basis for their sales pitch to restaurateurs. “We’re also trying to find out what the professionals think the market will bear and how we can best attract a world class restaurant to our riverfront location,” Blackburn said.
