More details have emerged about the shape of new development at the U.S. 1/53rd Street intersection as leasing deals move forward.
Mike Yurocko, SLC Commercial agent assigned to the corridor, said a Burger King and an automotive services business will be going into slots between the just-opened Dunkin’ Donuts store and the long-standing Walgreens on the southwest corner. The previously reported Burger King deal is now inked, and the auto-related parcel is under contract.
Yurocko did not name the auto-related business, but said would not be an auto parts store, which leaves possibilities such as a carwash or oil change franchise.
On the opposite, northeast corner, Yurocko said a 10,000-square-foot mixed-use/medical building is planned for the parcel behind the CVS, which is under contract. The medical tenant is expected to take up approximately 40 percent of the space, with the remaining square footage split between two other businesses.
What types of business might claim the two slots in the planned building remains unknown.
The parcel is the last with frontage on the intersection, according to Yurocko.
“It will kind of round out the intersection,” he said.
There is one other unsold development parcel left on the northeast corner, but it’s tucked behind other lots without easy access or visibility.
“It probably won’t be retail,” Yurocko said, because retail businesses need high visibility. An urgent care is unlikely for the same reason – those businesses, too, want to be seen.
Office space is a possibility, depending on the type of business. Some office tenants want more visibility than others.
Other than that tucked away parcel on the CVS corner, the only development land left unclaimed near the intersection are a few outparcels in Harbor Point, the Publix-owned plaza. Yurocko doesn’t represent those parcels but noted that Publix has restrictions on what can be built there.
The company places covenants on its outparcels to make sure incoming businesses are not in competition with the grocer.
Because of the restrictions, Yurocko said those sites may be slow to fill in.
Years ago, CVS and Walgreens built cattycorner from each other on the southwest and northeast corners, anticipating the future growth of the area. With development of the huge Waterway Village community west of U.S. 1 along 53rd Street, more and more rooftops in the area attracted more and more retailers to the busy corridor.
Ryan Sweeney, a senior planner with Indian River County, told Vero News previously that the large subdivisions in the area of U.S. 1 and 53rd Street are what drove the county to extend and widen 53rd Street between 58th Avenue and Indian River Boulevard. The increased traffic demands and subsequent commercial and retail development would have put too much pressure on the existing infrastructure.
Harbor Point, built by Michael Collard Properties and North American Properties, agreed to upgrade the U.S. 1 intersection by adding turn lanes onto 53rd Street, as well as funding the traffic signal at the plaza’s entrance on 53rd. Waterway Village, under development by Pulte/DiVosta Homes, helped fund the widening and extension of 53rd Street.
“53rd Street is becoming a very popular place,” Yurocko said. The intersection has become a “daily needs retail” node, with just about everything a nearby resident might need on any given day.
One need not currently met at that intersection, though, is banking, but Yurocko said that’s not surprising. He explained that many banks have stopped expansion plans, and some have even downsized their footprints. With the advent of online banking that includes depositing checks via smartphones, there’s less need for brick-and-mortar branches. To that end, PNC Bank has a ground lease for a branch near the CVS that it no longer plans to develop and is looking to offload.
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