Marshall Parkway is the new name for the east-west thoroughfare running from Tradition Commerce Center through Del Webb at Tradition, Western Grove and Riverland to Rangeline Road.
The Port St. Lucie City Council voted unanimously Monday to name the road in honor of Gen. George C. Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of State who won a Nobel Peace Prize for masterminding the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.
“Some sources identify Gen. Marshall as the most respected military person in our history outside of George Washington,” said Mayor Greg Oravec. “So, if council is fine with it, I’m happy with it.”
The council renamed the 4-mile-long road, which had been known as Open View Road, at the request of Mattamy Homes, which plans to build 4,000 homes on 1,841 acres in Western Grove and Tradition. The renaming will help emergency responders avoid confusion while rushing to incidents on the three-block section of Southwest Open View Road east of Interstate 95 and west of Southwest Rosser Boulevard.
The entrance road to Del Webb at Tradition, where Pulte Homes is building 1,350 residences on 427 acres, had been expected to be named Open View Road, records show.
But St. Lucie County officials objected because of concerns about confusion when dispatching emergency responders, said Steve Garrett, a land planner representing Mattamy Homes.
Naming the road for Gen. Marshall would honor the nation’s military and pay homage to the “greatest generation,” Mattamy Homes said in its presentation to the council. “We thought it would be a very significant name for a significant parkway,” said Steve Garrett, a land planner representing Mattamy Homes.
Other alternatives included Positivity Parkway and Candes Parkway, records show.
Mattamy Homes also expects to ask the council to rename the parallel east-west thoroughfare between Marshall Parkway and Becker Road, Garrett said.
The road had been expected to be named Paar Drive west of I-95, but the same issues are expected to arise regarding first responders, Garrett said.
On the east side of I-95, Southwest Paar Drive stretches nearly 5 miles from Southwest Rosser Boulevard to Southwest Tulip Boulevard.
