A shift in the county line on the barrier island marks the first time in at least 40 years the county has changed its borders – a shift that helps clear the way for a $74 million subdivision in St. Lucie County.
The land swap between St. Lucie and Indian River counties moved the six northernmost lots in the Vero Beach Ocean Club development into St. Lucie, where the other 25 single-family lots in the unbuilt subdivision are located.
Having the entire Vero Beach Ocean Club subdivision in St. Lucie will make it easier to modify the site plan and simplify the county and state permitting processes, said St. Lucie County spokesman Erick Gill.
Plans call for 13 oceanfront condos starting at $1,776,800 east of A1A and 31 estate homes starting at $1,634,950 west of A1A on a 46-acre ocean-to-lagoon property just south of the Estate Section, the Ocean Club’s website says.
State legislation officially changing the county boundary was signed into law this summer by Gov. Ron DeSantis, state records show.
The Indian River and St. Lucie county attorneys are working with the property appraisers in both counties to update the legal descriptions of the lots and the county tax rolls, officials said.
SBM Associates bought the 46-acre property for $5.5 million on Oct. 23, 2013 from Round Island Investors LLC, of Boca Raton, records show. St. Lucie County had approved a site plan for the property in August 2006.
The original developer built a road network and roadside wall for the subdivision, formerly known as “Round Island Plantation,” before the project ground to a halt during the Great Recession.
An SBM subsidiary, Vero Beach Ocean Club LLC, is teaming up with Coastal Construction Palm Beach LLC, of Stuart, to complete the project.
The condos will be built on a 2.51-acre beachfront parcel bounded by a state preserve to the south and a large single-family home to the north.
Plans call for six two-story, 4,500-square-foot condos; six one-story 2,225-square-foot condos; and one three-story, 4,500-square-foot unit directly on the beach, according to the developer.
Each condo will have its own private parking, lobby and elevator, and there will also be an oceanfront vanishing edge pool, clubhouse and exercise center, according to verobeachoceanclub.com. Plans call for the estate homes on the west side of A1A to range from 3,500 to 4,400 square feet.
The houses will be built on a 43.5-acre tract between Indian River County’s Round Island Park and the Avalon State Preserve.
An existing private pedestrian tunnel beneath A1A will provide beach access to the estate homeowners.
Vero Beach Ocean Club will provide buyers with a complimentary “joining fee” for a one-year Invitational Membership to The Moorings Yacht and Country Club, the project website says.
The Moorings club offers fine and casual dining, golf, tennis, pickleball, a fitness center, spa, yacht club. Applicants are subject to club approval.
Indian River County had not changed its borders in the four decades he has worked for the Property Appraiser’s office, said Mickey Umphrey, Indian River County’s chief deputy property appraiser.
