With inventory tight and prices high in 32963, there has been a building boom on North Hutchinson Island in the past few years, with hundreds of new homes planned or underway in developments like Aquavista, Cristelle Cay and Vero Beach Ocean Club, most of them represented by Vero Beach agents.
Now the site of an iconic island restaurant destroyed by the 2004 hurricanes has been rezoned residential, clearing the way for more new homes.
A Vero Beach developer plans to build residences on the spectacular 3.5-acre oceanfront tract on North Hutchinson Island where the old PV Martin’s restaurant stood until it was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.
St. Lucie County commissioners earlier this month voted unanimously to approve a zoning change for the tract, 5140 N. Highway A1A, which is owned by South Orchid Island LLC.
The rezoning sets the stage for residential development ranging from single-family houses to 35-foot-tall condominium towers with up to 15 units per acre, said Kori Benton, the county’s planning manager.
“We have explored multiple development opportunities and we have concluded its most likely best use is going to be some sort of residential development,” said the developer’s agent, Dennis Murphy, of Culpepper & Terpening Inc.
“That’s why we’re converting it back from the CN (Commercial Neighborhood) zoning, which used to house the old PV Martin’s Restaurant site, to a residential classification, HIRD (Hutchinson Island Residential District), consistent with the rest of the island,” Murphy said.
“We also will acknowledge that obviously [there is keen interest in this] . . . property on the part of the board and the community,” Murphy told the commissioners. “We definitely will be keeping you all informed about what’s going on with the property.”
Three Hutchinson Island property owners spoke in favor of the rezoning and one spoke against it during the Oct. 4 public hearing.
“From somebody that’s in the hospitality business, I think it’s a great idea to make it residential versus commercial,” said Gary Sofen, of Wildcat Cove Drive.
“If that was a commercial site … there would be big problems … it would be busy, there would be people across the street complaining and there would be no parking,” Sofen said.
“I think we should support whatever they’re going to build on there,” Sofen said. “Hopefully they’ll be really expensive condos that will bring the values up on North Hutchinson Island.
“I think that whoever is going to build those will do their due diligence to realize they’re going to have to build them high, strong and the right way so they can withstand a hurricane like we just had,” Sofen added.
Christina Fischer, of Lakeview Circle, also backed the rezoning.
“I would definitely endorse the changeover from commercial to residential,” Fischer said. “If they made that a commercial site there would be a lot of strange people you’ve never seen and the potential for theft would be enhanced.”
But Valentina Blegen, of North Ocean Harbor, said the destruction of the PV Martin’s Restaurant showed the site is not appropriate for development.
“Already everybody got the message from mother nature and God … don’t build anything on this site,” Blegen said.
“But if you’re going to put in these buildings, they’re going to be in a real risk,” Blegen said.
Felicia Valdes, of Ocean Harbor North, suggested the county and developer could find a way to preserve the oceanfront tract, which is just south of a natural 1.6-acre lot owned by the condominium association in 2011.
“We bought the property adjacent to this land and it’s a green space,” Valdes said. “There’s gopher tortoises all over. We had always hoped it would just continue [as green space].
“We understand they have property rights, like we all do, and we’re not here to infringe on that,” Valdes said. “It’s certainly a better designation to have it become residential instead of commercial.”
