Moments before the Vero Beach City Council voted unanimously last week to authorize its bargaining team to begin negotiations with the recently merged partnership chosen to develop the Three Corners site, Mayor John Cotugno invited public comment.
No one approached the podium.
“Wow,” a visibly surprised Cotugno responded, claiming the audience’s silence marked the first time in the six years since the council began pursuing the much-anticipated project that community members didn’t seize the opportunity to comment.
Not even Barbara Ruddy – the full-of-energy, 82-year-old county resident who regularly attends and speaks at council meetings – left her seat.
“It would’ve been anticlimactic,” Ruddy said after the meeting. “The whole thing is settled. The project is moving forward. It’s going to happen, and we’re all thrilled. Nothing else needed to be said.”
City Manager Monte Falls said the city attorney and Vero’s outside counsel were formulating the outline of a lease agreement that they hoped to have ready this week to present to the development group – a merged partnership between Indiana-based Clearpath Services and Madison Marquette, which has offices across America and overseas.
“Once the developers have a chance to review it, we’ll schedule our first negotiating session,” Falls said, adding that the lease will likely be for 99 years.
Peter Polk, Vero Beach’s Three Corners project manager, said he believes the parties will reach agreement on a contract within the city’s 120-day negotiations window.
“Obviously, the city would like to see a deal,” Polk said in a phone interview, “and the developers seem to be motivated to push this thing forward.”
Vero Beach’s bargaining team also includes City Planning & Development Director Jason Jeffries and Jay Glover of PFM Advisors, the city’s financial consultant.
Falls called the Three Corners project – the creation of a waterfront dining, retail, social and recreational hub on the city’s mainland – a “great opportunity for the city” and said the development group chosen by the council has “gotten better since we made the selection.”
He was referring to the joint-venture agreement, finalized in September by Clearpath, the council’s No. 1 choice to develop the 17-acre site north of the 17th Street Bridge, and the group headed by Madison Marquette, which submitted the only other proposal the city received last December.
The front men for the partnership, Clearpath president Randy Lloyd and Madison Marquette managing director David Brainerd, both attended the Nov. 4 council meeting and appeared eager to begin lease negotiations.
“We’ve come a long way,” Lloyd told the council. “We’ve put a lot of effort into this, and we’ve got a joint group to better the project, better the proposal. … We’re excited to move forward.”
Madison Marquette not only provided the financing capability missing from Clearpath’s proposal – Lloyd lost a major backer in the weeks before proposals were to be submitted last year – but it also brings an abundance of operational experience.
Brainerd agreed that the joint effort should result in a more successful project.
“We’re happy to be here, happy to be alongside Randy and working with his team,” Brainerd said. “I think we have an outstanding combined team. … In my opinion, the chemistry between the two teams has been exceptional.
“We work very well together,” he added, and “we are looking forward to having a truly collaborative process with the city, making sure we emphasize the public-private partnership going forward.”
Councilman Aaron Vos – who enjoyed a 30-year career managing programs, evaluating budgets and overseeing billion-dollar projects with an aerospace and defense contractor – expressed concern about the development group having two lead partners.
He wanted to know who would be in charge and who would be the city’s point of contact.
Lloyd said he and Brainerd work well together, keep each other informed on project-related matters and have already discussed such scenarios.
“I’m not saying there won’t be times when we might have differing opinions, but we’ve got a mechanism to resolve those issues internally,” Lloyd said. “I suggest you’ll never see that.
“I can assure you,” he added, “that we will do all we can do internally to make sure that we represent one voice to the council and to the community.”
In fact, Polk said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the proposal Clearpath submitted tweaked to include some of the concepts used in Madison Marquette’s submission.
“We could see a morphing of the two plans,” he added.
Falls said he was optimistic that the city and developer would have a lease agreement in place within the 120-day negotiating period – but the window could be extended, if needed.
“We’ll do it as quickly and concisely as we can,” the city manager told the council. “But, again, we want to bring you something that everyone is comfortable with – so when we hit the ground, everybody can realize their expectations.”
He later added: “This is a generational project. Let’s get it right.”
Once the lease is signed, Polk said the developer may then finalize their plan for the property – including the city’s former power plant – and pursue the necessary permitting.
He said he didn’t expect any significant work on the site to begin before 2027.
