The impressive mixed-use project at 1410 A1A south of the 17th Street Causeway is “98-percent complete,” according to developer Anthony DeChellis, with landscaping in place and the parking lot paved and striped.
“We have a temporary certificate of occupancy and tenants are building out their spaces,” he says. “The first tenant will move in during February, with The Tides opening by the first of April.”
The Tides, a renowned fine-dining fixture in Central Beach for the past 25 years, is relocating temporarily because its current location is slated for redevelopment.
Moorings resident DeChellis, managing partner of DeChellis Capital, has already moved his office into the three-building complex, occupying the second floor of the two-story building closest to Jimmy Buffet Highway.
Other tenants include Little Hawk Investments, Vero Beach Med Spa, and The Tides, which will move into a custom-built, ground-floor space with a 32-burner kitchen with a hood almost as wide as the building. There will be 150-plus-seat dining capacity with two bars, a lounge and more outdoor seating than at the current restaurant.
The Tides chef and owner Leanne Kelleher is leasing space for an office and a neighborhood market, as well. She and her growing staff will operate Turtle Cove Gourmet Market on the first floor of the front building, directly across the central courtyard from her signature restaurant.
“We are hyper-focused on getting The Tides open,” DeChellis says. “That is what everyone is interested in!”
“I’m excited and looking forward to getting into the new space,” says Kelleher. “Anthony and I have a great personal relationship and business partnership. Our philosophies line up perfectly. We both pursue excellence. He knows what it takes to be out front.”
DeChellis’s desire for excellence is evident in the new development, a passion project he has pursued for more than 15 years.
Legacy quality is evident through the 27,000 square foot complex, which includes 15,500 square feet of leasable space and more than 10,000 square feet of wide, marble-paved verandas, passageways and courtyard.
The first-floor walkways and second-floor verandas that encircle the two-story buildings make the concrete block structures much lighter and more gracious, opening the built environment to the breezy, oak-shaded neighborhood around it – but the outdoor space doesn’t directly bring in dollars.
“When we were getting project bids, a couple of contractors told us, ‘This is all wrong,’ DeChellis told Vero Beach 32963. “They said, you can’t waste this much space on verandas and walkways!’
“I told them that we don’t think of it that way. We want this project to be beautiful and have a positive impact on the neighborhood. This isn’t just another retail space for us. It is something that is going to be here forever – or at least a lot longer than me – and we want it to enhance the community.”
Designed by Moulton Layne and built by Della Porta Construction, the buildings sit on a 1.6-acre site with a 69-car parking lot surrounded by towering native live oaks along with numerous oak trees planted by DeChellis.
Complex patrons will enter from Turtle Cove Lane and can disembark beneath a grand porte cochere where Kelleher plans to offer valet parking.
From the porte cochere, a wide passageway leads to the main courtyard that will be occupied by The Tides’ tiki bar, which will be surrounded by two-top and four-top tables, with the restaurant on one side and the market on the other.
DeChellis says he wanted the courtyard to have a European feel, “like an Italian piazza,” surrounded by balconied commercial buildings on three sides, with an expansive stone waterfall feature on the fourth side.
The time and money he has poured into the project paid off when it was fully leased before there were roofs on the buildings.
The Tides is relocating temporarily from its longtime Cardinal Drive location because the building it occupies, which originally was a single-family home, is worn out, says DeChellis, who owns the property.
“There were two restaurants there before The Tides and Leanne has been there for 25 years.”
Once The Tides relocates to South Beach, the building where the restaurant operated for two and half decades will be torn down and replaced with a modern 6,000-7,000-square-foot building that eventually will be the restaurant’s new permanent home.
“I have promised too many people that Tides is coming back to that spot for us to do anything different,” DeChellis says.
“Demolition will probably take place next summer, with construction starting on the new building a year or so later, in mid-2027, after our plans are approved.”
The new Anglo-Caribbean building will sit closer to the sidewalk than the current converted residential structure and be custom designed for The Tides, which will be the only tenant, with a rooftop bar and other amenities.
In the meantime, Kelleher will expand her staff to operate the expanded South Beach Tides and market while the Cardinal Drive location is planned and built.
“I’ve already brought a number of new people on,” she says. “They are in bootcamp at The Tides now, learning our philosophy and training in our methods. We will have at least 50 people working at the new location, 20 salaried and 30 or more parttime.”
Once the return move is made back to Cardinal in 2028, Kelleher will continue to operate the market and a second restaurant at the 1410 A1A location.
“The second restaurant will be slightly different from The Tides, so they don’t compete, but I don’t have all the details worked out yet,” Kelleher says.
Of the market, she says, “We want to provide the South Beach area with a market sort of like Ryders. We will have lots of soups, salads and sauces along with entrees from The Tides kitchen that you can pick up to take home. We will sell meats, fish and cheeses, and I plan to have a liquor store, too.
“We’ll run our catering operation out of the market and be able to expand that business with the extra space we’ll have.”
Kelleher said she is confident the initial move in April will be quick and smooth, with just a week of downtime between the last meal served at the Cardinal location and the first at 1410 A1A.
“We have lots of time for pre-planning, and we will work night and day to get it done,” she said.
“The main thing is we don’t want to confuse or disappoint our customers. Many of them make reservations far in advance, sometimes two or three at a time. Keeping them informed and maintaining continuity is essential. Their loyalty is what it is all about. We are where we are because of them.”
DeChellis’s South Beach development is part of a wave of new construction in the South Beach neighborhood, where two small luxury housing projects are underway and Dale Sorenesn Real Estate just opened a new office.
“I think this will be the next Vero neighborhood to catch fire,” says DeChellis. “When you look at home prices in Riomar just a few blocks away it is a no-brainer that there’s a lot of upside for property values in this area.”
Photos by Joshua Kodis
