Representatives from Clearpath Services are discussing with members of its former rival, The Blue of Vero Beach, the possibility of engaging in a joint venture to develop the Three Corners site, according to sources familiar with the project.
One source, in fact, said Monday members of The Blue group, including lead partner Madison Marquette, recently participated in a Zoom meeting with Clearpath and Vero Beach city officials.
“The two teams are discussing the potential for combining resources,” the source said.
In April, the Vero Beach City Council chose Indiana-based Clearpath over The Blue to create a waterfront dining, retail, social and recreational hub on 17 acres on the site of the now defunct municipal power plant at the west end of the 17th Street Bridge.
Peter Polk, the city’s Three Corners project manager, said Monday he was aware that Clearpath was talking to potential new partners, especially to bolster its financial position and operational capabilities.
He said the parties appeared to be close to an agreement, but he refused to identify them.
“I can’t tell you,” Polk said.
Clearpath founder and president Randy Lloyd did not respond to phone and text messages.
The Vero Beach City Council last week voted unanimously to grant Lloyd’s request for a 30-day extension to the 90-day pre-negotiation period between Clearpath and the city.
Lloyd requested the extension in a letter dated July 11, when he stated his team needed more time to satisfy the city’s requirements for moving forward with formal negotiations.
City Manager Monte Falls – after consulting with Polk, City Attorney John Turner and Planning Director Jason Jeffries – recommended the council approve the extension, which the pre-negotiations agreement signed by both parties allows.
The extension will push back the start of a 120-day negotiating period until early September, which means it’s unlikely the city and Clearpath will agree on a contract until January or February.
Lloyd said in June that if Clearpath’s negotiations with city officials are successful, work at the Three Corners site could begin as soon as next year – with the initial phase of the $250 million project completed in 2028.
The first phase would involve the easternmost section of the property: construction of the Clearpath plan’s waterfront village, marina and docks.
“We know with a project of this scope and scale, the community wants to get something soon,” Lloyd said. “That’s why we really worked with the idea of trying to get some stuff activated, so you don’t have to wait five years for everything to be completed.”
Neither Falls nor Polk seemed overly concerned about the extension request.
“We’ve been in contact with Clearpath and they’re making progress,” Falls said. “They are working with some other potential partners – or joint-venture members – and trying to finalize their agreements.
“In this job, everything concerns me,” he added, “but I’m comfortable, at this point, that they can pull it off.”
Polk said he wouldn’t be surprised if Clearpath meets the city’s pre-negotiation requirements well before the extension deadline.
In requesting the extension, Lloyd wrote: “The breadth and complexity of the materials required – reflecting the scale and ambition of the project – necessitate additional time to ensure our submission is thorough, accurate and responsive to the city’s expectations.”
Lloyd has been working for months to bring in an additional financial partner to replace Westminster Capital, which was part of Clearpath’s initial Three Corners partnership but withdrew weeks before the group’s presentation to the city’s Evaluation Committee earlier this year.
He’s also seeking a partner to operate and manage the complex once it’s up and running.
In the meantime, Polk said, the city is arranging to bring in outside legal counsel and retain its financial consultant, PFM Advisors, to assist in the negotiations.
After receiving overwhelming voter support in a November 2022 referendum to allow commercial development on the northern tier of the Three Corners site, the city’s first attempt failed last summer.
A divided council chose the South Florida-based SuDa group to develop the property, only to disqualify its selection because its front man violated the terms of the Request For Proposals by directly contacting council members.
The city restarted the process last fall but received only two proposals to its second RFP – one from Clearpath, the other from The Blue, which was essentially a reincarnation of the SuDa group.
The council embraced a strong recommendation from the city’s Evaluation Committee before selecting Clearpath, despite the loss of the group’s financial partner.
