Good Morning, Sunland
It's Monday! Let’s jump right in!
🥟 Now open: Juici Patties in Port St. Lucie. and I had to go check it out myself. Waited an hour, stood through some arguing, but the patties were worth every second. Got the curry chicken, beef with cheese and regular beef. Curry chicken was the favorite. Full review here.
In today's newsletter:
📦 Amazon to close Port St. Lucie warehouse
⚾ Vero Beach Fighting Indians advance to state semifinals
❤️ Heart in the Park skybridge opens to visitors for first time
⚽ Haiti National Team training at Port St. Lucie SC for World Cup
🎨 Four murals approved for Fort Pierce public art program
⛈️ Weather Update: Storms rolling in this afternoon.
☀️ Day: High of 91°F | Scattered thunderstorms developing. 60% chance of rain.
🌙 Night: Low of 72°F | Cloudy skies. Winds S at 5-10 mph. 24% chance of rain.
🌅 Sunrise: 6:35 AM | 🌇 Sunset: 8:00 PM
🌙 Moonrise: 2:59 AM | 🌚 Moonset: 2:48 PM
🎶 Sounds like: "Keep Your Head to the Sky" — Earth, Wind & Fire
💜 People Pass Shoutout: Thank you to everyone supporting the newsletter! If you want to help keep this going, support here.
Ja'Min Devon
Founder, Sunland News
🟠 Main Squeeze: Amazon to close Port St. Lucie Fulfillment Center
The 1 million square foot Amazon fulfillment center at 7600 LTC Parkway just off Midway Road will close September 17th for a $200 million renovation and expansion, with about 850 employees needing to find other work while the facility is closed until fall of 2028 🏭.
A nearly identical situation is playing out in Homestead, where an Amazon warehouse is also temporarily shutting down with employees being offered transfers while the facility reopens around the same timeline.
What Amazon is offering employees 📋:
💵 Four weeks severance for employees who stay through the September closing
🏥 Cash to cover six months of health insurance
🔄 Transfer opportunities to any of Amazon's 30 facilities across South Florida and beyond
📦 Relocation assistance for those willing to transfer further away
The EDC is working with CareerSource and Amazon to help place employees into available jobs during the closure. Costco's Phase 2 at Southern Grove is expected to be coming online around the same time, along with several other projects.
What the expansion looks like 💰:
🏗️ 870,000 square feet of additional space added to the existing 1 million square feet
💵 $200 million new investment on top of the $100 million already spent at opening, making it a $300 million facility total
📈 Jobs increasing from about 850 to about 1,000 year round
💰 Amazon expects to pay an additional $3 million annually in taxes on top of its current $2 million tax bill
Worth paying attention to: This location is a fulfillment center, where products are stored, picked, packed and shipped. Amazon also operates a separate 220,000 square foot delivery station in the Southern Grove corridor, which is a different type of facility focused on last mile delivery. The two serve different functions in Amazon's logistics network, and many of the workers at delivery stations are not Amazon employees but rather employed by third party delivery service providers. So the question of where exactly these 850 fulfillment center employees transfer to is worth understanding 👀.
Questions worth asking: When Amazon originally came to Port St. Lucie in 2021 the original announcement stated clearly that Amazon received no financial, tax or job performance incentives. It also noted that once the project was completed the $100 million in property and equipment invested would generate full tax revenue for the city, county, schools, fire district, South Florida Water Management District, Children's Services Council, Florida Inland Navigation District and help pay down the debt for the Crosstown Parkway. The EDC fast tracked site plan approval in 91 days to get the deal done. What happens to those tax revenue streams during a two year closure is a question worth asking. Going back through the original meeting records to understand. If you have any insight on this reply to this email 👀.
What's next: The closure is September 17th. Amazon says everyone currently working there will have the option to return when it reopens in mid to late 2028 📅.
💬 Are you one of the 850 Amazon employees affected by this? Tell us right here
Press Round: Baseball, Hearts & World Cup
⚾ Vero Beach Fighting Indians Advance to State Semifinals
Vero Beach High School's baseball team defeated the Park Vista Cobras 7 to 6 on Saturday to win the best of three Class 7A, Region 3 finals series and advance to the state semifinals in Fort Myers next weekend. The Fighting Indians last reached the Final Four in 2024.
👉 Read more (Vero News)
❤️ Heart in the Park Skybridge Opens to Visitors for First Time
Visitors can walk across the skybridge inside the 73 foot Heart in the Park sculpture from 10am to 1:30pm and 4:30pm to 8pm on May 9, marking the first time the stairway has been open to the public since the sculpture opened last year. Entry is free and the Heart is planned to be open on the second Saturday of each month going forward.
👉 Read more (Sunland News)
⚽ Haiti National Team Training at Port St. Lucie SC for World Cup
The Haiti National Team will hold a training camp at Port St. Lucie SC at the voco Sandpiper All-Inclusive Resort from May 24 to June 8 as part of its preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Haiti is returning to soccer's biggest stage following a 52 year absence.
👉 Read more (Hometown News)
🎉 Weekdayer: Monday - Friday 772 Events
Wednesday, May 13
🎸 Grunge Show – 223 Orange Ave, Fort Pierce. | 7 PM | $7 | Details
Thursday, May 14
🏖️ May Deck Party – 601 Seaway Dr, Fort Pierce. | 6 PM | Details
Friday, May 15
🎨 Opening Reception: Through the Eye of the Camera – A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery, Fort Pierce. | 6 PM | Details
🎭 Ballet Vero Beach Presents: Spring Flings – McAlpin Fine Arts Center, Fort Pierce. | 7 PM | Details
🎯 All You Can Shoot Paintball Night – inVINCibles Paintball Park, 2221 SW Del Rio Blvd, Port St. Lucie. | 7 PM | $59.99 | 18+ | Details
Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17
✈️ 2026 Vero Beach Air Show – Vero Beach Regional Airport. | Details
Send Me More Events Here
💧 The Last Drop: Police Chief Report, Sunrise Theatre, INC Update, Website Award, and Murals
👮 Fort Pierce Police Chief Smith giving 100-day report May 11 – New chief covering first 100 days plus update on Police Operations and Data Analysis Commission agenda
🎭 VenuWorks agreement for Sunrise Theatre up for approval – Fort Pierce Commission voting May 11 on contract with national venue operator. Sunrise Theatre
🏘️ Incubate Neighborhood Center update on FPRA agenda – Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency getting INC update May 12, 5:05pm. Information only item. FPRA meeting
🏆 PSL wins Digital Government Website of the Year Award - Council meeting
🎨 Four murals approved for Fort Pierce public art program – FPRA selecting artists May 12: Shannen Mythen (Elks Lodge, 605 S US Hwy 1), Inna Parkhomenko (Dreamchaser Preschool, 505 N 7th St), Sitki Dogan (Mervis, 402 S 5th St), Pete Koza (St. Andrew's Episcopal Academy, 210 S Indian River Dr). Meeting 5:05pm. Mural program
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