🌅 💰 Port St. Lucie Spending $1M Federal Grant

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🍩 New Food: Gator Glaze Donuts & Cafe opened May 7 at 10106 S. U.S. 1 in the iconic Shell Bazaar building built in 1953. Read more (TCPalm subscription may be required).

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Every year Port St. Lucie automatically receives Community Development Block Grant money from the federal government through HUD. This year's allocation is just over $1 million. After the required 20% goes to administration, about $921,000 goes to actual projects. The city council approved this year's plan Monday 💰.

Here is what got funded:

🔧 $340,000 to replace up to 9 failed culverts in Whispering Pines, phase 6 of an ongoing drainage improvement effort in one of the city's lower income designated neighborhoods.

📷 $249,000 for lighting and security cameras at Rotary Park. This one drew pushback from Councilman Pickett who asked what crimes were actually happening there before committing that kind of money. The parks director said the main issues are minor theft and a homeless population around the shelter and picnic area.

👮 $175,000 for two code compliance officers working specifically in CDBG designated neighborhoods. They have already opened more than 1,500 code cases since October 1st.

🚌 $75,000 for the Boys & Girls Club mobile club, which brings programming directly into neighborhoods without a physical club location.

🌱 $75,000 for Love Your Block, a resident led beautification and neighborhood engagement program.

💬 Watch the full meeting here

Fort Pierce City Commission unanimously approved Pulte Homes' 239-unit single-family development on 50 acres off Jenkins Road on May 18, with Pulte closing on the property May 20. The development features single and two-story Florida Mediterranean and coast styles with 3 to 5 bedrooms, ranging from 1,256 to 1,850 square feet, with prices anticipated to begin in the low $400,000s. Amenities include a pool, cabana, playground, linear park with one-third mile walking trail and a marlin sculpture gateway piece welcoming visitors to the Sunrise City. Home sales are expected to start in early 2027.

👉 Read more (St. Lucie Voice)

Effective June 1, St. Lucie County established two anchor limitation areas in the Indian River Lagoon and Fort Pierce Harbor near the South Causeway Bridge, prohibiting vessels from anchoring more than 45 consecutive days in any six-month period without leaving for 24 hours. The restriction addresses abandoned vessels cluttering waterways — the FWC collected around two dozen derelict boats last year. Abandoned vessels pose environmental concerns from diesel, oil and holding tank pollutants that impact the 4,000+ plant and animal species living in the lagoon.

👉 Read more (WPTV)

RentCafe named Port St. Lucie's 34987 zip code one of the fastest-growing in the entire country thanks to Southern Grove, a neighborhood that barely existed ten years ago and is now booming. The area has become a major jobs hub attracting FedEx and Amazon, with Amazon closing its current facility to build a bigger one. Housing inventory exploded 177%, one of the largest growth spurts in Florida, earning high marks for educated residents and strong homeownership rates. The neighborhood was deliberately designed as one of four neighborhoods to give people reasons to move and stay. Ponte Vedra Beach, Daytona Beach and St. Augustine also earned top rankings, with Florida second only to Texas for up-and-coming communities.

👉 Read more (WPTV)

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