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WHAT’S NEXT
Tradition, is tickled with The Landing, which opened earlier
this year on the development’s eastern edge. “There’s just
tons of stuff there,” she said. “For anyone who lives in or
near Tradition, it’s great. You don’t have to drive anywhere.
They have a Target, some shoe stores, Petsmart,
Dress Barn, Bed Bath and Beyond, Pier 1 Imports, Office
Max, Sports Authority, TJ Maxx and a lot of others,” she
said. “When they added The Landing it made this like a
whole new community.’’
Village Pointe, with 400,000 square feet of retail space and
200,000 square feet for offices, will be completed within
Tradition in 2010.
With all the retail construction on Gatlin Boulevard, just
outside of the Tradition development near Interstate 95,
“everything has just been springing up all around here,”
Hendricks said.
Gatlin will be home to three of the biggest shopping centers
in the city, with a combined total of more than 1 million
square feet.
In Gatlin Plaza, Home Depot is already open. Kohl’s is
planning to begin construction on a department store in the
plaza in a few months. Tanger Outlet Mall will open in the
same vicinity. Gatlin Commons is home to Wal-Mart, and a
Sam’s is under construction.
“If it’s not in St. Lucie West or Tradition, it’s on Gatlin,”
said Angel Tyrrell, who frequently drives between her home
on Becker Road and St. Lucie West to do her shopping. She
gets on I-95 at Gatlin.
Port St. Lucie Mayor Pat Christensen estimates that in the
last 18 months $150 million to $200 million has been spent on
commercial construction in the city.
“It’s providing such a lot of jobs,” she said. “Right now 40
percent of our residents go south to work. But we’re still
more affordable than the counties to the south. When these
shopping centers are completed, 60 percent of our sales taxable
money will be spent here instead of outside the county.”
People who live in the U.S. 1 vicinity will probably still
travel to Jensen Beach to shop, she said.
The 120-store Treasure Coast Square mall in Jensen is the
area’s only regional mall right now. A 25,000 square foot
expansion is in the works, scheduled to open in August,
2008, said spokeswoman Erin Holley. It will include an Ann
Taylor Loft, Christopher & Banks, C.J. Banks, and Sam
Seltzer Steakhouse.
For the past two years, St. Lucie West has been inundated
with commercial construction. Office buildings, professional
plazas, light industrial buildings, and retail stores are filling
up property fronting on St. Lucie West Boulevard and
Peacock Boulevard.
Town Center of St. Lucie West, under construction at the
corner of St. Lucie West and Peacock boulevards, already has
several open stores, including a Starbucks, but construction
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PHOTO BY SUSAN BURGESS
A large section of Town Center at St. Lucie West is under construction this winter and is expected to open in July. It will include some well-known chain
stores, much to the delight of many of the residents.