AT A GLANCE
4
TREASURE COAST GETS AMAZON CENTER
Amazon has opened a 60,000-square-foot distribution center on
the Treasure Coast. The online retailer purchased space in Kings Highway
Industrial Park just north of Angle Road, west of Fort Pierce.
The center, expected to create about 200 jobs, is paying an average
of $15 an hour. It will be used as a warehouse and distribution center
for Amazon’s operations in southeast Florida.
St. Lucie County officials on May 7 approved a site plan for the
property that would increase the building size from 38,370 square
feet to about 60,000 square feet, according to county records. The
records show the property has a market value of $2.3 million.
WORK BEGINS ON HIGH-SPEED RAIL
Preliminary work on Virgin
Trains USA’s high-speed rail has
begun in Jensen Beach and
Sebastian.
Each section is generally
planned to be completed from
south to north, but residents can
expect work along the entire
corridor, according to the plans.
Early work is expected to
focus on cleaning and grubbing,
such as pulling weeds and
removing tree roots, along with
relocation of tortoises and fiber
optic cables. The cables, which
are along the land where double-tracking will go, are expected to be
moved slightly.
Virgin Trains plans to complete its work and begin service by 2022.
PURSUIT BOATS EXPANDS PLANT
Pursuit Boats, one of St. Lucie County’s largest manufacturers, has
begun the first phase of an expansion that will ultimately increase its
local employment to 600 and bring its campus footprint to 100 acres
of land with 773,000 square feet of manufacturing and support space.
The company in August broke ground on a 213,000-square-foot facility
on St. Lucie Boulevard in Fort Pierce. The three-phase expansion
will add an additional 569,430 square feet of manufacturing space
with three manufacturing and support operations complexes. The
expansion’s first phase will add a 182,115-square-foot facility.
The Pursuit series of fishing boats was introduced in 1977 in Holland,
Michigan. Demand for the popular boats led to the construction
of a 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fort Pierce in
1983. Pursuit expanded several times over the years and, in 2018, the
company was acquired by Malibu Boats.
POMPANO FARM ARRIVES ON TREASURE COAST
Aquaco Farms has opened in a 20,000-square-foot facility on Rouse
Road south of Fort Pierce. Set on an eight-acre site, Aquaco Farms’
$2.5 million investment will ultimately produce approximately one
million pounds of fresh Florida pompano annually.
Joseph Cardenas, the company’s founder, raised $3.2 million
for the first phase of the privately funded company and is already
planning an expansion. “My passion for fishing and the outdoors,
combined with my experience in commercial banking, led me to this
great opportunity,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas and his team have been working to open Aquaco Farms
for two years, creating the design, building the infrastructure and
constructing the wells.
Aquaco Farms will be able to sustainably produce one million
pounds of fish a year from just 100 fish caught in the wild. v
Business
conversation
starts here
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IN THE NEWS
ELLEN GILLETTE
A Virgin Trains USA car prepares to
leave the Palm Beach station.
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