DOWNTOWN
16
Lucie County in
1937, and served on
the court from 1940
to 1951, and from
1967 to 1968. Born
in 1899, he died in
1988. His family
still owns and operates
the ranch.
The new courthouse
is under
construction on the
southwest corner
of U.S. 1 at Orange
Avenue, across
the street from the
historic Arcade
Building. City Hall
is on the northeast
corner of the same
intersection. The
existing federal
courthouse is at 300
S. Sixth St.
“The courthouse
is going to mean
a huge economic boost for the city,” Fort Pierce Mayor Bob
Benton says. “I anticipate it will be over $100 million. It
will do for us what the county courthouse has done for the
downtown area, and attract more businesses on the west
side of U.S. 1.”
The new courthouse, when complete, will house 15 agencies,
The courthouse is to be named for the late
Florida Supreme Court chief justice Alto
Lee Adams Sr. of Fort Pierce.
including a federal clerk of courts office, courtrooms,
bankruptcy court, the U.S. Marshals Service, federal probation
services, and General Services Administration offices.
Between 100 and 150 employees will work there.
“They have parking spaces around the federal courthouse
for some of the people who will work there,” Benton says.
“We have space in the public parking garage for others, including
visitors to the building, to park for free.”
Downtown shops and restaurants on the east side of U.S. 1
should benefit from federal employees who walk across the
street during lunch hour and after work, the mayor says.
The venerable Pot Belli Deli in the historic Arcade Building
across Orange Avenue from the new building can also expect
busier lunch and breakfast hours.
East of U.S. 1, Gerrie Biegner, whose S&S Takeout on
Depot Drive opened in the spring of 2010, says she and her
husband chose their location by the railroad tracks partly
because of the new courthouse.
“We wanted a place that you could walk to from both
courthouses,” she says. “People don’t have that much time at
lunch, and we wanted to be close.”
Benton says the courthouse, first endorsed and promoted
by former mayor William Dannahower and then by his successor,
Mayor Eddie Enns, was a long time in coming.
“We had 10 commissioners between the time this started
and when they broke ground — three city managers, several
senators and several congressmen,” he says. “About a year
from now, the dream will come to fruition and the federal
courthouse will finally be open. I think I can speak for all the
commission when I say we all look forward to that day.”
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