Land deal approved for commerce park
Ashley Capital has signed an option agreement with St. Lucie County for the two parcels shown in blue. ASHLEY CAPITAL GRAPHIC
Ashley Capital to purchase 111 acres for development
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The St. Lucie County Commission approved an option agreement for the sale of 111 acres within the Treasure Coast Education, Research and Development Authority research park to Ashley Capital, one of the nation’s largest industrial real estate investment companies.
The property is in St. Lucie County on Kings Highway, between Orange Avenue and Okeechobee Road, within a mile of Interstate 95 and 1.5 miles from Florida’s Turnpike.
“We are excited for the future of TCERDA,” said Ashley Capital Director of Development Jill Marasa. “Our team is excited to begin the development process for the property and believe its strong regional proximity and highway accessibility, a growing and diversified regional workforce, and a commitment to workforce development by St. Lucie Public Schools and Indian River State College will help grow and attract quality businesses.”
In the early 2000s, the county, the St. Lucie County School Board and the state of Florida assembled 1,600 acres that currently make up TCERDA with the intention of attracting research facilities that would complement the onsite work being done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Florida. This original vision never materialized and land-use restrictions within the park discouraged other investments.
An exception was the county’s establishment of the Sunshine Kitchen in 2018, funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The kitchen is a 10,000-square-foot facility equipped with a licensed commercial kitchen, and used as an incubator and laboratory for small local businesses to develop, process, package and promote their food products.
In 2019, the county initiated a series of changes to the zoning and architectural requirements within the TCERDA properties. In response to these changes, in 2020 the county and the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County [EDC] put together an economic development initiative called Project Vision to promote high development and job creation for the park.
Ashley Capital inquired about the potential to purchase some of the TCERDA land in 2020. County staff began work in 2021 to prepare to offer the land for sale via a Request for Proposal which was completed in 2022. Ashley Capital was the sole respondent, offering to purchase the property to develop a Class A light industrial park. County commissioners approved the option agreement for the sale of 111 acres last year.
“Ashley Capital and the county have been working this deal for a few years now and, based on their commitment to this deal to get to this point, we are more than confident they are going to create a great commerce park and bring a lot of jobs to St. Lucie County,” said County Administrator George Landry.
“The development plan for the commerce park will help meet market demand for small to midsized companies seeking to expand and grow in a setting with modern facilities and quality amenities,” said EDC President Pete Tesch.
Once the option agreement has been exercised, Ashley Capital will own more than 160 acres in TCERDA for its commerce park; the company previously purchased 60 acres in 2023 from the St. Lucie County School District.