Web Exclusive: Core Communities
By Jennifer Popovec
In a state where suburban sprawl and gated housing developments are more common than traditional neighborhood developments, Port St. Lucie, Fla.-based Core Communities has designed a master-planned community where connectivity and walkability are paramount.
Located on Florida’s Treasure Coast in Core Communities’ hometown, the master-planned community of Tradition links an expansive network of parks and open greenspace to residential, commercial, and retail areas, a civic site and school, as well as a state-of-the-art research park. The 8,300-acre community, which has been under development since 2003, is about 15 percent complete, according to Wes McCurry, president of Tradition Development Co.
Tradition is a 25-year project, McCurry says, with such a lengthy build-out schedule, Core Communities is constantly evaluating its development plans to fit the needs on the market. The community will eventually feature 18,000 new residences, 9 million square feet of commercial space, including a 200-bed hospital, and 300 hotel rooms.
So far, about 2,200 homes have been built, including 400 multifamily units, as well as the community’s town center, Tradition Square. Situated on 23 acres, Tradition Square is a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development. It is anchored by two shopping centers totaling 750,000 square feet, along with a performance pavilion and an interactive water feature.
Additionally, the Palm Pointe Educational Research School at Tradition, a laboratory school in partnership with Florida Atlantic University, recently opened its doors. The kindergarten-through-eighth-grade facility educates 1,550 students and provides opportunities for research into new teaching methods and serves as a training ground for new teachers.
Meanwhile, work continues on the Florida Center for Innovation (FCI), a 150-acre complex that establishes Tradition as a destination for the bioscience industry. FCI is home to the new headquarters for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Sciences and the Florida division of the Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute.
“We haven’t been immune from the recession, but we still have some good activity on both the residential and the commercial side,” McCurry says. “I believe we’re doing better than other communities in Florida.”
For example, Senior Living Communities recently broke ground on a full-service retirement community, while a 110-unit Hilton Homewood Suites is under construction. Moreover, Core Communities has sold 22 acres to the Mann Research Center, which is affiliated with the Alfred Mann Foundation. The organization plans to develop a research park within Tradition FCI and hopes to attract biotechnology firms.
“We’re more focused on nonresidential development than residential development right now because that’s where we’re seeing the most activity,” McCurry says. “We are able to rely on the commercial market during this residential downturn. In fact, that’s one reason why we’re looking to create an employment and retail corridor—it can sustain the project over the long term and sustain the housing market so we can better weather the ups and downs of the market.”
