Car wash, fast food, storage are in latest plan after former Press Journal site sells again
VERO BEACH — A self-service car wash, fast-food restaurant and indoor storage facility would replace the former Press Journal building, under the latest plan proposed for the property.
It's at least the third idea floated for the property, 1801 U.S. 1, since the newspaper moved to new offices seven years ago.
West Palm Beach VYBE Investments submitted site plans to the city late Friday afternoon, said Planning Director Jason Jeffries.
The car wash and restaurant would be on front of the 3.75-acre site, facing U.S. 1. The storage facility would be on the back, Jeffries said.
The building, which would be demolished, has been vacant since 2015, when the Press Journal and TCPalm moved to their current downtown offices, 2066 14th Ave. The E.W. Scripps Co. sold the property for $1.4 million in 2015.
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Other ideas considered for the site have been a national — but unnamed — grocery chain and an auto museum inside the former newspaper building.
Wayne Gould paid $3 million for the property in 2020, intending to move his auto museum from Tucson, Arizona. Gould, who did not return calls and texts seeking comment, never followed through with plans for the museum, Jeffries said.
County property records still list Gould as owner of the property, although, Jeffries said, it has been sold to VYBE Investments.
The newest plans, which are under review by city staff,must be approved by the city Planning and Zoning Commission before construction begins, Jeffries said. Because of the extensive review required for the site, the commission likely will consider the site plan in August, he said.
"It's a major site plan because it's a total tear-down," Jeffries said. "We treat it as a new site, as if it had never been developed."
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The City Council last week approved VYBE's request to change city code to allow car washes in the U.S. 1 commercial district.
Attorney Peter Sweeney, representing VYBE Investments, told the City Council last month his client planned to redevelop the site.
"It won't be just a car wash," he said.
The car wash would be a free-standing building with an automated tunnel for cars to drive through, something that is not in the current market, Jeffries said. A tenant for the fast-food restaurant was not identified on the site plans, he said.
In January, VYBE Investments announced plans to build 20 Pink Bird express car wash companies on Florida's east coast between Broward and Brevard counties. Pink Bird is "an express car wash company with retro Florida branding, focused on customer experience," a statement from the company said.
Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com or 772-978-2235.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Could former Press Journal site be home to a car wash, fast-food restaurant?
