King's Landing developers day late on key application, future deadlines also in question

FORT PIERCE — The developer of the King's Landing project here was a day late for a key deadline last week, a week after its CEO told city commissioners that it may not be met on time.

According to the 2019 agreement between Audubon Development and the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency, the company had been required to submit an application for building permits or development permit compliance review approval by March 18.

Deadlines put Audubon at risk of violating contract

A city spokesperson confirmed March 19 that Audubon had submitted its development permit compliance review application March 19, before the city issued a notice of a breach of contract. If notice had been sent, the company would have had 30 days to submit the application or risk the city taking the property back.

"City staff members are currently reviewing the latest documents received from the developer to ensure compliance with the development agreement," city spokesperson Kaitlyn Ballard said in an email.

The project has been beset by delays, putting future deadlines in serious doubt. Meaningful construction on Phase 1 of the project, which includes the proposed hotel, has been put on pause. The beginning of Phase 2 construction has a June 16 deadline and the deadline for finishing Phase 1 is Feb. 5, 2026.

Why things are taking so long?

At a meeting earlier this month of the redevelopment agency — comprised of city commissioners — Audubon CEO and President Dale Matteson explained why things are running behind, and why those deadlines might not be met.

Though the city picked Audubon in December 2019 to develop the former H.D. King Power Plant site, Matteson said the property wasn't actually under the company's control until April 2022, due in part to issues with the state, "and you throw a dose of COVID while all of this is happening."

"Technically, we've only had this project for two years, but it feels like forever," Matteson said.

Once the land was under Audubon's control, there were further issues. Matteson said it was to have no height restriction or parking issues, and it came with a certificate from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection attesting it to be "shovel ready."

"None of what we thought has come to pass," Matteson said.

The company ultimately had to ask Fort Pierce for an increase in height limits and negotiate parking arrangements with the city. As for the FDEP certificate, Matteson said, it turned out to certify safety only if no dirt was moved. Audobon had to go back to FDEP and get a new certificate allowing it to go underground.

"We had to get the right certificate," Matteson said. "We got that done, at great time and expense."

Then there was the 1,500 tons of concrete that once made up the foundations of the power plant. Audobon was unaware of that material before beginning the project, Matteson said, and it cost $400,000 to remove. The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency covered $170,000 of that cost.

Most recently, 500 dump trucks came in October to fill in the hole left by the removed concrete, which itself was sent offshore to help with artificial reef construction.

Overall, Matteson said Audubon has spent about $2 million on unexpected work at the property.

"Now the site is shovel-ready," Matteson said.

Waiting for city and utility authority work to commence

After the hole was filled, Matteson said, Aububon and its construction contractors decided to wait before moving forward with underground infrastructure such as water and sewer pipes. That is because the city and Fort Pierce Utility Authority are currently doing infrastructure work around King's Landing. That $2.7 million project is being paid for by the state.

"We made a conscious decision at one point to not tear up Indian River Drive three times," Matteson said. "We decided to wait."

In addition to the unnecessary cost that tearing up and repaving the road multiple times would present, Matteson said it was determined that his construction contractors should wait at least until FPUA is done with its underground work so contractors can match underground components perfectly.

The fear would be that if King's Landing moves forward it might have to reverse course and rework its systems to match what FPUA is putting underground, particularly when it comes to routing sewage to its new wastewater treatment plant, Matteson and his team said.

"We understand that people want to see it go up. We want to see it go up, but before it goes up, we've got to go down and solve the stuff below," Matteson said. "If it takes another few months and (we) get it right, that would be great."

FPUA received bids last month for its work, which will use about $700,000 of the $2.7 million, Commissioner Curtis Johnson said. It is currently reviewing those proposals.

City Engineer John Andrews said he does not expect FPUA to take long with its decision.

"From my understanding, the UA is anticipating starting with the infrastructure upgrades soon," Andrews said.

As for city roadwork, which will use the other $2 million, Andrews said planning should be done in August and the city will seek bids "directly after that."

That timeline makes the June 16 phase two deadline unlikely and also calls into question the Feb. 5, 2026 target, Commissioner Michael Broderick pointed out.

New developments on hotel, partnerships with IRSC

Initially, Audubon signed a six-month exclusive deal with Mainsail Lodging and Development to operate the hotel. However, those six months passed, and interest rates went up, Matteson said.

"It didn't happen," Matteson said.

That said, through its failed attempt to host a Brightline station at King's Landing, Audubon strengthened its relationship with Indian River State College.

Recently, Matteson said, Audubon reached a deal with IRSC to lease the Coast Guard House on South Hutchinson Island for 80 years. Early plans are to turn the historic building into a bed and breakfast, event space and wedding venue, with a water taxi connecting it to King's Landing.

Then, Matteson said, IRSC expressed interest in expanding its hospitality programs through establishing a teaching hotel. The college can get far lower interest rates than a private company such as Mainsail could, Matteson added.

Last month, Matteson said, Marriott corporate representatives came here to give a presentation to Audubon and IRSC officials on 16 hotels the company currently operates as higher-education partnerships.

"We think we have an opportunity," Matteson said.

As originally planned, the hotel still would be a "Tribute Hotel," an independently branded hotel under the Marriott umbrella, Matteson said. Guests still would have a premium experience, he assured commissioners.

"It's still a Marriott. No one will know that it's a teaching hotel. It's just part of the program," Matteson said.

Three franchisees are being considered to operate the hotel, including Mainsail, which, Matteson said, expressed interest in the new idea.

More: Construction 'imminent' on $140 million King's Landing development in downtown Fort Pierce

More: Fort Pierce leaders are angry over Brightline snub. Here's what they plan to do about it

Frustrations from commissioners, public

Commissioners said they have heard frustration from members of the public about the lack of progress at the King's Landing site.

The prospect of amending the contract was briefly discussed, but it had little support.

Broderick said there would be no way to know what dates to put in place of the current ones.

"We're throwing darts in the dark if we think we're going to come up with some arbitrary timelines that, candidly, are meaningless until we have more details," Broderick said.

Commissioner Arnold Gaines, who has pushed in recent weeks for more "shovels in the ground" on projects, urged caution before the city considers changing the current contract, including amending it to give Audubon more time or trying to pull away from the developer and take back the land.

"I'm just cautioning us, and I know the public is listening, and the public is mad, but we need to caution ourselves right now before we do something — pull the plug, amend, do whatever. Let's just slow the roll and think about this because at the end of the day what the public really wants is a hotel in downtown Fort Pierce," Gaines said.

City Manager Nick Mimms said the city will enforce the terms of the contract if it is not amended.

"The developer has a deliverable with which they need to provide," Mimms said. "We have a contractual obligation to the city side, the (redevelopment authority) side and the developer side. We need to fulfill those contractual obligations, and if deadlines and milestones are not met, then we need to move forward with our procedure to seek a remedy for that breach."

Ultimately, that was the path that was taken, leaving the current deadlines in place.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: City pushes back on delays at King's Landing, with deadlines in doubt