The name "St. Lucie" is originally derived from the name of asettlement nearJupiter Inlet, which was founded onSt. Lucia's Day in 1566. Due to numerous errors, the name later came to be associated with the present-day town ofSt. Lucie Village, Florida, north of present-day Port St. Lucie. AfterLa Florida andSt. Augustine, it is the oldest still-in-use European place name in the United States.[12] In the early 1890s, an earlypioneer settlement named Spruce Bluff was located along the St. Lucie River, which consisted of a community of several families with a school, post office, pineapple plantation, andsawmill. Currently, the land the settlement was located on is part of the Spruce Bluff Preserve. Along with an old cemetery near the old settlement, thepreserve also contains a hiking area, canoe access, observation areas, and a prehistoricAisIndian mound located on the southern end of the preserve.
In the 1950s, the land that eventually became Port St. Lucie was a largely uninhabited tract of land south ofWhite City, composed of a fishing camp (Burt Pruitt's Fishin' Farm) along the St. Lucie River,[13] a few farms and businesses nearU.S. 1. In 1958, with a budget of $50 million, theGeneral Development Corporation (GDC) purchased the River Park development and 40,000 acres (160 km2) along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River.[14] In 1959, the GDC opened its first bridge over the St. Lucie River, allowing for direct automobile access to Port St. Lucie.
By February 25, 1961, 250 homes were in the new city. GDC requested the state legislature to incorporate 70 mi (110 km), along with the River Park settlement, into the City of Port St. Lucie. River Park did not incorporate into the city at the request of its residents. Port St. Lucie became a city on April 27, 1961, with the passage of House Bill No. 953, proposed by State Representative Rupert Smith and approved by Florida GovernorC. Farris Bryant.[2][15]
In the early 1990s, Core Communities (CC), acquired and began planning what would becomeSt. Lucie West. Originally, St. Lucie West was to have contained about 14,000 homes over a 20-year period on 7 sq mi (18 km2), but after realizing the community's strategic position, they began developing it into more than just a residential area. CC began building business sectors and places of entertainment and leisure. That resulted in 7,000 jobs being brought to the small town, helping it into its boom during most of the early 2000s.[citation needed]
In 2006, CC started development of its newest community,Tradition, which sits west of theInterstate 95 interchange with Gatlin Blvd., and was a large cattle ranch before CC began to develop it. Around 13,000,000 sq ft (1,200,000 m2) of commercial area were built, with room for over 18,000 residences. According to CC's website, Tradition is the largest fully entitled residential development area from the tip of Interstate 95 to theCanada–U.S. border. It is modeled after a 1950s-era town. According to its website, Tradition Square, the town center of the community, holds festivities year-round. It was also chosen as the site ofHGTV'sGreen Home in 2009.[16]
In 2007, the housing market began to collapse and unemployment started to rise. As of February 2009, unemployment was about 10.5%, and in 2008, nearly 11,000 homes went intoforeclosure. This prompted the county government to consider declaring itself a disaster area. Doing so would have given county administrators access to $17 million in county emergency reserve funds. That money, combined with a transportation fund and other accounts, would give St. Lucie $20–$30 million to spend on building projects -research parks, highways, and other infrastructure improvements.[17]
In 2008, Tradition and Core Communities welcomed the Florida Center of Innovation (later renamed Tradition Center for Innovation), a 150-acre privately owned research park dedicated to drug discovery, immunology and medical devices, and healthcare. TCI initially composed ofTorrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Oregon Health and Science University's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), Martin Health System Hospital (Tradition Medical Center), and Mann Research Center. In 2015, VGTI shut down their TCI facility, and Mann Research Center soon followed. As of 2019, only Torrey Pines and the Tradition Medical Center remain in TCI.
In 2017, TAMCO, a subsidiary of City Electric Supply, a family-owned electricalwholesale business, created plans with the Port St. Lucie city council to construct a $38 million, 400,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center located in the Tradition Commerce Park.[18] Construction of the TAMCO facility began in 2018 and was completed in late 2019.[19]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 76.7 sq mi (198.6 km2), of which 1.2 sq mi (3.0 km2) (1.50%) are covered by water.[20]
Port St. Lucie is located in the broad transition zone between ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa), which prevails inCentral Florida, and within the northern extent of thetropical climate typical ofSouth Florida. Summers are usually hot, with high temperatures averaging in the low 90°Fs. Winters are usually mild to warm, with average high temperatures in the 70s. The average yearly precipitation is around 53.5 in.[22]In 2004 and 2005, Port St. Lucie was hit directly by three hurricanes:Frances (category 2),Jeanne (category 3), andWilma (category 3).
Port St. Lucie, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of thecensus of 2000, 88,769 people, 33,909 households, and 25,736 families were living in the city. Thepopulation density was 453.7 people/km2 (1,175 people/sq mi). There were 36,785 housing units at an average density of 188.0 units/km2 (487 units/sq mi). In 2000, the population was 87.88%White, 7.09%Black orAfrican American, 0.23%Native American, 1.24%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. 7.52% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
In 2000, 31.6% of households had children under 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were not families. Of all households, 18.2% were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 2.94.
In 2000, the city's age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $40,509, and for a family was $44,162. Males had a median income of $31,730 versus $23,702 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $18,059. 7.9% of the population and 5.7% of families were below thepoverty line, including 11.1% of those under 18 and 5.8% of those 65 or over.
Port St. Lucie is served by the St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization (TPO).[34] The TPO is ametropolitan planning organization, a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization responsible for transportation planning, programming, and financing of state and federal transportation funds for the City of Port St. Lucie. The TPO is governed by a TPO board, which is composed of elected officials, representatives from the St. Lucie County School Board, and representatives from Community Transit, a division of the Council on Aging of St. Lucie, Inc.[35]
The original bus system started out as a demand-response service bus in the 1990s; it only served St. Lucie County. Soon, it expanded to a fixed-route system, serving predetermined locations along a route. On June 3, 2002, theFlorida Department of Transportation approved funding, expanding the bus service to Martin County, and became the Treasure Coast Connector. In 2020, the bus service changed its name to Area Regional Transit; buses run on eight routes, five of which serve Port St. Lucie.[36]
Florida's Turnpike (State Road 91) is the only toll road in St. Lucie County, which is the northernmost place where the Turnpike andInterstate 95 run close to each other. The Turnpike has two exits within Port St. Lucie's city limits: Exit 142 (Port St. Lucie Boulevard (SR 716)) and exit 138 (Becker Road). For all of its route through Port St. Lucie, the turnpike is east of I-95. The Turnpike is four lanes wide , and provides access toOrlando to the north, andMiami to the southeast. The Port St. Lucie/Ft. Pierce Service Plaza is also located in Port St. Lucie.
Interstate 95 (State Road 9) is in the western portion of the city. It is six lanes wide, and provides access toJacksonville to the north, andMiami to the south. Exits within the city's limits are exit 126 (CR 712/Midway Road), exit 121 (St. Lucie West Blvd.), exit 120 (Crosstown Parkway), exit 118 (Gatlin Blvd./Tradition Pkwy.), and exit 114 (Becker Rd.).[37]
Port St. Lucie is responsible for maintaining around 912.5 miles (1,468.5 km) of roadway within its city limits.
U.S. 1 (State Road 5) – Running the entire length of the state, its route through the city extends from the Martin/St. Lucie County line to the south to Midway Road at the northern limits of the city. This stretch of US 1 contains mostly strip malls and shopping centers. On the southeast corner of US 1's intersection with Walton Road/Veterans Memorial Blvd., is the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center, which was once envisioned as the center of the city's "downtown". As of today, the area around the Event Center remains mostly undeveloped.
Crosstown Parkway – Completed in October 2019, Crosstown Parkway is an east/west roadway connecting Interstate 95 (State Road 9) with U.S. 1 (State Road 5). Along with being a much-needed, high-capacity, third crossing of the North Fork of theSt. Lucie River (Port St. Lucie Blvd. to the south, and Prima Vista Blvd. to the north being the other two), it is also the location of Florida's firstsuperstreet intersection—also known as a "restricted-crossing U-turn intersection"—at Crosstown Parkway and Floresta Drive.
SR 716 – The state-road portion of Port St. Lucie Boulevard (commonly shortened to PSL Blvd.) connects US 1 with Florida's Turnpike.
TheFlorida East Coast Railway (FEC) mainline passes through the extreme eastern parts of the city.FEC's K Branch passes through the northwestern part of the city. Both rail lines only pass through the city; no services are provided by the FEC inside Port St. Lucie's city limits.
The PGA Village golf complex includes 54 holes of golf, as well as a learning center and a historical center. The city also hosted theGinn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, the city's first PGA Tour event, in 2007.[38]
The city has two soccer clubs, Mako Soccer Club and Port St. Lucie Soccer Club, that field both competitive and recreational teams at several age levels. TheTreasure Coast Tritons soccer team also play in the city at the South County Stadium, starting in the 2019 season.[39]
Port St. Lucie is the home of the 2009 and 2011 national champions inPop Warner football. In 2009, the Jr. Midget Pirates went 16–0 en route to winning the Pop Warner National Championship at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.[40] In 2001, the Jr. Peewee Pirates went 17–0 in winning the national championship.[41]
A fictional version of Port St. Lucie is the setting for the Japanesemanga andanimeJoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6:Stone Ocean in which the protagonist is imprisoned in the fictional Green Dolphin Street Prison located just outside of the city.
_P001.jpg)
