Article
Courtesy of The TC Palm
By Laurence
Reisman
Published December 20, 2015
The tweet from Kimberly Hardin Thorpe was a shocker:
"Coming soon to Royal Palm Pointe in Vero Beach! 21 Royal Club. Four luxury
town homes!"
I scrambled to figure out which Royal Palm Pointe property would be the
latest to face the wrecking ball. Earlier in the week I'd heard a resident
at a city meeting lament the continued loss of riverfront views and access
along the Pointe.
I reactively wondered whether 21 Royal
Club would be the latest domino to fall in a race to turn
the peninsula into a concrete jungle of upscale residences —
even after city taxpayers spent about $6 million in 2001 to
add parking and lights, build a park and otherwise beautify
what was a largely commercial area when it led to the old
Barber drawbridge.
Since the city's upgrades, two of the best restaurant
locations in Indian River County, both on the east end of
the Pointe, were torn down. In 2004, the 253-seat former
Chart House was demolished to make room for condominiums.
This year, Quail Valley Club began building a clubhouse and
apartments where a Lobster Shanty stood for decades.
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The future 21 Royal Club in Royal Palm Pointe.
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The next restaurant to be razed will be Café du Soir, a
cozy spot on the second floor of 21 Royal Palm Pointe. It was the best
restaurant in the region from the late 1980s through the early 2000s.
Candlelite lighting fixtures, now on Old Dixie Highway, was on the first
floor.
Earlier this month, though, St. Lucie County developer Bobby Nelson bought
the property from longtime owners Al and Donna Labonte for $1.9 million,
according to courthouse records. Nelson looked at renovating the building,
but building four, two-story town homes made more economic sense, according
to Michael Thorpe of Sotheby's International Realty. Thorpe and his wife,
Kimberly, are marketing the property.
"You build something when you know there's going to be acceptance in the
marketplace," said Thorpe.
That means 3,300-square-foot town homes, each with two docks. The price
tags: $1.695 million to $1.995 million. Ultimately, the value of the
property could go from the $1.1 million it's currently assessed at by Indian
River County to almost $7.4 million.
Who wouldn't want to live on Royal Palm Pointe?
As nice as the project promises to be, it's unfortunate that another piece
of what makes the Pointe attractive — buildings for shopping, services and
eateries — will give way to homes. It didn't have to be that way.
As early as 1988, city planners spoke of changing zoning rules to allow
buildings with commercial on the first floor and residential above. An idea
was floated to create a boardwalk, accessible to the public, around the
Pointe. In 2004, then-city Planning Director Dennis Ragsdale lamented the
fact condominiums would sprout up.
"The idea of Royal Palm Pointe was to have it be a destination place, like a
downtown where pedestrians could walk around," he said in 2004. At the time,
though, developer Fred Peters said condominiums were the only realistic
option given strict city ordinances.
Today, though, Tim McGarry, the city's planning director, said he hopes to
start a discussion soon about a special zoning district on the Pointe that
would allow mixed uses.
"You've got to hope someone will be willing to speculate and do those kinds
of things," McGarry said.
Thorpe said he supports mixed uses, too, much like the Ocean Park complex at
Humiston Beach. On Royal Palm Pointe, he could see smaller, more affordable
residences above shops and restaurants. Being able to walk to businesses is
one reason why 21 Royal Club will work, he said.
The good news is only a few buildings on the south side of the Pointe are
zoned in a way the buildings could be razed and residences built.
"I don't see the threat that everything is going to get torn down and
residences built in its place," said Thorpe.
Still, given the aging of some of the buildings on the point, the city
should find a way to use ordinances to encourage quality, low-rise,
mixed-use development. Redevelopment should be done to keep alive the vision
of a trendy commercial-residential enclave — and keep as much of the
riverfront visible and accessible to the public.
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