Fort Pierce has put a face to its waterfront ambitions. In December the city unveiled the design for Marina Square, a roughly $21 million project that would transform about six acres of downtown waterfront into a signature public gathering space.
The site sits east of Indian River Drive, between Marina Way and Orange Avenue. As designed, it would trade an underused lot for open lawns built for picnics and concerts, shady groves, a central plaza for markets and live music, plus a playground, a splash pad and a dog park. The idea is a place that hosts outdoor markets, family outings and community events year-round.
It's a piece of Fort Pierce's larger Downtown Master Plan, and the design leans on connecting Marina Square to the civic and cultural anchors already nearby. The city marina, the waterfront restaurants and the St. Lucie County library branch would all stay put while the public space gets built around them.
Not everyone's sold yet, and parking is the sticking point. Business owners and residents raised concerns about an area that already feels tight. Crabby's Dockside general manager Jack Gilbert put it bluntly, noting they have very limited parking as it is. Another downtown business owner, Beryl Muise, took the other view, saying more foot traffic would be a benefit for everyone.
The biggest open question is the money. As of the December unveiling, it remained unclear where the roughly $21 million would come from to fund the project, and the city declined an interview request from CBS12. So treat this as a vision with a price tag attached, not a groundbreaking.
For the 772, it's still a notable swing. Fort Pierce has spent years trying to turn its waterfront into a true downtown draw, and Marina Square is the most ambitious version of that yet. We'll be watching the funding and the parking fight to see how much of the rendering actually gets built.