The CRA approved funding and contract agreement with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) to develop a Master Plan for the "Triangle" study area.
SUMMARY
The City of Stuart Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), in collaboration with the City of Stuart (City) and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC), has produced a Master Plan for the proposed "Triangle District". The "Triangle" study area is adjacent to "The Creek” Arts & Entertainment District and the “Old Downtown District.” The CRA is exploring ways to bridge the two districts and develop an implementable vision for the future of the "Triangle District". The Master Plan provides a series of recommended infrastructure improvements, redevelopment concepts, and strategies for the Triangle District.
In addition, the City of Stuart has also collaborated with TCRPC on the Federal Highway Commercial Corridor Plan (FHCC) which was funded through a State of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Technical Assistance Grant. While the FHCC project was separately funded and with a very specific timeline and scope of services, the implementation of the two efforts has been synchronized and ultimately illustrated as distinct chapters of a single master plan.
To develop the Triangle District plan, TCRPC has coordinated a thorough public involvement process, completed detailed field analyses and base documentation, and developed a recommended urban design and master plan approach. The intent of the plan is to assist the CRA and the City in making future decisions regarding a balanced redevelopment of the "Triangle District. This planning effort is also designed to integrate the vision and principles of prior and current planning efforts in Stuart. It should be noted the study area was the subject of previous vision planning efforts in 1988 and 2002. Accordingly, the updated vision contained in the Triangle District plan builds upon these previous efforts and subsequent studies commissioned by the CRA.
STUDY AREA
The study area is roughly defined as west of S Dixie Highway, east of US-1/Federal Highway, north of SW Ocean Boulevard. Its geometry is a triangle, and in public outreach, the term Triangle District resonated with the most people surveyed. For that reason, the area will be referred to as the Triangle District. The study area is characterized by offices, automotive uses, a telecom utility building, vacancies, a church, and an associated school. The active uses are largely centered around business hours with evenings and weekends being largely dark. A significant piece of redevelopment occurred on a City-owned property where a three-story rental apartment building with 49 units was completed in 2019. The success of this development has shown the potential for the district which retains its compact walkable network of streets and alleys and close connection to Old Downtown, the St Lucie River, and “The Creek” Arts & Entertainment District. Public outreach in surveys, individual interviews, vision workshops, and walking tours echoed the support of expanding more active uses in the study area and continuing the fabric of downtown into the Triangle District.