'The stars have aligned': Ocean Park a bit ahead of schedule

Following a frustrating year of political delays, the Ocean Park development at the south end of Central Beach is finally moving rapidly forward. When completed, Ocean Park will be the most interesting mixed use project on the beach, combining luxury oceanfront townhomes and condos with retail shops and a high-end restaurant. For an update and some thoughts on the future of Ocean Drive, we talked to Bob McNally of Palm Coast Development:

Q. Construction now seems to be moving right along.

McNally: We are slightly ahead of schedule. Our expectation was to finish this in September of 2009 and the stars have aligned so that if all continues as it is, it will be earlier than that date. The first floor of the retail stores is already complete. By Labor Day, we will be working on the second floor. By the end of September, we will be up on the third floor, and by October, we will set roof trusses and roof sheathing and dry the project in. And by November 1st or so, you will be able to see the full height of the project.

Q. Beyond the political challenges, this has been a relatively straightforward project?

McNally: It is a very, very interesting and challenging project for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the ocean townhouses are in a very unique building. Any time you build on the ocean, you are definitely on piles. And in this building, we had to excavate 16 feet below existing grade in order to start our piles. So there is really a building under the building that we ended up burying.

Q. How are sales going?

McNally: All the retail is sold. The restaurant is gone. The restaurant has been designed. It will be called Flamevine. It is really different. It is going to be high end but beachy at the same time. There is just nothing here like it. We’re going to have an outdoor bar. We have the awnings outside over the terrace – so there’s outdoor dining here. The terrace is way above sea level, so when you sit down, you will be able to see the waves hitting the beach which is unusual. I think it is a fantastic design, you will walk through the front doors and see this big wall of exposed wine bottles. It’s pretty cool.

Q. When will the first occupants be moving in?

McNally: The first move-ins should occur in September 2009. In order to get our first certificate of occupancy, there is a requirement that 100 percent of the exterior building must be complete including landscaping. We think that in order to get that, we probably have to have the buildings finished on the exterior side in May so people have all the time they need to get us the approvals.

Q. When can we expect to see a start on the improvements to Humiston Park?

McNally: Our goal was to start after Labor Day, and I am not sure we will get there because of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection permits. There are two overlapping permits that are required from FDEP. The FDEP permit for the second phase is lagging by six to eight weeks thanks to the opponents. As a result of the permits, we may have to stagger this. Phase 1 – the landscaping and piazza along Ocean Drive – would start in September of October. It would be nice to finish before the season. Phase 2 – the parking lot – would then be completed next May.

Q. Do you foresee continued redevelopment to the south of Ocean Park?

McNally: My sense is this is the southern extreme of most of the redevelopment of Central Beach. I am aware of a project immediately to our south, but they missed the interim zoning. I think you have a very serious structural zoning problem in the City of Vero Beach for redevelopment. It is uneconomic. The restrictions are awful. There are parking restrictions. There are requirements for retail on first floors, and offices on second floors – you can’t have offices on first floors and offices on the second; and it’s gobbledygook. So everything then becomes a special purpose building for a special user – it needs to be used by the user. Well, there are not that many people that are going to go around and buy a building for $2 million so they can put their business in there. So there are real viability issues.

Q. Then beyond zoning there are code issues?

McNally: Yes, the building codes have been changed in Florida. So if you go into (one of the older buildings on Ocean Drive) and try to renovate that space, you have to bring it up to 2004 building code standards. Those are 140 mph standards. Those buildings were built 40 or 50 years ago. They are not close to those standards. You have buildings down there that they are asking more than $5 million for. I would argue that those buildings are not worth more than $1 million. You have to knock them down and rebuild again and what, lease it out for $40 per square foot? It’s really hard in my opinion.

Q. So it’s hard to make the economics work?

McNally: I don’t think the planners – and I don’t think that all the politics that takes place with redevelopment -- is well focused. If you went to Winter Park, that’s a redevelopment project. That’s where some very intelligent people got together. They’ve done a beautiful job. They said, “Hey look , we’re going to have to have four story buildings, two story buildings, you have to have some sidewalk cafes, cobblestones, let’s do this right. Let’s bring retail in here, and have a Williams-Sonoma, and a Pottery Barn, and a Renovation Hardware – there’s stuff. And it’s a good mixed use application. We need that charm here. But they really worked hard to make that happen. But it has to be driven by economics, and I don’t think anybody thinks about the economics.”

Q. So is there any possibility of redevelopment happening along Ocean Drive?

McNally: I think it has to be driven by private capital as was Ocean Park. As was Gloria’s hotel. As was the Vero Beach Hotel. I think private capital will do it over time. At the corner of Beachland Boulevard and Ocean Drive, dominated by law firms, on the north quadrant and now on the south quadrant they’ve renovated those buildings and they look nice. So now you have the infill space. Private capital is going to have to do it, and now it is going to have to get over a very high hurdle because the IRNA and others say, “No, we don’t want it.” The whole world has learned, the more rules you have, the less business you have. I’m not saying we should have no rules, but the rules have to make some common sense, and we’re at a point in this town that we are in a state of flux that does not make common sense. So it will thwart things for a while. But it is such a beautiful town – such a beautiful town.