Vero Beach Utility Relocation Moves Forward, Clearing Path For Prime Riverfront Redevelopment

A major infrastructure project underway near Vero Beach Regional Airport is bringing the city closer to reclaiming valuable waterfront property along the Indian River Lagoon.

Vero Beach’s new One Water Campus is progressing ahead of schedule and recently received a $25 million grant through Florida’s statewide resilience program. The additional funding will help offset the approximately $164 million cost of relocating and modernizing the city’s water-treatment operations.

While the new facility is designed to strengthen the region’s utility infrastructure, one of its most consequential effects could occur several miles away. Once the city’s existing treatment plant near the western end of the 17th Street Bridge is decommissioned and removed, its riverfront property can be incorporated into the planned Three Corners redevelopment.

The old plant, which dates to 1977, occupies a prominent location overlooking the lagoon. Moving those operations away from the waterfront will eliminate an obstacle that has long complicated redevelopment of the site and make additional land available for a potentially transformative mixed-use project.

Plans for Three Corners envision a destination capable of combining commercial, recreational, hospitality and public uses. Removing the utility facility would improve the site’s development potential, expand its usable waterfront footprint and create new opportunities for public access to the lagoon.

The relocation also addresses environmental and storm-resilience concerns. The current plant’s waterfront position leaves it more exposed to severe weather and increases the potential for lagoon contamination. The replacement facility will employ newer systems intended to reduce pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus before treated water returns to the environment.

Construction of the One Water Campus began with site preparation last year. The first building, a maintenance and operations structure containing offices, workshop areas and warehouse space, has now been completed. Work is continuing on the water-reclamation facility, while construction of an approximately 11,115-square-foot administration building is scheduled to begin in August. A 4-million-gallon reclaimed-water storage tank is expected to follow.

The completed campus will consolidate wastewater treatment, drinking-water purification, stormwater reclamation and water distribution at the airport-area location.

State and federal support has helped reduce the project’s impact on local funding. In addition to the latest $25 million award, Vero Beach has previously secured approximately $41 million from state environmental and lagoon-protection programs.

For the local real estate market, the project represents more than a utility upgrade. It is an essential step toward repositioning one of Vero Beach’s most visible waterfront properties and moving the long-awaited Three Corners redevelopment closer to reality.