Community Redevelopment Agency - Regular Meeting

Good evening. We're at the community redevelopment agency meeting. It is now 05:30 on Monday, 06/23/2025. Madam clerk, would you please call the roll?

Miss Morgan? Yes, ma'am. Mister Pickett?

Yes,

ma'am. Mister Bana?

Yes, ma'am.

Vice Caravallo?

Yes,

ma'am. Please let the record reflect that Chair Martin is not present.

Thank you, madam clerk. We did the Pledge of Allegiance at the GFC meeting, so we're gonna move on to item four, additions and deletions to the agenda and approval of the agenda. Is there a motion?

Motion to approve. Second.

Motion and second. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Approval of the consent agenda. We have one item. Is there a motion?

Move approval of consent.

Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously. On to public to be heard. Is there any member of the public that wishes to address the community redevelopment agency? Seeing no one moving forward, I'll go ahead and close public to be heard. Next item is new business, item 7A, the Port District River Food Garden update. This is an exciting, exciting item that I know council is excited about, but the residents are even more excited than us. And we have this evening.

I'm Jennifer Davis on behalf of the CRA. I'm here tonight to just give you a brief update of where we are with the development of The River Food Garden, and then the team is here from SUDA as well as the Atlas Restaurant Group that will go over a more defined presentation on the development of the site. For your benefit, as you know, last year on June 15, we opened up the Park site with PortFest, and the site has been incredibly successful since that time. We have continued to work with the development of the restaurant site with the River Food Garden Group and have regularly scheduled meetings every few weeks, working through utilities and public works and just items that you would normally see for the development of a site of this size. This afternoon, I did meet with the legal department.

We have worked through a draft amendment that will be coming before you in a few weeks once we review it with the the legal team with SUDA that just identifies and clarifies a few items with the restaurant lease as it relates to their development. So with that, I'm gonna introduce Gaurav Bhutani, and you might remember him. He's been before you before. And he's going to introduce his team with Atlas. But we do have here, we have mister Kellen with the Atlas Group who came down from Baltimore to be here this evening to go over the programming, and we have several people online who can answer any questions for you. So I'll hand it over to Gaurav.

Thank you, Ms. Davis. Any questions for staff before we bring Mr. Gaurav up? My friend. Hello, How are

everyone. Very nice to Roy Klein. He is Head of Operations for Atlas. And we are also excited to have Alex Smith, who is the Founder of Atlas and Jackie Kemp, she is the Head of Interior Design. And there's Brian McCormick, is the CEO of Atlas Restaurants.

And I won't discuss Atlas Restaurants because they are a fantastic group and we're just excited to have them on board. It took us a long time to get them on board, but they did come on board. And I just want to give a brief introduction to where we are and how we are here at this point. And when we first started this journey, we always we had a definite vision of this place. We did not want to make this into a regular run of the mill chain restaurant kind of a place. And so we definitely had a vision. We wanted authenticity. We wanted a uniqueness because it's such a unique place. And we're just so glad. Working with the city has been fantastic.

Working with the CRA has been fantastic. I mean this is really a visionary town. You guys are doing an amazing job and for us just to see this come to the stage and now the grand plans we have really fit into what the city has done. So from a vision to a promise, you know, what we had I'm I'm this is I I wrote all this hoping that you would have read it before, but we always said that this is not just only about food. Food is the most important component, but it's about a place that will delight all one senses.

It's going to have culinary excellence and I want to reemphasize culinary excellence does not mean fine dining. I hate fine dining myself, But but culinary excellence means people like Atlas who know what they're doing and they have an amazing, you know, culture of good food, a destination that's culturally rich and it just fits into the harmonious surroundings. We also the other thing that we said is this has to be a seamless experience with whatever else is going on there. So we've with Jen's initiative, we have regular meeting, but we will really get into the thick of it with having cross ideas, cross fertilization ideas between the Botanical Garden, the event lawn. We're going to coordinate with the city on events on the river stage, with Pioneer Park, with the historic society.

Everything is going to have a deep meaning in how we do things. It's going to be special. So, you know, we've we've been committed to this. It's taken us it's it's this has been a long thing, but it's not because we've been delayed or anything. It's just the way the process has gone place. And but it gave us the opportunity to really, take the hard route in terms of what we wanted to do. I mean, for example, it's very easy to just have you signed a lease, get financing. We don't want to do that. We want to be part of the operations. We want to collaborate with and we've got Atlas on board.

But it's taken us time to really get to the stage because we don't want to be the typical real estate development company that just builds it and then rents it and that's it. That's the end of it. You're just collecting rent. That's not what we're all about and we have never been and that's why you gave us this mandate. So now we are really let's get to the most important thing which is the Atlas Group And let me just hand it over to Roy and Alex and Brian and Jackie. And also I have Patti Ernest with me. She's been she's part of the partner in Soda. And so I'll let you guys take over and talk about the restaurants that we're going to have.

You very much. You for having me today. First, let me start off by saying after touring the space today, I was blown away. It's immaculate. The detail, the cleanliness, it is pristine and I was very, very, very excited because we at Atlas take the community very seriously. And the fact that you had put so much thought and effort into building the park, I was very, very excited to say, hey, we're going be a part of this. So kudos to you, hats off to whoever designed it, whoever keeps it. It was amazing. So I'll start off by saying that. The leadership team is or was on the Board.

We lost Jackie. But Atlas has been around for about thirteen years now. Based in Baltimore, we do have restaurants in Houston. We have restaurant in Pennsylvania. We are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And we have a store in Boca Raton. So we're a little familiar with the Florida market. I'm based in Baltimore, but I've been in Miami for eighteen years. And just recently, we relocated to Baltimore. So we do have a love for the state and soon a love for the city.

One of the things sorry, went too fast over here. A little bit about Atlas. We have roughly 3,000 employees to date in all The States. We are very much community driven. We do a lot of projects with the community, for the community, within in house development as well as outside. And we take that very, very seriously. The other thing that Gurav was mentioning, I'm not even touching this thing.

It's okay, we're getting a preview.

Let me just one sec, maybe I just need to actually I need to just maybe this slide I need to speak to. So we have a great design team from Architectonica. We didn't we went to the best in terms of architecture. And we our costs have, of course, given the three years that we've been involved, our costs have gone up to $12,500,000 but we are deeply committed from $7,000,000 And this has been the time line. So we were first here in January just to give you a recap, January 2022, we did the LOI.

We executed the lease in January 2023. A year later, we got site plan approval in November 2023. The park was inaugurated in June 2024. We submitted our first once we got all the construction drawings from the city, the as bills, we were able to submit our construction drawings in November. And we are almost really there with the construction permits.

And hopefully, we'll start in September construction and we will be able to complete Phase one which we'll talk to you about which is almost the entire thing in October 2026. And then we'll have a targeted soft launch hopefully by December year and full Phase one operations in February.

Thank you.

That's okay. Go ahead. You stopped it from rolling. So one of the things that Gaurav said was culinary excellence. And he said he doesn't like fine dining. I actually do like fine dining. But my best dining experience ever was in a diner. And so we believe strongly in quality of product. We believe in the integrity of product. And restaurant business is a very nickel and dime kind of business. I'm very proud to say we've never chased the dollar. We chased the experience and we're confident that the dollars will follow. And I think that's one thing that sets Atlas Restaurant apart from others. We chase the experience.

So yes, so this so and we'll tell you about why we are thinking phasing this project. And if you look at this site plan layout, we have the tiki bar, which we've switched to from the regular tiki bar to more of a tequila bar, but it's going to be that's just the name. We're going to have a lot of it's going to be a higher end bar with a lot of mixologists, etcetera, going there.

Tequila is the fastest growing segment of the market. So why go against the grain? Yes.

Nobody is drinking the rum anymore, so I think and then the main restaurant and the rooftop will be the main feature. And then we have these casual, what we call the court restaurants, but we call it The Grove now. And there's going to be a pizzeria, and we're going to talk to you about the brands, pizzeria and an Asian place, and then there's going be a central bar. And the only things we don't build right away is the two additional courts for now because it just from an operational standpoint, it's just going to be too many things coming online. And this way, we'll have the advantage of getting the experience and getting the site activated.

I mean this hopefully will have a lot of traffic, and we just need to make sure that we have a real successful launch before we start thinking about additional spaces. So the

main restaurant is going to be seafood centered. We're very much a Baltimore based seafood company and we're going to mirror a lot of that along with a lot of the fresh catches that you can get locally and out of the waters close to Port St. Lucie and around us. But the idea is quality of product, but very approachable. We know that we can't have super expensive fine dining, tablecloth, wine glasses.

It has to be approachable, it has to be fun and it also has to mirror the surroundings. You're looking out over the river, over the grove, it's amazing. And so we want people to feel like this is just an extension of the park with good food and good drink. The other part of it is going to be the service of it. So when I was mentioning earlier how beautiful the grounds were and how pristine they were, service has got to live up to that.

And we want people to be really proud to say either I'm associated with this, I work here or I drove four miles to get here. We want people to feel like this is a destination worth coming to just like the park is currently. So that's going to be the focus on that. Did I go the wrong way? I think I did.

On the line right now is Alex Smith as we mentioned. Aaron Taylor is our Corporate Chef. He'll be very much involved. He was also a resident of Florida for a very, very long time both in Miami and also in The Keys. So he's very fond of the local flair or fair I should say.

We have a huge training department or soon to be huge training department along with marketing and Jackie Kemp is going to be doing all the basically the interior design, the logistics along with the architects. As I mentioned before, we, very proud in our efforts within the community. So we've never gone into an area, said we're opening shop, we're here to make money and that's it. We're always doing outreaches, we're always doing things that benefit the folks that work within the restaurant, but also folks that are surrounded by the restaurant. How much do you want me to go into the details of the presentation?

I don't know how much time we have because I can ramble. We

have about fourteen

minutes. This could be the right topic or the wrong topic. I'm not sure if you're already hungry.

So you're the only topic for this meeting and we have about fourteen minutes after this meeting prior to the

six All right. So let's just talk about the concepts. So right now Salt River will be the main concept with the rooftop dining. And again, the idea is to be a seamless integration of the surrounding areas as well.

Is that the final name?

Yes. Well, Salt River because the St. Lucie River is an estuary. And so we've dedicated the main restaurant to Salt River.

Interesting, thank you. But

it's based on a very successful Atlas restaurant called Chop Tank in Annapolis.

Which is very similar. Chop Tank is probably a little larger, but rooftop dining overlooks the waterway. And so there's a little area right where the boats are, it's called Eagle Alley and folks parade their yachts and boats up and down that stretch. Some of the items that may or may not be on the menu, oysters will definitely be on the menu. We have one of the best crab cakes you will ever have, period. Period. And you can challenge them.

Did not bring samples.

I have some of my pockets

There's people in the audience that also would have been enjoying this, I'm sure.

Let me see. And then so The Grove At Port St. Lucie is going to be the anchor for the kiosks and it's going be like a beer garden. Think of that as something that folks can hang out, watch the kids play, have a beer, have a cocktail, have a bite from one of the other kiosks that might be there or that will be there and have some meet and greetings and just a really good time, very casual. Italian disco is a current concept in Baltimore that's very successful, very casual.

We play 70s music throughout. They told me to say that just for you. But it's such a fun place. We have a little DJ booth. We actually took a Fiat, a real Fiat. We cut it in half and we put it on either sides of the store and one side is the DJ booth and the other side is just display.

Are we getting a DJ booth?

I'm sorry?

Are we getting a DJ booth? Probably not. Don't What do you think about that, counsel? I mean, we need a seventy's DJ booth.

We have a DJ, so if you guys decide. It's my favorite place to listen to music. No comments from anyone abroad. So but most importantly, the food is excellent. The pizza is excellent. The sandwiches are excellent. The salads are excellent and super approachable. It's definitely very much a neighborhood spot. Kanan is a concept. It's kind of based off of an isekai concept, which is very casual, mostly hand rolls and sushi, nothing really cooked.

And the idea here is we want things you can't have twenty minute waits for food. So there's got to be an expedited way to get the food out, but at the same time, have it really good, really clean, really consistent. And so the less cooking, the better. And this is going be a great concept, I think, for the area, especially now that I've seen the Grove. We have Kizumi, which is our two Japanese concepts.

One is in Baltimore, one is in Houston and both very, very successful. So as we mentioned earlier, the Grove bar and the Tequila bar or Tiki bar based on tequila cocktails, that will be the adult section of the park, I guess, I'm envisioning. But idea is again, really curated cocktails that you're not just going to say, let me have a gin and tonic or a rum and Coke, but you're going to be excited to drink this cocktail that looks good, that tastes amazing and hopefully you don't get overly intoxicated, but there's a chance. Really that's all I got unless you have any questions for us.

Alex and Brian, Jackie would like to say a word too.

Yeah. I'll just I'll just jump in and hi everybody. We're really excited about this project. Really excited to be in Port St. Lucie. I just wanna add that, you know, the the concepts that Roy kind of went through in comparing Salt River to Chop Tank and so on and so forth. Once again, just want to reiterate that these are not, you know, potential visions. These are things that we actually operate and have operated for years. You know, Brian McCormick was running Chop Tank on Saturday night. He probably did 2,000 covers that night.

We understand the business. We understand how to do volume. We understand how to put out a quality product doing volume. So once again, this is stuff I just want to make reiterate to the council that these are not things that, you know, are pie in the sky kind of ideas. They're things that we've executed in multiple multiple states in multiple areas. And we feel very comfortable coming to market and making sure we can execute for you all at a high level. So we're very excited.

In regards to the design and the approachability is, ChopTank Annapolis is actually one of the highest grossing restaurants in The United States. And it does so in a way that is approachable. It's a special occasion spot, but it's also a place that people go for lunches. They bring their families to. It's kind of an all occasion place.

Brian did 3,000 covers there this weekend. And, it's, one of those places where it can handle the volume that will come when there's a large event at the amphitheater. But it's also an approachable place for people to take their children after they're done at Pioneer Park. It will be a place where people are can see and be seen, but it's also approachable and friendly as well. So that's the fine line that we want to cross with Chop Tank and that's Salt River now.

With The Grove, we want to establish a place where it's a destination for the community. So we want to establish the entire Riverfront Food Garden as The Grove. And The Grove bar being the central location where it is the central gathering point for everybody. It will have, you know, a great local beer selection and drinks, but there's also the food kiosks that feed to it as well with these established concepts, as Alex said. So Italian disco is our casual pizza concept, but it does have a following.

And there is Canon as well. So it'll be light Japanese fare. And then on top of that, we do have our rewards program that has, what, 3,000,000 members now at this point. And we plan to bring that brand recognition and that brand loyalty down to court secrecy with us as well.

Thank you, Jackie. Brian or Patricia, if either one of you have anything to say, feel free.

I'm just here to answer any questions that anybody might have.

Thank you.

If I could just, two people mentioned that Brian was working at the restaurant with 3,000 covers this weekend. So Brian is our COO. And as I mentioned, we have 3,000 employees. He didn't go down because he has to. He knew that it was going be busy, and so he went down to support. And when we support, we support. Even though I'm Vice President, he's Director of Operation, Alex is the President, we'll bus tables, we'll bar back, we'll haul ice, we will sweep, we'll wash dishes, whatever needs to get done, we do because we're invested in the success of everybody there, not just ownership.

Counsel, do you have any questions?

Don't have question.

Councilman Pickett.

Sir, you said one thing at the very beginning when you started speaking. You went out to the property and you recognize the beauty that property holds. And one thing that was that I wanted to make sure that when the final product got there and we opened up to the public that we just didn't do something that we've done other places in the city because that particular park is unique. It's a beautiful property. And I appreciate that you're not bringing chain restaurants here, just throwing restaurant in there. So it makes it more of a destination than just, hey, let's stop by the port and grab something to eat. So thank you.

You're welcome.

Councilman Morgan. Welcome to Port St. Lucie. This is so exciting. I've already downloaded the app.

So I've I'm already getting emails, and I'm part of the rewards program, so already. But it's even talking about the the tiki bar or is it decay or tiki or tea? So I just got home from a whirlwind vacation of a lifetime from Spans Spain to France to Italy, and rooftop dining is huge over there. And when I heard you say rooftop dining, this is this is gonna be an amazing destination, like you said, and I'm so looking forward to it. I'm gonna make sure I call my son after this because he is part of a group, a restaurant group down in Palm Beach.

So he may wanna check y'all out. He's an executive chef also. So but I wish you the very best. And when you had mentioned about the the design in this group, this it wasn't one individual. It was a complete team and I know how much we went through back and forth and what about this and what about that. And I think this is gonna be a perfect fit for Port St. Lucie. So welcome again. Thank you.

Thank you for trusting both, SUDA and Atlas. We appreciate it.

Councilman Bonnet.

Just a very great addition to Port St. Lucie. I plan to spend a lot of time there, especially at the Italian disco. I will be there for the pizza, not the DJ.

No ties allowed.

And but no, great work and can't wait for it to come live. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming to present today. We cannot tell you how excited we are. Mr. City Manager, I do think as the project moves ahead, I think communication, doing maybe regular updates, social media and throughout would be really helpful to kind of let the public know where we're at. It's another one thing I get asked is what's going on with the restaurants at the Port District?

When can we anticipate that coming forward? So I'm gonna hold you to October 2026, big sticky on my calendar, and if there's any challenges of getting that timeline done, you need to let us know because I'm gonna be telling everyone that we can be anticipating a nice fall dinner. Also just one suggestion, when we call it The Grove, I just suggest dropping St. Lucie and putting the port. Everything that we are doing in the port, we really wanna tie it back to the brand of the port.

So the Grove at the port is sufficient for us, but I don't wanna tell you what to do, but I just think it'd be helpful to kind of stay with our brand together. And I'm very excited about the partnership. If I'm ever in DC in the near future, I'll probably take a trip out to Baltimore and visit some of your restaurants. You're not that far. And we're here as partners excited to be a part of what you're going to bring to the city.

Really important, just really quick fact going on what a councilman Pickett said is it's such a unique parcel and you've already seen that. But what's really important to know is Port St. Lucie doesn't have water access. In fact, that riverfront area is our only water access. So you are going to be the hit around town and you are going to be the go to place along with the other few restaurants that we're fortunate to have right there on the river. So I'm so excited to have you here and if there's anything that we can do to help you along the way, please make sure that you reach out to the city manager and to Jen and we look forward to your partnership. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

And with that council, are there any other issues coming before the CRA board? Seeing none, I'm gonna go ahead and adjourn this meeting, and I'm gonna give us are you good with starting at 06:00? You wanna give us five minutes? We'll do start at