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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-066 RESOLUTION NO. 11-066 A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL 25-30, 2011 AS "THE CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE'S 50T" ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEK" IN HONOR OF THE CITY'S 50r" ANNIVERSARY ON APRIL 27, 2011 WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the following determinations: 1. The City of Port St. Lucie, Florida turns 50 on April 27, 2011 with considerable fanfare surrounding the event and high hopes that the celebration will help bring the City's residents together in commemoration of a shared past. 2. Port St. Lucie was a largely uninhabited tract of land south of White City, Florida in the 1950s, composed of a fishing camp, a few farms and businesses near US 1. In 1958, with a budget of $50 million, the General Development Corporation (GDC) purchased the River Park development and 40,000 acres along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River. In 1959, the GDC opened its first bridge over the St. Lucie River, allowing for direct automobile access to Port St. Lucie. 3. By February 25, 1961 there were 250 homes in the new city. GDC requested the state legislature to incorporate 70 miles along with the River Park settlement into the City of Port St. Lucie. River Park did not incorporate into the city at the request of its residents. Port St. Lucie became a city on April 27, 1961 with the passage of House Bill No. 953, proposed by State Representative Rupert Smith and approved by Florida Governor C. Farris Bryant. 4. In the early 1990s, Core Communities acquired, and began planning on whatwould become St. Lucie West. Originally, St. Lucie West was planned to have contained about 14,000 homes over a 20-year period on 7 square miles, but after realizing the communities strategic position, they began developing it into more than just a residential area. Core Communities began building business sectors and places where people could have fun. That resulted in 7,000 jobs being brought to the small town, helping it into its boom during most of the early 2000s. 5. In 2006, Core Communities, yet again, started development of its newest community, Tradition. The community, which sat west of the Interstate 95 intersection of Gatlin Blvd., was a large cattle ranch, before Core Communities began to develop it. There they built around 13,000,000 square feet of commercial area, and room for over 18,000 residences. According to Core Communities website, Tradition is the largest fully-entitled residential development area from the tip of Interstate 95 to the Canadian Border. It has been advertised as the town you grew up in, modeled after a 1950s-era town. Tradition Square, the town center of the community, holds year long festivities. It was also chosen as the site of HGTV's Green Home 2009, and one of America's best 100 communities. 6. In 2008, Tradition and Core Communities welcomed the Florida Center of Innovation, a research laboratory and campus, which has a building in Tradition for two biotech and life science companies, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute. This campus alone is projected to bring more than 30,000 jobs to the City of Port St. Lucie, alone. 7. The City has an event planned each day starting April 25 with a proclamation and ending April 30 with a big festival at the City's civic center. The events are spread out over the city to give the younger generation and newer residents some perspective on howthe City was started and what it has grown into. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida: 1. This Board does hereby proclaim the week of April 25-30, 2011, as "THE CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE'S 50T" ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WEEK" in St. Lucie County, Florida in honor of the City's 50th anniversary on April 27, 2011. 2. This Board congratulates Port St. Lucie on its 50`h Anniversary and urges the citizens of St. Lucie County to participate in the events scheduled for this milestone in the City's history. PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 5th day of April, 2011. ATTEST: ~~R~`~~~'~~~~~~ BOARD OF OUNTY CO MISSIONERS ~ ~ ~r ~~~'y j ST. LU C UNTY, ID .;.r ~ , , ~~:s ~ ~ " Y ~ " ~~s DEPUTY CL . I~ CHAI A' s r ~ + - ~ 4~ \`~r,4 ~ tt`.. .A4 f''. ~ ~ YJ '~~rc~~;~~~ APPROVED S TO LEGAL FORM AND CORRECTNE S: ~ ~ , CO NTY ATTOR E