The Conception of Saint Lucie West
Saint Lucie West, located within the city of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, was originally conceived as a self-contained community where residents could live, work, shop, and play. The master-planned community, set on 4,600 acres, features hundreds of acres of lakes, championship golf courses, a major league baseball stadium, and beautiful homes in protected small-town neighborhoods.
The Establishment and Growth of Saint Lucie West
The Thomas J. White Development Company established Saint Lucie West in the late 1980s, with an initial plan for 14,000 new homes over a 30-year period. The PGA has since opened three golf courses, a private Country Club, and the state-of-the-art, 35-acre PGA Learning Center in the community.
In the early 1990s, Core Communities (CC) acquired and began developing Saint Lucie West beyond just a residential area, creating business sectors and places of entertainment and leisure. This development brought 7,000 jobs to the area, contributing to its boom during the early 2000s.
The Introduction of Tradition
In 2006, CC started development of its newest community, Tradition. Modeled after a 1950s-era town, Tradition sits west of the Interstate 95 interchange with Gatlin Blvd. and boasts 13,000,000 square feet of commercial area and room for over 18,000 residences.
The Tradition Center for Innovation
In 2008, Tradition and Core Communities welcomed the Florida Center of Innovation, later renamed the Tradition Center for Innovation (TCI). TCI is a 150-acre privately-owned research park dedicated to drug discovery, immunology, medical devices, and healthcare. Initially, TCI was composed of the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Oregon Health and Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), Martin Health System Hospital (Tradition Medical Center), and Mann Research Center.
However, in 2015, VGTI shut down their TCI facility, followed by the Mann Research Center. As of 2019, only Torrey Pines and Tradition Medical Center remain in TCI.
Recent Developments in Saint Lucie West
In 2017, TAMCO, a subsidiary of City Electric Supply, collaborated with the Port St. Lucie City Council to construct a \$38 million, 400,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution center in the Tradition Commerce Park. The construction of the TAMCO facility began in 2018 and was completed in late 2019.
