Two new regional parks at Tradition and Torino moving toward completion in Port St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE — The city may be less than two and a half years away from having two new parks — Tradition Regional Park and Torino Regional Park — city leaders and developers said Tuesday.

The two parks together would add hundreds of acres of recreational space paid for with tens of millions of dollars of public and private funds.

Tradition Regional Park

Work is officially underway at Tradition Regional Park , a 124-acre facility that will include four lighted baseball fields, three unlit multiuse fields, one lighted competition multiuse field and a USA BMX facility.

Those elements, which are being built for $22 million in a public-private partnership between the city and developer Mattamy Homes, make up phase 1, with the potential for future phases still on the table.

Though the Tradition park saw its official groundbreaking ceremony take place Wednesday, work has been ongoing, with earthmoving and lake construction work "about 96%" done, said Mattamy Vice President of Land Acquisition and Entitlement Karl Albertson.

Next will be utility work, including water, sewer and drainage, which Albertson said will begin in the next couple of weeks. Buildings will start going up a couple of months later, he said.

The park is expected to be completed by late 2025, with possibility of the BMX park opening sooner than expected.

The BMX facility is being treated somewhat independently, he explained. It is slated to include an amphitheater, a track for USA BMX-sanctioned races, restrooms, registration and concessions and a bike park kids zone.

While the parks are intended to address residents' desires, Mayor Shannon Martin said the BMX facility brings with it a "wow factor" that will likely also attract people from other communities.

"It's really exciting for our citizens because they've been asking for more ballfields. They've been asking for different types of recreation," Martin said.

Torino Regional Park

Further north in the city, along Northwest Torino Parkway, sits the future site of the 195-acre Torino Regional Park.

A few steps behind the Tradition park in the process, the Torino park had its conceptual master plan approved by the City Council last month. Now, Martin said, the city is taking bids for companies to design and construct the park.

"This is our first regional park, and that's our second," Martin said of the Torino park at the Tradition groundbreaking.

The conceptual plan for the Torino park includes a desire for sports facilities of various types, including a skate park. Martin said that element plays into the company the city will eventually pick to build the Torino park.

"It's different. You can't just have a regular park builder for that."

A completion date of late 2026 is currently projected for the Torino park, Martin said, putting it about one year behind Tradition.

"They're not going to be done exactly simultaneously, but within a year to a year and a half of each other we're going to have two amazing regional parks," Martin said.

More: Port St. Lucie approves plan for Tradition Regional Park, USA BMX facility

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The exact elements included at the Torino park will not be finalized until a winning company's final plans are approved by the council.

That said, the conceptual master plan unanimously approved by councilmembers last month included a fishing pier, kayak launch, playground, boardwalk, large group pavilion, splashpad, pickleball courts, walking trails and more in phase one, in addition to the skate park. The estimated cost was $20.5 million.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com .

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Two new regional parks at Tradition and Torino moving toward completion in Port St. Lucie