Stuart City Hall Is Moving Out. Who Decides What Happens to the Riverfront Site?

Stuart's City Hall sits on the St. Lucie River at 121 SW Flagler Avenue, next to the lawn where Market on Main sets up on Sunday mornings. When city staff move to the old Wells Fargo building on Ocean Boulevard, who decides what replaces it? A developer won't decide it, and neither will a single commission vote. Since 2006, the City of Stuart has not been able to sell that kind of land, or lease it for more than ten years, unless voters approve first. That rule shaped every proposal for this parcel over the past 27 years, and it will shape the next one.

The Move Has a Window, Not a Date

The new City Hall will be the current Wells Fargo bank building at 301 SE Ocean Blvd., across from Memorial Park. In July 2025, TCPalm reported that city services and employees could be working there by 2029, and that a riverfront park could be built where City Hall stands now. An October 13, 2025 commission agenda included a proposed change to the bank's tenant lease that would allow it to end in 2028. At a March 23, 2026 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, a presenter recalled that the city spent about $7 million on the building and about $1 million more on an adjacent CRA lot, and said the sitting commission had voted to move staff there by 2028.

The building on Flagler is still in use. The September 28, 2026 commission meeting was held at 121 SW Flagler Avenue. For at least another couple of years, the riverfront lawn will look the way it does now.

The city's 2024–2029 strategic plan says the replacement City Hall should sit in a less valuable location so the land around it can draw private investment, and it calls for public engagement to guide what happens to the old site. That idea, freeing the most valuable public land downtown, has come up repeatedly since 1999.

Twenty-Seven Years of Plans for One Parcel

The city owns more than the building. The March 2026 presentation showed that Stuart also owns the green area around City Hall, including the old Dockside site at 131 SW Flagler. Before Dockside, that spot was Mulligan's, and before that, Spoto's. The presenter then went through the proposals for this land:

1. 1999–2000. A private concept to put condos near Flagler Park reached a letter of agreement, then ended after community pushback.
2. 2005. A letter to the city argued that City Hall and its annex took up space that could serve downtown better. It suggested a four-story structure with three levels of parking and waterfront offices or restaurants on top. Later that year, Clark Construction made an unsolicited offer to build a hotel on the City Hall property.
3. 2006. Voters passed the charter amendment described in the next section.
4. 2009 and 2010. One study proposed extending Osceola Street with an amphitheater and mixed-use retail. A Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council study listed public waterfront access and view corridors among its criteria.
5. 2012–2014. The city ran a redevelopment analysis that compared a hotel, retail, restaurants and open space, and reviewed a revised RFP that was subject to a referendum. In 2014, Stuart Main Street held three public meetings.
6. 2016 and 2018. HJA Designs produced three renderings, ranging from a two-story City Hall with a riverfront pocket park to a version with a parking garage under the bridge approach. A 2018 plan added an amphitheater and a historic village.

The presenter counted 12 workshops before this year's. His summary was that every plan, at every scale, included a linear public park along the water. As recently as April 2025, TCPalm described a hotel, park and parking garage concept for the site as still under consideration but not a high city priority.

Why None of Them Were Built: The 2006 Vote

On November 7, 2006, Stuart voters approved a charter amendment by 3,506 to 772. As it was read into the record at the March 2026 meeting, the amendment bars the city commission from selling, or leasing for more than ten years including renewal options, any city-owned or city-controlled property that has frontage on the St. Lucie River or a tidal creek, or that is next to such a parcel, unless voters approve it first in a referendum.

That rule changes the math on this site. A hotel or restaurant operator on city waterfront land would almost certainly want a lease longer than ten years, and a CRA member said exactly that at the March meeting. Under the rule as read at that meeting, a sale or a lease longer than ten years on the City Hall lawn would go before voters, while a shorter lease, such as five years, would not. This is general information, not legal advice, and the city's own charter and city attorney are the authorities on how the rule applies. Stuart has held these votes before, for Hudson's and for the Stuart Feed Store, and the presenter said all of them passed.

The rule covers sales and long leases. It does not cap building height or approve site plans, and a board member asked in March whether a two-story limit could be added.

What 200 Respondents Told Main Street This Spring

Stuart Main Street launched its 2026 Community Survey in response to the City Hall move. At the March 23 CRA meeting, Executive Director Candace Callahan reported 200 responses collected over about 30 days. Of those respondents, 65% were residents, 24% were downtown business owners or employees, and 32% were property owners.

Fifty-one percent said they would support a revenue-producing project for the city as long as the public keeps access to the waterfront. Combined with the 2006 rule, that suggests a project with a guaranteed public waterfront would have a realistic chance at the ballot, while a project without one would have a much harder time.

Callahan said she wanted more responses, given how much the population has grown. Board members suggested reaching more people through utility bills, business license renewals and the city's event applicant list.

Where Things Stand This Fall

Main Street's proposed sequence has five steps: survey, workshop, design charrette, request for proposals, and selection. Callahan said the direction would come from the commission and city staff. As of late October 2026, the first step is done. At the June 22 CRA meeting, she reported that the survey data had been compiled and said she would ask staff whether to bring back a presentation on results and next steps. The Community Redevelopment Board agenda on July 7, the special commission agenda on August 3 and the regular commission agenda on September 28 dealt with other business. No developer has been chosen, no RFP has been issued, and no design has been approved.

There is also disagreement about whether to tear the building down at all. In March, one CRA board member said he would rather renovate City Hall with "Old Florida" rooflines and keep it in civic use for commission meetings and permit counters. Under that idea, back-office staff would move to the Wells building and the annex could be removed to make room for parking. He also pointed out that larger mixed-use plans would need a lot of parking, which could make it harder to hold events like the market on the lawn.

The strategic plan also calls for redesigning the Flagler Park waterfront as a living shoreline and finishing the riverfront boardwalk. Those are goals, not approved designs.

The Riverfront This Season, Unchanged

For now, the lawn and the blocks around it run on their usual fall calendar:

• Market on Main in Flagler Park, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Rock'n Riverwalk at the Riverwalk Stage, 1 to 4 p.m., on the remaining Sundays in November: November 8, 15, 22 and 29.
• Fall Sidewalk Sale, Saturday, November 7.
• Christmas on Main, Friday, November 27, 4 to 7 p.m. This is the 27th annual tree lighting, with a 30-foot tree, Santa and Mrs. Claus, sleigh rides, food vendors, music, cookies and hot chocolate.
• Winter Stroll on December 3, the Stuart Christmas Parade on December 4, and the Stuart Boat Parade & Watch Party on December 5, per Stuart Main Street's calendar.

There is also something new a few blocks inland. Havana George Cafe, the Cuban restaurant and coffee shop Jorge and Zaida Quesada opened in downtown Fort Pierce in 2021, is preparing a Stuart location at 15 SE Osceola St. That's on the northeast corner of the Osceola and Colorado traffic circle, in the building it shares with Krua Thai. The Miami Herald reported on October 23 that the family hoped to open within weeks but said it could take longer. Planned hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Sunday.

If you own near the riverfront and you'd like to talk through how the City Hall plans could affect your home's value, we're happy to share what we're seeing. Ask Matt and Kate Shaw for a free home valuation.