Contract between St Lucie County and Derecktor was supposed to be signed by March 5

St Lucie County, Florida selected Derecktor to lease and operate a megayacht repair centre at the Port of Fort Pierce in November of last year, with negotiations to take no more than three months and a contract signed by 5 March 2019 – a timeline obviously past.

“The biggest hold-up now is getting through submerged land leases, which are lands that are underwater outside of the port area, making sure we have approval to do work on those lands and working through the state permitting process,” Eric Gill, communications director, St Lucie County, told WPTV-TV.

The county says once the submerged land leases are worked out, it’s hopin the contract could be finalised in a couple of weeks.

Derecktor spokesperson John Koenig told the station they’re looking at a contract of up to 75 years, worth more than US$100m. The project could create up to 900 skilled-trade jobs in three to five years and Koenig said the company is partnering with Indian River State College for training programs.

A megayacht repair centre on 12.3 acres at the former Indian River Marine Terminal property is the first step in the County’s effort to revive the 290-acre port, one of the poorest performing ports in the state.

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