After 13-months, 500-home Spirit of Sebastian development again gets City Council approval

SEBASTIAN — The massive Spirit of Sebastian subdivision has cleared a hurdle with the city, paving the way for a land clearing permit to be issued within the next few weeks.

Infrastructure construction — including roadways, underground Florida Power & Light Co. lines and Indian River County water and sewer lines — could begin shortly after the permit is received.

Spirit of Sebastian will be the city's first natural gas community, with service from Florida City Gas.

Wednesday's City Council action involved minor changes to preliminary development plans approved in 2020, according to Planning Manager Dorri Bosworth. Those changes include installation of a construction traffic gate to reduce disturbances along Del Monte Road.

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The 182-acres that comprise Spirit of Sebastian were annexed in 2018. The land, then primarily agricultural, had been in unincorporated Indian River County. Over the next 10 years, Spirit of Sebastian could grow to 500 homes.

When the project was first approved, many residents turned out at the City Council meeting to express their unhappiness with another 500 potential homes in the city, citing problems with traffic, storm water, roads and the loss of green space.

The subdivision would include single-family homes, recreational areas, water-retention ponds and green space. There would be a community/amenity center and an area for RV and boat storage.

Construction is to begin on Pod 2, that will include 60 lots and is furthest away from the community’s entrance, Bosworth said. The first two development pods, which would comprise about 78 acres, would see 208 single-family homes.

Developer Chuck Mechling, who has a history of development in Sebastian with projects such as Collier Creek and SandCrest, expects to begin selling lots in Spirit of Sebastian by the end of the year and into the first part of 2023. 

Janet Begley is a local freelance writer. If you like articles like this and other TCPalm coverage of Treasure Coast news, please support our journalism and subscribe now.