The 10.5-acre Sperry site on North A1A, planned for a hotel, condos and marina, goes to the Town Council on Oct. 29. Planners want the full Riverwalk kept.
The Jupiter Town Council takes its first vote Thursday, Oct. 29, on plans for a waterfront site in Inlet Village that town planners call one of the last large undeveloped parcels in the town’s Community Redevelopment Agency area.
The 10.5-acre Sperry property is at 961 and 997 North A1A, north of the road and east of Clemons Street. Its owners, 961 A1A LLC and 997 A1A LLC, want to build a hotel, condominiums, a restaurant, shops and a marina there, according to the town’s public hearing notice.
The council meets at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 210 Military Trail.
What the council will vote on
The council has three items on the site that night, each on first reading:
- A land use change. It would turn 5 acres into Inlet Village Flex, a mixed-use category, and 5.5 acres into Conservation. It would also cut the Riverwalk Corridor on the site from 535 feet to 142 feet (notice).
- A zoning text change. It would allow the Inlet Village Flex South zoning on land north of North A1A between Clemons Street and Saturn Street (notice).
- A planned unit development. This is the hotel, condo, restaurant, retail and marina plan, with several waivers from town rules.
A second reading, with the site plan, comes at a meeting the town has not yet scheduled.
What sits on the site now
The town’s staff report describes a commercial building with Blueline and Cones and Coffee, a parking lot, an apartment building and a dock. The site was the Suni Sands mobile home park in 2003.
It also holds the Suni Sands shell midden. The town’s plan lists it as a site of historical and archaeological significance. In 2023, the council required the 4.07-acre midden to be preserved, with a 10-foot buffer, the staff report says. The council also required the old Celestial Railway right of way and a view corridor in the northwest corner to be kept.
The Conservation land would cover the midden and that northwest corner. The town’s staff called that “an important level of protection.”
The Riverwalk question
The Jupiter Riverwalk was planned to run along this shore to the historic Sperry boathouse. The boathouse came down in 2016 after hurricane damage, the staff report says.
The owners want the Riverwalk to end near the dock at the northwest corner instead. That cuts 393 feet. Staff called it a “policy decision of the Town Council.” They noted that the change would drop the requirement for future public access along part of the waterfront.
The Planning and Zoning Commission took a different view. On Sept. 10, it voted 7-0 to recommend a different version, according to its meeting synopsis (PDF):
- keep the Riverwalk Corridor at its full 535 feet
- move about 0.7 acre along the shoreline into Conservation, leaving 4.3 acres of Inlet Village Flex and 6.2 acres of Conservation
- ask the council to consider traffic mitigation and an “equitable trip cap”
An earlier motion to approve the owners’ version failed for lack of a second.
Traffic on North A1A
The town wants North A1A to stay a two-lane road through Inlet Village. Staff recommended a cap on how many car trips the site can generate.
The figures come from Table 2 of the staff report (PDF):
| Scenario | Daily trips | Evening peak hour trips |
|---|---|---|
| Today’s land use, at its maximum | 2,950 | 272 |
| Requested land use, at its maximum | 3,505 | 327 |
| Town’s A1A planning allocation for the site | 1,926 | 233 |
The applicant’s traffic study found that roads near the site meet the town’s traffic standards through 2045, staff said. But it said the request could exceed the town’s goal for A1A, which is why it suggested the trip cap.
Under the requested land use, the most homes the site could hold would fall from 73 to 59, the report says. Most of the drop comes from the Conservation land.
What it means for you
- Speak at the meeting. The council hears comment for and against at the Oct. 29 hearing. The agenda and supporting documents are usually posted about a week before on the town’s agendas page.
- Ask questions now. The town’s notice names planner Peter Meyer in the Planning and Zoning Department, 561-741-2691.
- Riverwalk users: how much of this shore is open to the public later depends on the Riverwalk vote. See our Jupiter Riverwalk guide and our building permits and zoning guide.
Have your say