Clearpath Services president Randy Lloyd confirmed Sunday night that his partnership has joined with highly regarded Madison Marquette and other members of The Blue at Vero Beach group to develop the 17-acre site on the Vero’s mainland waterfront.

Replying to a text message from Vero Beach 32963, Lloyd said he hoped to provide details of the merger the next morning, but he did not respond to text and voice messages before our deadline Monday.

According to the city’s Three Corners project manager, however, Lloyd and Madison Marquette Managing Director David Brainerd have agreed to serve as the managing partners in a “50-50 joint venture” that includes at least some of The Blue’s other partners.

“I received a letter from Randy introducing the new collaboration between the Clearpath and Blue teams Sunday night,” Peter Polk said. “We worked on it together, made a few changes and everything seems to be in line.”

By bringing in Madison Marquette, the Indiana-based Clearpath team not only satisfies the need for a strong financial investor, but also adds a partner with a proven record of operating such facilities.

Or as Polk put it: “This answers all the questions.”

Polk said Madison Marquette also has recruited CBRE – one of the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firms – to bolster the project's financial position.

Polk said he didn’t know how many members of The Blue partnership would be included in the new joint venture, adding, “I haven’t been told anything about the organizational details.”

After the City Council botched its first attempt to select a developer last summer – they voted to restart the process, instead – Indiana-based Clearpath and The Blue were the only development groups to submit new proposals for the Three Corners project last fall.

In April, the council unanimously chose Clearpath over The Blue to create a waterfront dining, retail, social and recreational hub on the site of the now-defunct municipal power plant at the west end of the17th Street Bridge.

Discussions between Clearpath and Madison Marquette began earlier this summer, with city officials participating in some of their video-conference calls. But the one-time rivals didn’t close the deal until late last week.

This past Tuesday was the city-imposed deadline for Clearpath to show it had the financial capability to complete the project.

Vero Beach City Manager Monte Falls said midday Monday that he hadn’t yet seen any paperwork finalizing the agreement between Clearpath and Madison Marquette, but he had his fingers crossed.

“If this is true, we’re getting the best of both worlds,” Falls said. “We’re getting the plan everybody wanted, and we’re getting the group that has the financial capability and operational know-how to make this project a success.”

In July, the council granted Lloyd’s request for a 30-day extension to the 90-day pre-negotiation period between Clearpath and the city. He asked for the extension to allow more time for him to secure a formidable financial partner, which his group lacked after Westminster Capital opted out.

The extension pushed back the start of a 120-day negotiation period until the end of October, if not later, which means it’s unlikely the council will be presented with a contract until February.

Polk said the city will bring in outside legal counsel and retain its financial consultant, PFM Advisors, to assist in the negotiations.

Lloyd said in June that if Clearpath’s negotiations with the city are successful, work at the Three Corners site could begin as soon as next year – with the initial phase of the $250 million project completed in 2028.

The first phase would involve the easternmost section of the property: construction of the plan’s waterfront village, marina and docks.

“We know with a project of this scope and scale, the community wants to get something soon,” Lloyd said. “That’s why we really worked with the idea of trying to get some stuff activated, so you don’t have to wait five years for everything to be completed.”