Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County
Demolition in Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce wants sign-offs before it issues a demolition permit: Planning pre-approval, a Fort Pierce Utilities Authority or FPL release for a full demolition, and a Debris Affidavit. Its housing is older than the county's as a whole, with a median build year of 1982 and 44 percent of units built before 1980.
The city grew from a blockhouse built in January 1838 and named for Lt. Col. Benjamin K. Pierce; voters incorporated Fort Pierce on February 2, 1901. About 1,107 of its housing units were built before 1950. That age is why the checklist's asbestos rule bites here: a report is required for residential buildings built before 1980 and commercial buildings built before 1972. We arrange a licensed survey by an independent consultant, and removal goes to a licensed abatement firm.
Commercial jobs add Engineering pre-approval, and partial or interior demolitions need plans showing the work area. Utilities are a local matter: the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority, created by referendum in 1972, runs electric, water, wastewater and gas, and its release is one of the two utility options the checklist names. Mobile home disconnects are on the same checklist. Six historic districts add a Historic Preservation Board review for designated structures.
When a building is declared unsafe, the City Commission can order it demolished. If the owner does not act, the city demolishes it and places a lien for the cost, with 30 days to appeal to circuit court. For a lot that will be rebuilt, the 2024 wind ordinance sets Risk Category II design at 150 mph west of 25th Street and 160 mph east of it, including the barrier island.
Sources: St. Lucie Historical Society: early communities · Census Reporter: year structure built (ACS 2020–2024) · Fort Pierce Utilities Authority: our history · City of Fort Pierce: Historic Preservation · City of Fort Pierce: demolition resolution 22-R08 · City of Fort Pierce: Ordinance 24-001 (wind speeds) · Florida DEP: asbestos and demolition notification
Permit office for Fort Pierce
City of Fort Pierce Building Division
Demolition checklist: Planning pre-approval, Engineering pre-approval (commercial), FPUA or FPL pre-approval for full demolition, Debris Affidavit, and an asbestos report by building age.
Read the official sourceThis summary is not legal advice. When Romco takes the job, we sign the permit application as the responsible contractor. St. Lucie guide to demolition permits
What we quote in Fort Pierce
More demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip a suite or a house to the studs while the shell and its live systems stay intact.Interior demolition in St. Lucie →
- Selective demolitionTake out an addition, a wing or a bay and keep the building that remains in service.Selective demolition in St. Lucie →
- Commercial demolitionRetail, office and industrial buildings taken down, with approvals run in the right order.Commercial demolition in St. Lucie →
- House demolitionA full teardown of a single-family house, from utility letters to a graded lot.House demolition in St. Lucie →
- Structural demolitionFrames, walls and floors taken down in order, including buildings under unsafe orders.Structural demolition in St. Lucie →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, footings and foundations broken out, hauled and recycled.Concrete removal in St. Lucie →
- Pool removalBreak out the top and backfill, or lift the whole shell, with the drainage handled.Pool removal in St. Lucie →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle and double wides removed with chassis, tie-downs, add-ons and debris cleared.Mobile home demolition in St. Lucie →
- Storm damage demolitionHurricane, tornado and flood damage taken down with the record your insurer needs.Storm damage demolition in St. Lucie →
- Site clearingLots cleared of old structures, slabs and debris, with protected trees left in place.Site clearing in St. Lucie →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, FDEP notice and licensed abatement scheduled before demolition.Asbestos coordination in St. Lucie →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, carports and screen enclosures removed under permit.Accessory structure demolition in St. Lucie →
- Something else?Not on the list? We still quote it. Call and talk us through the job.Call (772) 310-3298 →
Start to finish
How a St. Lucie job moves
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A backyard shed follows the same order as a commercial building.
Reach out
Phone us or use the form. Include the address, what is coming down, what is staying, and photos or plans if you have them.
We look at the property
We check the structure, where power, water and sewer or septic connect, how equipment and trucks reach the work, and what is next door.
A written scope and quote
It lists what is removed, what is protected and what is hauled, and flags anything that depends on the asbestos survey.
Survey, notice, letters, permit
A licensed asbestos survey, the state demolition notice, the utility letters, then the permit from the city, town or county.
Demolition and hauling
Work follows the agreed order. Debris goes to permitted facilities, and the tickets are kept.
Final inspection
The inspector closes the permit. You get a cleared lot, or the shell you asked us to leave.
Questions
Demolition in Fort Pierce
Do I need an asbestos report to demolish a house in Fort Pierce?
If the house was built before 1980, yes. The city's checklist requires an asbestos report for residential buildings from before 1980 and commercial buildings from before 1972. With 44 percent of the city's housing older than 1980, many houses fall inside that rule. A newer house still needs Florida DEP's demolition notice at least 10 working days ahead.
What will my demolition cost in St. Lucie?
We put a number on it once we have seen the job, on site or through photos and plans that show enough. It turns on what the structure is built from, its footprint and height, what the asbestos survey finds, which services need disconnecting, whether a septic tank must be abandoned, how equipment gets in, what sits next door, what you want kept, and the haul to the disposal site. Two houses on the same Port St. Lucie street can quote quite differently, so we do not post rates.
Do I need an asbestos survey if I think there is no asbestos?
The state's position is that every demolition needs a written notice, even when no asbestos is found, and the notice has to be filed at least ten working days before demolition begins. St. Lucie notices go to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Southeast District. A building permit does not take its place. Fort Pierce also asks for an asbestos report on older homes and commercial buildings. Romco books a licensed survey and brings in a licensed abatement firm for any material found, since we hold no abatement license ourselves.
How long does the whole process take?
We do not estimate it before the facts are in. It depends on review time at your city, town or the county, how quickly the utility letters arrive, the survey result and the state notice period, any historic board review in Fort Pierce, septic abandonment, and the size and construction of the structure. When those answers are in, you get a step-by-step sequence with the holdups for each step spelled out.
Other St. Lucie cities: Port St. Lucie · Tradition · St. Lucie West · Sandpiper Bay · Lincoln Park · St. Lucie Village · River Park · Lakewood Park · White City · Hutchinson Island South · Unincorporated St. Lucie County
Every type and size, all over St. Lucie County
Tell us what has to come down, and we will quote it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. One wall inside a house or an entire building gets the same thing from us: a written scope and a number.