Port Canaveral is pushing ahead with Cove redevelopment. Port commissioners unanimously approved last week Sooner Investment Co. Inc. to develop the new entertainment area.

According to Matt Taylor, a consultant to the port on the project, the site, which is 53-acre, will have a “portside village” theme. The $80 million development will include retail spaces, restaurants, a four-star boutique hotel, various entertainment venues and more.

Groundbreaking is expected to begin next spring and the first phase will be open to the public in late 2016.

Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh told commissioners that the existing tenants at the Cove would not be displaced.

It is expected that the new development will help existing tenants and the Cove area will draw local tourists and cruise passengers.