Carolyn DiPaolo
A giant metal orchid could be planted in Avenir’s Town Center if Palm Beach Gardens City Council members approve.
Why it’s important: The installation would inject art into an otherwise typical retail center.
It would also fulfill the city’s requirement that all new nonresidential development that costs $1 million or more include art with a value equal to or greater than 1% of the construction costs.
- Developers could instead contribute cash to the city’s art in public places fund.
What happened: Palm Beach Gardens’ Art in Public Places Advisory Board approved the orchid design last week.
Details: The proposed sculpture, titled “Silhouette,” is designed by West Palm Beach artist Ben Leone. It is a 10-foot-tall profile of an orchid made of aluminum and painted to resemble Chinese and Dutch porcelain vessels.
- Construction costs for three buildings in the town center are estimated at $10.5 million, according to city records. The art project is expected to cost $125,000.
- The sculpture would be coated with anti-graffiti clear paint and lighted at night.
- Leone is the artist behind the fanciful pink orchid blooms installed last year on the Anya apartment building in downtown West Palm Beach.
The orchid was chosen because it symbolizes environmental beauty, according to Coral Gables-based Landstar Development Group’s presentation.
- The blue-and-white design adorning the sculpture echoes flower pots commonly seen in South Florida homes.
- The theme is progress and preservation.
About Avenir’s Town Center: The center off of Northlake Boulevard is approved for a Publix Super Market, Walgreens, restaurants, offices and townhomes. The Publix is expected to open this fall.
What is Avenir: Nearly 4,000 homes, many selling for more than $1 million, rising on the 4,760-acre former Vavrus Ranch property west of the Beeline Highway.
What’s next: If council members approve, the project will be installed by February 2025.
I am a co-founder, writer and editor for Stet News. I am also a former senior editor at The Palm Beach Post. For 20 years, I oversaw some of the most consequential stories published by the paper, including the “Corruption County” reporting project that led to multiple arrests of elected officials. I am a member of the Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2013. I live in West Palm Beach with my husband, Bill DiPaolo.
