Stet NewsA Stet good morning. For you today, say goodbye to the CityPlace stairs and hello to turmoil and new housing in Riviera Beach; also a restaurant-scene catchup and the West Palm Beach artist behind orchids gracing downtown.
Developers 1, preservationists zero
With no further ado, West Palm Beach allowed the removal last week of three-fifths of the grand stairway leading into the Harriet Himmel Theater at CityPlace.
Catch up quick: When last in public discussion, the city planning director assured the city’s Historic Preservation Board that plans to convert the church into a food hall would not violate the standards of the U.S. Interior secretary.
Why it’s important: City residents who attended the First United Methodist Church before it fell into disrepair and became the centerpiece of CityPlace, said the developers had promised to maintain its historic integrity. The outcry prompted the formation of a Preservation Foundation of West Palm Beach, modeled on one in Palm Beach.
They argued removal of the stairs fell far short of the Interior secretary’s standards but the city produced an email exchange with a state preservation planner who opined “we do not think that this iteration of stairs needs to be retained as is.”
As for designating the 1926 building as historic, City Attorney Kim Rothenburg drafted a memo that assured the preservation board it could not be designated based on zoning that dates to 1989. See the memo here.
- The city granted the demolition permit, valued at $8.3 million, on July 18.
The CityPlace developers, headed by Stephen Ross, submitted plans in May showing they would keep the outer two columns of stairs but remove the inner three. The stairs had been rebuilt to historic standards before CityPlace opened in 2000.
Of note: The new stairway no longer will provide entry to the building.
City manager under fire
Stirring city politics and putting the city manager’s job at risk is a report from Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder.
Driving the news: The report is a collection of complaints from 33 employees or former employees who agreed to air criticism of their managers in exchange for assurances they would not face retaliation.
Yes, but: The report does not offer the other side. The two bosses most prominently maligned, City Manager Jonathan Evans and his top lieutenant, Assistant City Manager Deirdre Jacobs, were not interviewed.
Why it’s important: With Glen Spiritis replacing Julie Botel on the council, Evans’ grip on a 3-2 majority could be in jeopardy. The council agreed last week to hold a special meeting to discuss the report.
Felder acknowledged the report’s biggest shortcoming in a live Facebook recording he posted from his home.
“Those folks (Evans and Jacobs) have the opportunity to come and clear their name,” the mayor said. “But I tell you this. There are 33 employees. And I refuse to believe that all 33 employees are telling a lie.”
Directing his comments to the workers, he said, “I want you to know I’m going to champion for you guys, right? If we’re gonna go down, I’m gonna go down with you. But we’re gonna go down fighting.”
The interviews, conducted by Felder and labor attorney Shana Bridgeman, describe cliques of employees “in the sandbox” under Jacobs’ control unfairly gaining advantage over employees “out of the sandbox,” or at odds with Jacobs.
Many said they complained directly to Evans but saw no change.
“Employees reported that the City Administration has created a culture of bullying, intimidation, retaliation, isolation, unfair treatment, fear and professional inefficiency,” the report said.
“The departments have issues because the people in the sandbox routinely skip over the chain of command and go directly to Deirdre Jacobs,” the report said. “She provides instructions or gives them directives which they carry out, without notifying their supervisors and department heads in the chain of command. Since the people in the sandbox are protected by Jacobs, they are often insubordinate to their superiors, because they know they will not be held accountable if their supervisors attempt to discipline them.”
Evans doesn’t stop it, the report said, citing employees who said he fears Jacobs because she had the support of the three women on the City Council: KaShamba Miller-Anderson, Shirley Lanier and Botel, now replaced by Spiritis.
Disturbing reports from the water plant
The infighting included harrowing accounts from the city’s troubled Utility Special District, which oversees a water treatment system that has drawn fines from health officials, vociferous complaints from residents and the recent removal of its director.
Felder said in his Facebook video that he expects another 151 violations from the Health Department.
Of note: The city is planning to spend $300 million on a new plant.
The water plant manager, Melvin Pinkney, complained that he is overwhelmed by the task of keeping the water plant operating.
“Melvin repeatedly stated that the responsibility to keep the plant running was his, and he felt extremely overwhelmed and overburdened with the responsibility,” the report said.
Others said Pinkney plays favorites and retaliates against them.
- One described “two malfunctioning lift stations that are spilling sewage at the beach.”
- Another said workers have to “rig stuff” themselves when equipment breaks to keep the plant running.
- Another said he advised against putting a well back online after just one clean sample, but Pinkney overruled him, “resulting in the recently publicized bacteria issue.”
Meet Berkeley Landing
Development is changing the face of the long-dormant Broadway corridor in Riviera Beach.
Catch up quick: Community leaders held a ceremony Friday to open a 112-unit affordable housing rental project, Berkeley Landing, built by Miami-based Pinnacle and Altamonte Springs-based Wendover Housing Partners.
- The apartments, which opened earlier this year, are fully occupied.
Why it’s important: The project at 3100 Broadway is one of the few public-private housing efforts for the lowest-income residents to reach fruition before Palm Beach County voters agreed in November 2022 to let the county borrow $200 million to inject into such projects.
What they’re saying: “Berkeley Landing is a shining example of how Palm Beach County can work shoulder to shoulder with Riviera Beach and other cities, as well as the private sector, to meet the Board of County Commissioners’ goal of expanding affordable housing for our citizens,” Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker said in a statement.
The main financing for the $39.4 million project came from a $27 million tax credit loan through Bank of America. The Neighborhood Lending Partners, a Tampa-based consortium of banks, provided a $7.8 million mortgage.
Palm Beach County loaned $1 million, the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency loaned $640,000 and the county offset $2.6 million in impact fees.
About half the units will be rented to tenants earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income, at rents of $1,205 for a one-bedroom, $1,446 for two bedrooms and $1,671 for three bedrooms.
- The other half goes to renters qualified at 30 percent of AMI, 50 percent and 80 percent.
- The county AMI tops $100,000 for a family of four.
Of note: Two units are two-story live-work lofts along Broadway, renting at market rates. The first will be a barber shop.
What’s next? Other projects under construction on Broadway include the FoundCare Riviera Beach Health Center and a Viking boat dealership near the city’s Marina Village.
Keep reading: Twin waterfront towers proposed for Broadway in Riviera Beach, Margaritaville at Sea hotel aims for Riviera Beach Marina Village.
A new chapter for Pelican Cafe
The Pelican Cafe, a fixture in Lake Park, has new owners.
Mark Frangione and spouse Karen Howe have transferred the popular Italian restaurant to Alex and Destiny Constantinos of Boca Raton.
The Constantinos are “the perfect fit,” Frangione said. “They’re a younger us.”
Diners have no need to worry about losing out in the switchover, he said in an interview with Stet News’ Jan Norris.
“They are keeping the whole brand. The name, all my recipes and my staff. Most of the staff have been with me for 16 years. They are my family.”
Other happenings on the local food scene:
- The North Palm Beach Village Council selected Lessing’s Hospitality Group to take over the North Palm Beach Country Club restaurant and banquet space.
- Ara, a “globally inspired” Southern Mediterranean restaurant, replaces the American grill Crosby’s in Jupiter along the railroad tracks on Cypress Drive.
- The Texas Roadhouse chain opened in July on Congress Avenue in Lake Park, the first new full-service restaurant in the town in years.
- The uber-popular Bizaare Avenue Cafe at 921 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth Beach is now the Not So Bizaare Avenue Cafe, owned by Lisa Mercado, who brought the former Living Room, a similar concept, to Boynton Beach.
To read more on these stories, click here.
🍊 The juice
📍 Related Group of Miami has reduced the size of Apogee, its proposed North Flagler Drive condo at 49th Street after the West Palm Beach Planning Board rejected its plan in December. The proposal calls for 22 stories, down from 25, and 39 units, down from 46. The waterfront high-rise would replace a single-family home. Related presented the new plan, under review by the city, last week to the Northwood Harbor Association.
🪴 Billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder of hedge fund Citadel, is spending $12 million to oppose Amendment 3, the Florida ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana. (Business Insider)
🌴 Billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, bought the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan for an undisclosed price. Ellison owns a $173 million Manalapan estate. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚌 With students back in the classroom this week, Palm Beach County school officials are focused on attendance, metal detectors and vaping. They touted improvements in teacher retention and the transportation system. (WLRN)
🗳️ The Florida Election Protection Coalition has opened its nonpartisan Haitian-Creole voter line. Florida voters can call 727-308-3009 and press 2 if they have voting questions or need assistance in Haitian-Creole.
⏰ Tri-Rail announced on social media that it has added a midnight train departing Miami International Airport on Monday through Friday. (Facebook)
🌺 561 insider: Welcome to Orchid City
Artist Ben Leone’s fuchsia orchids, the five-story sculpture draped on the side of the Anya apartments in downtown West Palm Beach, draw grateful gasps even from jaded locals.
What’s happening: The orchids that tower overhead near the West Palm Beach waterfront are crafted from sturdy, lightweight aluminum and half-inch-thick polycarbonate infused with layers of color. The colors aren’t static, Leone says. “The depth of color changes. The color from direct sunlight is different from morning or afternoon light, so there’s a living element to it.”
Flashback: Leone grew up around construction sites, and he is drawn to working with his hands.
- His father is CEO of The Breakers and has overseen the renovations of the renowned hotel since he joined the company in 1985.
- His uncle runs a construction company in upstate New York where Leone worked in the summer.
“I love the sound of hammering and sawing,” Leone said.
“Orchid City’s” theme is to balance progress, in the form of a 16-story luxury apartment building with a rooftop pool, with preservation, represented by the orchid.
The installation at 345 Banyan Blvd. took Leone three years, much of it during COVID. It was completed in October. The shutdown gave him and his team time to plan and edit. Most of the work was done in Leone’s spacious studio in an industrial area off Belvedere Road near Palm Beach International Airport.
There’s more to the story: Stet News’ Janis Fontaine on Leone’s childhood paradise.
