Carolyn DiPaoloAbout 750 market-rate rental units are proposed on the city’s north end.
The Waterway, a $305 million waterfront residential development in Riviera Beach, is one of the largest projects proposed in the city.
Why it matters: It would mean even more construction on the long-ignored Broadway corridor in Riviera Beach, which is booming with developers moving forward on 399 luxury condo units in twin high-rises on the city’s northern border and 1,100 units in four buildings on the city’s southern border.
Catch up quick: Developers of The Waterway envision three apartment towers on 4.5 acres at 3200 Broadway and 3140 Lakeshore Drive.
- The eastern waterfront tower would be 25 stories.
- Two towers to the west would be 20 stories.
- The total project calls for 785 apartments and almost all of them would be rented at market rates.
What happened: Developer KMG Holdings of Palm Springs requested the project be pulled from last week’s Planning and Zoning Board agenda after city staff recommended the board deny land-use and site-plan approvals.
Among the planning staff’s objections as outlined in their report:
- A rental project does not move the city closer to its goal of increasing homeownership opportunities.
- After several rounds of submissions, the applicant has not demonstrated that the city has the capacity to provide water service to the project.
- The mass and scale of the buildings are not compatible with the area.
The city planning staff recommended that the project be redesigned to reduce the height of a seven-story podium between the two west towers to provide additional open space.
The other side: KMG’s representative to the city, William “Billy” Cunningham III of The Starboard Group in Delray Beach, did not return a call from Stet.
KMG Holdings is managed by Kirill and Mikhail Vesselov, according to state records.
- They own two addiction treatment centers in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach.
- They own others in Arizona, New England and Indiana, according to the website of the parent company, Haven Health Management, headquartered in Palm Springs.
- They also own a center in Puerto Rico.
KMG’s team includes REG Architects of West Palm Beach and Boca Raton-based Urbana planning consultants.
Zoom out: The project was proposed in 2020 as a single waterfront tower on 1.5 acres bought for $4.5 million in 2018. KMG paid $2.5 million in 2020 for an additional 3 acres on Broadway, according to property records.
- The Waterway would rise five blocks south of the twin 25-story Oculina towers already approved for 399 units at the northern edge of Riviera Beach.
Of note: KMG is proposing to exceed the height limit of 20 stories on the eastern tower by designating 30 units in the westernmost tower for affordable housing. The staff found KMG qualifies under the city’s Minority Employment and Housing Opportunity Program.
What’s next: The Planning and Zoning Board must weigh in on The Waterway before it can advance to the City Council.
Stet News writer Holly Baltz contributed to this report.
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.
