Carolyn DiPaoloCity chooses team for massive redevelopment of public land, including new City Hall, sports complex and housing.
Riviera Beach leaders selected a partner Monday night for the largest redevelopment project in the city’s 103-year history.
Planners envision a new City Hall, library, sports complex and hundreds of apartments on public land along Blue Heron Boulevard, the gateway to Singer Island.
At a packed meeting Monday, City Council members heard presentations from Los Angeles-based Sonnenblick Development and Forest Development of North Palm Beach.
The council picked Sonnenblick, which had edged out Forest in a city staff ranking, unanimously.
The developer proposed building the City Hall, library and sports complex on 40 acres of city property on the north side of Blue Heron.
A new high school is planned next door.
The property includes the Wells Recreational Center athletic fields south of Blue Heron. Sonnenblick proposes an apartment complex with affordable housing on that land and on city property at 2215 Broadway.
Sonnenblick Development has built about 1 million square feet of federal, state and local government buildings. “This is our specialty,” Manager Bob Sonnenblick told council members.
Monday’s decision comes as the city is building a new water plant, police headquarters, a third new fire station and reviewing proposals for restaurants, a hotel and retail and office space at its Marina Village.
After the decision, the council suspended the meeting for 20 minutes while Sonnenblick team members celebrated. The team included:
- Leo A Daly architects and engineers, with projects including the 575 Rosemary mixed-use building in West Palm Beach.
- Kaufman Lynn Construction and MCO Construction, which are known in Riviera Beach for their work on the city’s fire stations.
- Sports Facilities Cos., based in Clearwater, which says it has worked with 3,000 communities to build and operate sports centers.
The Sonnenblick proposal submitted to the city estimates a total project cost of $480.6 million.
Sonnenblick told Stet News after the meeting that he was drawn to the opportunity because of the sheer size of the developable land.
The council will appoint a team to negotiate a contract. A city consultant advised them last month that they could decide to negotiate with both finalists to drive a better deal, but council members decided instead to start with Sonnenblick.
Once an agreement is in place, Bob Sonnenblick told the council that construction could begin in January 2027.
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.
