Stet NewsFor you today, our look at the future of Riviera Beach’s Marina Village, who’s who in the search for an inspector general, a $280 million water plant moves off the drawing board, what’s doing at ArtiGras and a $66,000 surprise.
🏝️ 3 visions for Riviera Beach’s waterfront
Three developers with a mix of local and national experience are vying to rebuild the Riviera Beach waterfront.
Two of the proposers, Forest Development and Sonnenblick Development, are thinking big. The third, Related Urban, a part of Miami’s Related Group, offered a more subdued approach.
Why it matters: The final phase of development at the city’s Marina Village offers a rare opportunity to build a destination draw for visitors and city residents in a long-underused marina along Broadway on the city’s southern boundary.
Zoom in: The bidders pitched unique additions to the anticipated mix of stores, hotel rooms, restaurants and housing:
- Sonnenblick proposed an aquarium in a neighboring park and a FlowRider wave simulator.
- Forest said it would tear down the 10-year-old event center and build a 326,000-square-foot convention center.
- Related Urban proposes topping off a parking garage roof with a soccer field and suggests a temporary event area and space for food trucks.
Here’s a thumbnail view of each proposal:
Forest Development
Based in North Palm Beach; headed by Peter Baytarian; pursuing high-rise residential developments in Riviera Beach and Lake Park; recently completed Nautilus 220 condos in Lake Park; selected by Riviera Beach to build apartments at 1851 Broadway.
Residential units: 164
Hotel rooms: 270
Retail, including restaurants: 83,080 square feet
Parking spaces: 1,869
Extras: Convention center
Team: Adache Group Architects, Dwell, Insite Studio, Simmons & White, WGI, Brian Seymour, Wayne Richards, Moss Construction, Gilbane, Articulare, SA Nelson and Willcaro Communications.
Related Urban
Based in Miami, headed by Jorge Perez, an original developer in CityPlace; building two apartment buildings next to Marina Village in Riviera Beach.
Residential units: 234
Hotel rooms: 120
Retail, including restaurants: 33,800 square feet
Parking spaces: 578
Extras: Topping off a parking garage roof with a soccer field and tennis and pickleball courts and creating a temporary event area and space for food trucks
Team: BH Group, PEBB Enterprises, Arquitectonica, Tezral Partners and Related Urban Construction.
Sonnenblick Development
Based in Los Angeles; headed by Bob Sonnenblick; recently selected by Riviera Beach to develop the Blue Heron Boulevard/City Hall area.
Residential units: 270
Hotel rooms: 300
Retail, including restaurants: at least 100,000 square feet
Parking spaces: 1,300
Extras: Aquarium and FlowRider wave simulator
Team: Kaufman Lynn Construction, TRC Engineers, Leo A Daly, Island Hospitality, Kimley Horn, CBRE and MCO Construction.
What’s next: A committee of city staff and community representatives will hear from the developers and rank the proposals today. The rankings will be presented to the City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, on Wednesday.
See renderings and read more about the proposals at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt and Carolyn DiPaolo
🔎 Inspector general search narrowed to 4
A seven-person Palm Beach County panel selected four finalists to be the next county inspector general, including the office’s top deputy and three candidates with federal experience.
Driving the news: The selection panel, featuring State Attorney Alexcia Cox and Public Defender Daniel Eisinger, met on Feb. 5 to review applications to replace John Carey, who is leaving in June to pursue a career in the ministry.
The job posting, offering a starting salary of $260,000 to $280,000, drew 13 applicants, 12 of them deemed qualified, before closing on Jan. 30.
The four finalists are: Kalinthia Dillard, the county’s deputy inspector general; Matthew Dove, from the U.S. Department of Energy; Jim Kirdar, from the U.S. Capitol Police; and Anthony Zakel, formerly with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.
Why it matters: The inspector general’s office is an independent organization responsible for oversight of the county’s 39 municipalities, the Solid Waste Authority and the Children’s Services Council. The office, created in 2009, conducts audits and investigations throughout the county to prevent fraud, waste and mismanagement.
What’s next: The committee will meet on March 5 to interview the finalists in a public round-robin format.
Zoom in on the final four at StetNews.org.
— Sephora Charles
💧 Riviera Beach’s $280 million water plant is a go
Riviera Beach City Council members unanimously approved a $280 million water plant, a major step as the city rebuilds its water system.
Driving the news: Thursday night’s vote by council members sitting as the board of the water utility district came after three meetings focused on the cost, finances and local hiring requirements for the plant.
The new plant will use membranes to filter salt, minerals and other substances out of the drinking water. It will replace a 67-year-old lime-softening plant.
Why it matters: If the council did not move forward, construction of the water plant could have been delayed for a year or longer.
What they’re saying: “Every time you delay, we pay,” Riviera Beach resident Erika Davis said during the public comments before the vote.
Flashback: In 2021, the city selected the joint venture of Jacksonville-based Haskell and Boston-based CDM Smith engineering firms to design and oversee construction. City leaders expect to spend about $410 million building the new plant and rebuilding the water distribution system.
What’s next: Water Utility Director Joshua Niemann promised a groundbreaking on the new plant this month.
Who wrote this story: This story was reported by Community Voices writers Abigail Guillaume and Mikala Graham.
What is CV: Community Voices is a partnership between Stet News and Inlet Grove High School. Stet News is underwriting the pilot to train and pay students to cover Riviera Beach.
Inlet Grove High School journalism teacher C.B. Hanif and Stet’s Carolyn DiPaolo and Liz Capozzi contributed to this story.
🖼️ A new kind of ArtiGras poster
Artist Molly Leach radiates joy in her YouTube videos.
Watching the animated and exuberant artist’s videos is like watching two performances — one by her and one by the paint. She chooses the colors and directs the action, but it’s the paint that does the dance, flowing and blending as Leach tilts the canvas.
Why it matters: Leach’s nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers will not be surprised to hear that her abstract fluid artwork has been selected to be this year’s ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival poster. The festival is Feb. 14-15 at Gardens North County District Park in Palm Beach Gardens.
Catch up quick: “Catalyst for Color — Gratitude for the First Spark” stands out from past ArtiGras posters depicting palm trees, wading birds and flowers because it is the first time the Palm Beach Gardens-based event has chosen abstract fluid art for its poster.
What they’re saying: “The art of saying yes, not just to other people but to yourself, is really and truly the backbone of my success,” Leach told Stet News. “When an opportunity presents itself, if it’s not going to harm anybody and you have the ability to do it, go for it. What is the worst that could happen? You fail. That’s OK.”
Zoom in: Leach, who lives in West Palm Beach, comes from a science background — she’s a licensed psychiatric pharmacist who incorporates her passion for science into her work. She uses the laws of physics when pouring and manipulating the paint and the rules of chemistry in mixing her pigments and applying the swipe catalysts.
- She ends up with paintings full of “cells” that look strangely organic, conjuring images of microscopic biology and the infinite cosmos.
- She first showed at ArtiGras in 2019 as an “Emerging Artist.” ArtiGras, which is run by the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, helps boost emerging artists every year.
Of note: Leach is an innovator, creating a new vocabulary for her art with such words as “swirly-cue” and “swipe-pattern.” She designed reusable injection-molded stands.
- “I shoot, film and edit all my stuff myself, on top of making the painting. I come up with all the concepts and everything, so it’s just me start to finish. But the act of creating content is another kind of art form in itself. I really enjoy putting the videos together and that creative process behind it as well.”
Read more about Molly Leach and this year’s ArtiGras at StetNews.org.
— Janis Fontaine
🍊 The Juice
👛 A local citizens group has sued to stop the downtown Lake Worth Beach mixed-use project anchored by the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts. Lake Worth For All is accusing the city and the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency of misusing nearly $2 million in penny sales-tax money for the WMODA project. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
🔌 To attract AI data centers, Florida legislators are weighing a measure that would grant a year of secrecy from the public despite the centers’ huge effects on local water and energy resources. Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing legislation that protects consumers from the costs of such centers. (Florida Trident)
🚰 South Florida water managers issued a water shortage warning for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties on Friday. The lower half of the state, from St. Lucie and Manatee counties south to the Keys, is in severe drought. (WLRN)
📲 Text messages from former County Commissioner Mary McCarty to Delray Beach Mayor Tom Carney indicate she’s still involved in city politics. (The Coastal Star)
📢 The Tributary, an independent news website based in Jacksonville, is now the Florida Trib. “In a state that ranks dead last in the nation for news outlets per capita, The Trib is stepping up to ensure that in-depth, trustworthy news about our state is available to all,” it announced Feb. 4. “Our team — from Tallahassee to Miami — will cover issues that, like the groundwater beneath us, connect millions of backyards across hundreds of miles.” (Florida Trib)
🚗 The first phase of the extension of North Congress Avenue at Northlake Boulevard opened Jan. 30. Drivers can use the fresh asphalt to wind their way through a neighborhood to Richard Road and Alternate A1A. The route is meant to relieve traffic on a busy section of Northlake near Target. On Feb. 5, the Palm Beach Gardens City Council agreed to annex 4.3 acres along the second phase of the expansion route, the former Hi Acres mobile home park. (Stet advanced the road’s opening in December)
✝️ The Palm Beach Gardens City Council voted Feb. 5 to annex nearly 10 acres west of Christ Fellowship on Northlake, land the church assembled west of Howell Lane. The church did not say what it plans for the property. (Feb. 5 meeting video, Ordinance 6)
💼 Maryland-based Meso Scale Diagnostics, a bioscience company, will pay the town of Jupiter $9 million for 9 acres west of Florida’s Turnpike to build a medical-device manufacturing plant, bringing between 100 and 200 jobs. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🛎️ The Hotel Biba in West Palm Beach, which was undergoing renovations to be reopened as a boutique hotel and social club, is the target of a $2.5 million foreclosure lawsuit. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
2️⃣ New York socialite Jean Shafiroff wants $17.2 million for her Jupiter home — with two kitchens, two bars and two libraries. (New York Post)
🌴 Shakespeare by the Palms: The Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival brings drama, intrigue and a touch of romance to Valentine’s Day weekend with its free production of “MacBeth” in Royal Palm Beach. (Press release)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, welcomes Stet News’ writer and editor Holly Baltz, who shares insights from her decades in journalism. The conversation explores why traditional media failed to adapt, how social media toxicity drives good people from public service, and why nonprofit journalism may be the future of accountability reporting. (Listen now; watch.)
561NSIDER: 🏆 Every student a winner
Tapped to be a judge for a student exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach resident Jane Holzer refused to decide which three of the budding Picassos deserved cash prizes for their work.
The former model, famed for being an Andy Warhol superstar and a well-known “It Girl” in the 1960s, made a split-second decision.
“I’d like to give each of them $1,000,” said Holzer, an art collector and Worth Avenue real estate owner.
Why it matters: Two days later, on Feb. 1, a collective gasp — then whoops, applause and cheers — filled the museum’s Great Hall when the 66 young artists, their families, friends and teachers learned of Holzer’s largesse.
- Instead of only three cash winners, all would be awarded $1,000, museum Director Ghislain d’Humieres told the stunned crowd.
What they’re saying: “You think about these kids. You think about where they came from. You think about whatever makes them express what they express. It deserves recognition,” said Holzer, a Norton trustee. “They’re so young and they worked so hard.”
- “So why not give them a pat on the back and not a slap in the face?” she said. “It just hit me that I should do it.”
Catch up quick: Holzer was dubbed Baby Jane by a New York newspaper columnist after a chance meeting with Warhol on a Manhattan street turned her into one of the pioneering artist’s so-called superstars. The nickname was a reference to the popular 1962 horror movie, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.”
Known for her high-teased bouffant blond hair, and stunning good looks, she appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine and other publications and in several of Warhol’s underground movies before becoming a film producer herself.
What’s next: The student exhibition, “Portrait Mode: Self-Reflections from Past, Present, and Future,” runs through Aug. 16 at the Norton.
Read more about Baby Jane Holzer and see a video of the reaction to her decision to reward 66 students at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
