Joe CapozziCopperline Partners wants to transform a peninsula near the Lake Worth Bridge into 12 connected villas.
A narrow island of Italian-inspired architecture could one day rise into view of Lake Worth Beach’s downtown waterfront.
A redevelopment proposal endorsed by the Palm Beach Architectural Commission would transform a man-made peninsula in the Lake Worth Lagoon, a quarter mile south of the Lake Worth Bridge, into a housing project of 12 connected villas emulating cliffside towns in Italy overlooking the sea.
The project’s developer is Copperline Partners, the investment group that in 2025 pitched and later withdrew an ambitious plan to build hotels at the Lake Worth Beach casino complex and golf course.
In 2022, Copperline bought the man-made peninsula site, the Palm Beach Resort & Beach Club timeshare at 3031 S. Ocean Blvd., for $9.75 million. Built in 1964, the two-story, 29-unit property will be demolished.
Plans for “Copperline Partners Development at Lake Worth Lagoon” call for converting the 600-foot peninsula into an island by dredging a small canal at the east end. A private bridge would provide access from South Ocean Boulevard.
The redeveloped property, a short walk from the Lake Worth Pier, would feature 12 connected private villas ranging from 3,500 to 5,600 square feet. The villas would range in height from three to five stories on an elevated site surrounded by pergolas, grass-covered stairs and Italian cypress.
“The design concept is inspired by the architecture and urban form of small Italian towns nestled on cliffs overlooking the sea,” town planners said in a report.
Except in this case, the villas would overlook the blue waters of the lagoon with the Lake Worth Bridge just to the north. Less than a half mile due west of the villas: Bryant Park, Lake Worth Beach’s downtown waterfront park.
“I love this project. It’s Lake Como meets the French Riviera meets Palm Beach,” said Sue Patterson of the town Architectural Commission, which approved the project March 25 on a 4-1 vote.
Voting no was board Chair Jeff Smith, who said the project is too large for the narrow strip of land.
The development still needs several variances, which the Town Council will consider April 15, as well as permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other regulatory agencies.
“Despite the proposal’s high architectural design quality, significant regulatory and site-specific hurdles exist — specifically navigating FDEP environmental regulations, resolving zoning and encroachment issues, dredging land for a canal and internal boat basins,” the town planning report said.
Copperline has hired Fairfax and Sammons Architects to usher the project through the planning process. One of the firm’s two principals is Anne Fairfax, a Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board member from 2022 to 2025. Her husband, Richard Sammons, the firm’s other principal, is vice chair of the Palm Beach Architectural Commission; he recused himself from voting on the project.
In January 2025, Copperline created a stir in Lake Worth Beach by submitting an unsolicited proposal for a massive redevelopment of the beach and golf course. The City Commission never formally considered the plan.
The investment group withdrew its so-called Horizon proposal in October when city commissioners, reacting to public outcry, pledged not to allow hotels or residential development at the beach.
That pledge was made when commissioners voted to schedule a referendum asking voters to transfer to city commissioners the power to allow private commercial leases (but not residential) of up to 99 years at the beach.
That ballot question and a similar one affecting public land downtown were both resoundingly defeated at the polls on March 10. Many voters were influenced by Copperline’s Horizon project, even though the proposal had been withdrawn five months before the election.
This story was first published in the Lake Worth Beach Independent.
Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. He publishes the Lake Worth Beach Independent on Substack, covering the town where he lives.
