Stet NewsFor you today, a deed restriction complicates ice-rink financing in Palm Beach Gardens, the last meal at a north county favorite, villas on the Intracoastal, more time for data center fight, solving poverty and World Cup-inspired art.
🔎 A legal wrinkle hidden in plain sight
A 1981 deed restriction — buried in an 87-page lease document — has emerged as a complication for Palm Beach Gardens’ $55 million ice rink project. Nobody raised it during two years of public hearings. Now the city is quietly working to clear it.
Why it matters: The restriction, tied to land originally donated by insurance magnate John D. MacArthur, requires the property to remain a “municipal, non-commercial public park” or ownership automatically reverts to MacArthur’s successors — the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation.
What happened: The city leased 8-acre Plant Drive Park in 2024 for 40 years to the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit backed by billionaire Larry Robbins, to build two ice rinks and a restaurant. The deed restriction appeared in the legal descriptions at the very end of the lease packet — but opponents didn’t notice and the city never raised the matter.
The twist: The restriction came to light only recently when resident Heather Deitchman, who opposed the project and ran unsuccessfully for City Council, dug through public records tied to the nonprofit’s efforts to refinance its loan.
What they’re saying:
- City Attorney Max Lohman wrote in a March email to PBNAF representatives that the city is preparing legal action to have the deed restriction released.
- A lawyer for the $9 billion MacArthur Foundation told Stet News he is researching the city’s request.
- It is not clear whether PBNAF knew about the deed restriction when its representative asserted at a January 2025 city hearing that the ice rink complex would not be “a commercial operation.”
What’s next: Deitchman has written directly to the MacArthur Foundation board, urging it to demand compensation — specifically, money for a new public skateboard park to replace the one that had been in Plant Drive Park — in exchange for lifting the restriction.
The bottom line: Residents spent nearly two years fighting this project without knowing about one of its most significant legal protections governing the land. With construction underway, the restriction is unlikely to stop the ice rink — but it may come with a price tag.
There’s more to the story at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
👋 A Gardens landmark closes
The Original Pancake House in Palm Beach Gardens at the northeast corner of Northlake Boulevard and Military Trail closed April 12 with little notice to customers and staff.
The longtime restaurant was popular for its pancake specials and a social atmosphere. Staffers would call and check up on seniors who missed a week. A large group of regulars now wonder where they’ll meet for breakfast.
The servers and staffers, who got only a week’s notice of the closure, are looking for work.
Why it matters: The Original Pancake House has been in north county for decades, starting in a plaza on U.S. 1 north of PGA Boulevard (now the Divino Ristorante Italiano). It’s been at its current location for more than 20 years.
What they’re saying: “We’ve been coming here every Sunday for four years,” said Barbara TenEick. “It was like a hometown place — everybody knew everybody.”
The good stuff: Signature dishes included the apple pancake, a large pancake loaded with sautéed apples and cinnamon then baked. Another was the Dutch baby, a puffy, concave pancake that takes extra time in the oven. A wide variety of omelets, along with the senior specials, were popular.
More about the Pancake House history, patrons at StetNews.org.
— Jan Norris
🇮🇹 A little Italy in the Lake Worth Lagoon
A narrow island of Italian-inspired architecture could one day rise in the Intracoastal Waterway.
Why it matters: 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 12 connected villas emulating cliffside towns in Italy overlooking the sea.
Context: 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.
Catch up quick: In 2022, Copperline bought the man-made peninsula site, the Palm Beach Resort & Beach Club timeshare at 3031 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach, for $9.75 million. Built in 1964, the two-story, 29-unit property would be demolished.
Plans for Copperline Partners Development at Lake Worth Lagooncall 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 from three to five stories on an elevated site surrounded by pergolas, grass-covered stairs and Italian cypress.
What they’re saying: “I love this project. It’s Lake Como meets the French Riviera meets Palm Beach,” said Sue Patterson of the Palm Beach Architectural Commission, which approved the project March 25 on a 4-1 vote.
The other side: Voting no was board Chair Jeff Smith, who said the project is too large for the narrow strip of land.
What’s next: The development still needs several variances, which the Town Council will consider Wednesday, as well as permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other regulatory agencies.
Keep reading to learn more about the key players behind the project at StetNews.org.
— Joe Capozzi
🤖 Data center delayed
While the backers of a hyperscale data center at 20-Mile Bend say a nearly three-month delay will give them more time to respond to deep-seated opposition, neighbors fighting the project say they’ll use the extra time to harden their resolve.
Why it matters: The Central Park Commerce Center west of Arden is seeking to expand by nearly 10 times the amount of data center space allowed on the site. Residents, especially in neighboring Arden, are howling mad, saying the county mischaracterizes a data center as light industrial when it’s really heavy industrial.
Catch up quick: Facing an April 23 county zoning hearing, the developer requested and received a postponement until July 15.
What they’re saying:
- Developers say the extra time lets them continue impact-reduction work and complete studies aimed at winning community support. They’ve already floated trimming their request to 1 million square feet from 1.8 million but the reduction, promised in February, never materialized.
- Opponents put a positive spin on the postponement, which takes the matter into the hot summer months when many residents are out of town. “This shows our efforts to fight this project are working!” organizer Ben Brown said on Facebook Friday. “This will give us more time to prepare and organize.”
What they’re worried about: Opponents cite excessive power and water consumption, dangerous noise levels and the site’s close proximity to 2,300 Arden homes and Saddle View Elementary School.
Developers counter that the facility would draw power directly from a neighboring Florida Power & Light natural-gas plant, use a closed-loop cooling system and generate high-wage jobs and expanded tax revenue.
Of note: County Mayor Sara Baxter has publicly pledged to vote against the project — a stance that could trigger her recusal under state quasi-judicial rules.
See more about the data center fight at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🛟 New organization aims to solve poverty
Mark Bergel started a nonprofit in the nation’s capital that is credited with helping more than 500,000 people in need. He won national awards for his altruism.
Now, he’s thinking even bigger.
What’s happening: In January, he founded an institute in Palm Beach Gardens focused on anti-poverty initiatives aimed at structural change.
“When it comes to poverty and human trafficking, we tolerate it all as a part of life,” Bergel said in an interview. “We disconnect from people in tragic ways. The tragedy is on ourselves, not them.”
Why it matters: Bergel’s 40 years of work and research on societal advances in science and health shape the Bergel Institute’s approach. The intention is to explore the possibilities that come from restoring human connection.
- The institute, run out of a Spartan office in PGA Commons, is committed to anti-poverty initiatives.
Catch up quick: In 2001, Bergel founded A Wider Circle in the living room of his D.C.-area apartment as a source of used furniture for people who could not afford to buy it.
By the end of the decade, the organization had grown into a nationally recognized grassroots effort. By 2019, it reported nearly $20 million in annual revenue as A Wider Circle expanded to connect people in need to resources and education.
He left the organization in 2020 inspired to do more.
“I wanted to solve poverty,” he said. “I didn’t want to just keep treating the symptoms.”
The death of his father last year drew Bergel to Palm Beach County to care for his mother, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, and he continues his work here.
Bergel said his goal is to pursue what is possible.
Keep reading to learn about the institute’s fellowships, action guide and plans for Palm Beach County at StetNews.org.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
🍊 The Juice
✍️ Retired Palm Beach accountant Richard Rampell resigned as chair of the board that operates WLRN last week, saying he’s leaving to avoid being “an accomplice to the sellout of our station.” Rampell accused the station’s owner, the Miami-Dade School Board, which sued to block WLRN’s purchase of a Palm Beach County station, of attempting to negotiate a settlement that would “emasculate our journalistic independence and steal our money.” (Miami Herald $$$, Rampell’s letter)
⚖️ A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments last week in Miami about whether federal environmental laws apply to the state-run Alligator Alcatraz. At issue is whether a lower court’s order last year to wind down operations at Alligator Alcatraz should stand. (Miami Herald $$$)
🛎️ The 160-room Embassy Suites on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens sold for $40 million to a company led by Joe Lubeck, CEO of American Landmark Apartments. The sale included 4.25 acres of vacant land priced at $6 million but did not include the attached office building. While American Landmark Apartments owns more than 32,000 apartments, Lubeck made this investment through his family funds. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚆 U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart last week dismissed a former train conductor’s personal injury lawsuitagainst Brightline, calling it a “shotgun pleading” that was overly long. Former conductor Darren Brown, a West Palm Beach resident, sued the Florida passenger rail company in mid-December, alleging that his involvement in Brightline fatalities left him psychologically wounded. (Miami Herald via WLRN)
🚘 The trophy cars — Fords, Porsches and muscle cars — are scheduled to roll into the Barrett-Jackson auto auction Thursday through Saturday at the South Florida Fairgrounds. (Classic Cars Journal)
💰💰 What a $2 million housing budget buys in Georgia, Pennsylvania and West Palm Beach. (The New York Times gift link)
🎧 “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, returns this week with a breakdown of issues rattling Florida politics including the Florida Legislature’s special session in mid-April to tackle redistricting and a state budget — and a new state law that strips local governments of zoning power, raising red flags for neighborhoods statewide. (Listen now ; watch after 4 pm today)
561NSIDER: ⚽️ Art meets athletics in Lake Worth Beach
A new Palm Beach County art exhibit is channeling the spirit of the FIFA World Cup — with Lionel Messi, skateboarders, ballerinas and boxing cats along for the ride.
Why it matters: “Kinetic Energy,” opening Thursday at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, brings together 14 local artists to explore the beauty and power of sport — just as Miami prepares to host World Cup matches this summer.
What’s inside: 25 works spanning the full athletic spectrum:
- West Palm Beach artist Kyle Lucks contributes a vibrant Messi painting plus two polo scenes.
- Robbie Potter of Loxahatchee focuses on triathletes midrace.
- George Bayer goes whimsical with cats depicted as boxers.
- Dan Remmel portrays free-solo climbing legend Alex Honnold.
- Allan Creary offers an abstract take on basketball greats Jordan, Rodman and Pippen.
The big picture: “My vision was to show artists exploring the beauty of motion — the energy, power and grace of all types of sport,” said Jessica Ransom, the council’s director of artist services.
Of note: Lucks’ track record with sports portraiture is notable — tennis star Coco Gauff, who lives in Delray Beach, bought one of his paintings after spotting it online.
Details:
- Opening reception: 5:30–7:30 pm Thursday, Cultural Council headquarters, 601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach.
- Live music by sibling duo Cris & Alex.
- Exhibit runs through June 12.
Read more about “Kinetic Energy” at StetNews.org.
— Joe Capozzi
📜 A taste of history, north county style
Palm Beach Gardens may not be the oldest city around but at 67 it has seen its share of changes. Say hello to Joel and catch up quickly on the city’s history with a visit from 1-3 pm Sunday at the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society home at the Northcorp Corporate Center (the old RCA headquarters) at 3910 RCA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. (Historical Society website)
