Stet NewsWelcome and settle in, Stetters! For you today, Joel’s unmatched reporting on a rift between the data center landowners; a power shift in Riviera Beach; inside Ampera, the bold startup in Palm Beach Gardens; a bigger headquarters for 211; and a month of activities focused on peace of mind.
⚔️ Dueling owners scrap over proposed data center
There are two owners and two plans now for the hotly contested hyperscale data center proposed for Southern Boulevard at 20-Mile Bend.
Catch up quick: Seeming united, the owners moved forward in December to finalize zoning on up to 1.8 million square feet of data center space.
- Facing intense opposition, PBA Holdings, the owner of all but 60 acres on the site pulled back, submitting plans for 1.03 million square feet of data space and promising no diesel generators, enclosed cooling fans and a closed-loop water system to minimize water consumption.
- That plan would go before the County Commission in July.
Yes, but: The other owner, Atlanta-based TPA Group, put itself in the crosshairs of community opposition for the first time, as Stet News exclusively reported Thursday, by seeking county site plan approval on April 27 for 1.1 million square feet of data center use on its 60 acres, replete with outdoor generator yards, a water treatment building and 80-foot-tall chillers.
Why it matters: The TPA Group proposal would simply move around already approved uses on the site and could be green-lighted by county staff with no public hearings and no County Commission review. The other owner, PBA Holdings, would ask the county to double that amount of data center space.
Extra, extra: Stet News has learned since Thursday that TPA Group holds an option to buy 74.5 acres of the 202-acre site from PBA Holdings.
- But PBA, in a move of its own on April 3, told the county it would move forward without TPA Group signing off on its zoning plans, withdrawing “previously submitted consents” from TPA.
What they’re saying: “We understand that multiple applications in the area may create confusion for residents and the public,” PBA Holdings said in a statement. “For that reason, we encourage each proposal to be evaluated independently based on its own specific plans, studies, impacts and commitments.”
- The dueling applicants “gives me a sense that there is karma in the world,” said Ben Brown, whose 2,300-home Arden community is next to the site and is leading the opposition. “Every day delayed, stopped and reviewed is another day it’s not built.”
What’s next: County administrators must review TPA Group’s proposal and determine if it can move forward without a public hearing and County Commission review.
There’s more to the story. Check out Stet’s Thursday exclusive on the race to build a data center in Palm Beach County by clicking here.
— Joel Engelhardt
👀 Name to watch: Bruce Guyton
News reports about the departure of Riviera Beach City Manager Jonathan Evans understandably focused on his $186,000 separation agreement.
But there’s more: The big winner last week was Council Member Bruce Guyton. On Wednesday, he ascended to the chair of the council, successfully nominated Council Member Glen Spiritis as his vice chair and presided over the final hours of Evans’ tenure.
Why it matters: With the support of Spiritis and Fercella Davis Panier, Guyton, 65, won the powerful role. He will preside over City Council and Community Redevelopment Agency meetings and manage their agendas.
Catch up quick: Guyton lobbied to add the council reorganization to last week’s agenda even though, traditionally, Riviera Beach’s council selects leadership only during election years. He replaces Shirley Lanier, who served as chair since the 2025 election.
Once their city manager was dispatched, Guyton added the selection of a temporary city manager to the agenda. The only nominee, former City Manager Bill Wilkins, won the role in the same 3-2 split that installed Riviera Beach’s new chair.
Guyton’s public service career includes two terms on the Riviera Beach City Council in the 1990s and from 2013 to 2016.
- In 2017, Guyton pleaded guilty and paid a $500 fine to settle a misdemeanor charge under Florida’s Sunshine Law.
- Last year, he was elected to his fourth City Council term, narrowly defeating incumbent Tradrick McCoy. Davis Panier won her seat without opposition. Spiritis won his seat without opposition a year earlier when incumbent Julie Botel’s qualifying papers were thrown out.
Keep reading to see former City Manager Evans’ parting words for Riviera Beach at StetNews.org.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
⚛️ Thorium powers Gardens startup
Ampera opened its Palm Beach Gardens headquarters last month and shared more insight into its big bet on nuclear power.
Why it matters: In interviews with Power magazine, company leaders outlined their plan to use naturally occurring thorium, not enriched uranium, to power the deployable energy systems they plan to design and manufacture in Palm Beach County.
- Thorium is naturally abundant and far less radioactive than uranium in its raw state.
How it would work: Ampera would breed the thorium into uranium by bombarding it with neutrons, which takes roughly 20 to 30 days inside the core, the magazine reported. Once bred, the uranium would sustain the energy-producing fission process for the life of the Ampera reactor.
The big picture: Ampera intends to serve data centers, maritime shipping and defense operations. The units would be leased to customers, operated remotely by Ampera and have a 30-year lifespan.
In the room: Atthe April 8 opening, guests mingled in front of life-size concept models of the Ampera systems. They are designed to fit into a standard 40-foot shipping container.
What they’re saying: Ampera intends to produce 330 energy systems a year, founder and CEO Brian Matthews said at the opening presentation. “Now, that sounds unbelievable,” he said, “but the demand is there.”
What’s next: The company is developing a working prototype and seeking a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to manufacture its modular reactors.
- The company is operating in the Gardens Innovation Center at PGA National Commerce Park and vetting a 300,000-square-foot building nearby for its first production line.
- The startup plans to grow to 2,500 employees within five years.
Nuclear physicist Swadesh Mahajan of the University of Texas at Austin, an outsider, pointed to two key challenges for Ampera:
- Keeping the power system affordable enough to drive demand.
- Safely storing the radioactive waste that would remain after the energy systems are no longer in use.
Keep reading to find out how the company says it is managing the challenges at StetNews.org
— Carolyn DiPaolo
📞 A lifeline gets even stronger
211 Palm Beach and Treasure Coast is getting new digs for its Lantana headquarters.
Operators and staff have worked out of cramped quarters for years. Now, they’ll have room to breathe while they field calls from people who are facing the most vulnerable times in their lives.
The nonprofit on Wednesday broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot, two-story building that doubles the working space for a staff of 70.
The project should be built in 12 to 14 months.
Why it matters: 211 is the lifeline for people experiencing suicidal ideations, mental health crisises, homelessness, legal needs and domestic abuse, among many other problems.
- Staff have been working out of former closets and crammed into offices meant for one person.
- Workers will have a modern call center, a break room/kitchen, meeting rooms, a training room, offices for administrators and a decompression area, “which is really important to support our staff,” said Elizabeth Burrows, 211’s director of development and community relations.
What they’re saying: “If someone needs help, they need a person who says: ‘I’m here, and let’s figure this out.’ And that’s what 211 does, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach. “And that’s why this new facility matters so much.”
What 211 means for the community: The service covers five counties with 2.3 million people.
Last year it fielded 125,000 calls, texts, emails and chat conversations online. It assisted:
- 5,200 people with mental health and substance abuse challenges.
- More than 6,400 on suicide-related calls
- 3,600 housing requests
- 1,100 utility assistance calls
For more information about what 211 does, see StetNews.org.
— Holly Baltz
🍊 The Juice
🚨 Palm Beach County leads Florida in arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants with Florida Highway Patrol making about one in five arrests in the county since August, a review of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement database shows. In all, FHP troopers apprehended 1,229 immigrants in the county. Statewide, more than 6,600 immigrants were arrested. (WLRN)
🚫 Federal and state officials are in preliminary talks to close the controversial Everglades immigrant detention center Alligator Alcatraz after officials at the Department of Homeland Security concluded it is too expensive. Florida has been spending more than $1 million a day to run the center and is awaiting reimbursement from the federal government of $608 million. (The New York Times gift)
📍 U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel and her Democratic Party primary opponent Victoria Doyle say they will run for the newly reconfigured Democratic-leaning District 23 seat. The Legislature approved new congressional boundaries that turn Frankel’s current District 22 seat into a Republican-leaning district that stretches from coastal Broward County to Marco Island in Collier County. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🎧 House Oversight Committee Democrats plan a shadow hearing today in West Palm Beach to hear from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. (WPBF-Channel 25)
🔎 A West Palm Beach-based appeals court judge, Jeffrey Kuntz, is President Donald Trump’s nominee for a lifetime position on South Florida’s federal court. He faced questions at his April 29 Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation about holding onto a case pursued by Trump when the judge was seeking the federal appointment from the president. (Florida Bulldog)
☀️ A majority on the Lake Worth Beach City Commission favor giving the Benny’s on the Beach restaurant a 30-year lease extension without allowing competitive bids. (Lake Worth Beach Independent $$$)
🤝 Recently retired Assistant County Administrator Todd Bonlarron is joining Capital City Consulting as a managing partner. The lobbying firm, recently hired by Palm Beach County, opened its county office with former State Attorney Dave Aronberg and veteran lobbyist Tom DeRita Jr. (Florida Politics)
📣 How the Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce got Atlanta-based broadcast pioneer Ted Turner to speak in 1983 at a chamber breakfast. Hint: It involved then-chamber President and City Commissioner Mark Foley. Turner died May 6 at age 87. (The Lake Worth Beach Independent)
🌴 Steven Hudson, CEO of Toronto-based ECN Capital Corp., paid $15.8 million for a five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bath mansion in Palm Beach. ECN Capital is a financing company with an office in West Palm Beach. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
PulteGroup bought the remaining 53 townhouse lots in the 69-unit Reserve at Tequesta for $15.1 million. Its DiVosta Homes division will be building the homes north of Countyline Plaza off of U.S. 1. They are expected to sell in the $800,000s. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
☂️ Rainy season begins Friday, and the National Weather Service is forecasting a drier but hotter spell.
- South Florida receives 60% to 70% of its annual rain during the summer wet season that ends Oct. 15. (Sun-Sentinel $$$)
🐴 “Forget Palm Beach. Wellington Has Plenty of Wealth — and All The Horses,” is a look inside the equestrian world of Wellington. (Vanity Fair)
💐 A TV producer and a wellness influencer tie the knot at The Breakers. (Vogue)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, breaks down Florida’s new congressional districts, why they matter for state politics in 2026, and what’s at stake in key South Florida midterm races. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today)
561NSIDER: 💚 Time to mind your mental health
May is Mental Health Awareness and Trauma-Informed Care Month.
Are you affected by someone living with mental illness? It’s likely you are.
More than 100 million adults experienced a mental illness or substance use disorder in the past year, Mental Health America reported in its recently released 2025 “State of Mental Health in America,” which counted mental illness and substance use disorder separately.
“Get Your Green On” is the theme every year. The color was chosen in the 1990s to represent mental health because of its calming effects.
Here are five Palm Beach County activities for peace and perspective:
Digital scavenger hunt all month — Go on a series of missions to learn about mental health resources in the county and trauma-informed care on the Goosechase mobile app. You can earn points by yourself or in teams.
Minor league baseball game May 15 — Mental Health Awareness Night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Palm Beach Cardinals play the Daytona Tortugas at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $10 (plus fees of $2.35 a ticket) of which $5 goes to support NAMI Palm Beach County.
“Resiliency in Motion Cultural Corridor Ride” May 16 — A free bike and golf cart ride through Delray Beach’s historic neighborhoods starting at 8 am and ending at 11:30 at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, when community members are invited to A Delray Beach Family Affair featuring fellowship, food from local vendors, children’s activities and music. Register here for either activity or both.
“Mental Health is Everyone’s Business” May 19 — Learn how to recognize and respond to people battling mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Two-hour virtual training explains what to say and how to say it, providing tools to potentially save someone’s life. Register here.
Annual butterfly release May 28 — Butterfly release 4-5 pm at the Faulk Center for Family Counseling west of Boca Raton at 22455 Boca Rio Road. More information here.
Editor’s note: Joel is a board member at NAMI Palm Beach County. Stet invites all to sign up for NAMIWalks, the Oct. 10 fundraiser for the organization. Better yet, you can join and walk with our Stet News team.
For more things to do, see StetNews.org.
— Holly Baltz
🛤️ Staying on track
Joel attended the final Forum Club event of its 50th season on Monday. The club welcomed Rep. Danny Perez, R-Miami, speaker of the Florida House, on the day before he heads to Tallahassee for the budget showdown with Senate President Ben Allbritton and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who, Perez lamented, doesn’t return the House speaker’s phone calls.
On an issue of vital importance to South Florida — whether the state would restore money it cut last year to pay for operations on the CSX Railway tracks that carry the Tri-Rail commuter service — Perez had a daunting response.
The House is on board, he said. But he’s not so sure about the state Senate.
“So the real question,” he said, “is going to go to the senators, which I advise all of you to call. I don’t know if the Senate will want to fund the Tri-Rail or not. The House will fund the Tri-Rail.”
