Stet NewsIt’s summer! Check your battery supplies. For you today, a swanky restaurant is selected, high-rise tension in Riviera Beach, neighbors cringe over proposed hotel, Gardens gets a wine club and art meets science.
🍽️ Miami group picked for Currie Park
An indoor-outdoor, two-story restaurant in Currie Park proposed by the Breakwater Hospitality Group got the nod from a selection committee. (Rendering: Breakwater Hospitality Group presentation)
The Miami-based Breakwater Hospitality Group, developers of waterfront restaurants and event spaces in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, has been selected to build an $18.7 million waterfront restaurant in West Palm Beach’s Currie Park.
Breakwater is calling its 378-seat restaurant Sea Salt Beach House. It also would provide outdoor seating and a second-floor event ballroom with 328 seats.
Why it matters: Currie Park, long a haven for the homeless about 1.5 miles north of downtown, is undergoing a $37 million renovation. The city sought operators to build and run a restaurant and pay rent to the city.
- Breakwater beat competing proposals from Ned Grace, developer of Nora, and his partner, Nick Coniglio, owner of E.R. Bradley’s, as well as a third proposal from Hadley Doyle-Gonzalez, whose family ran the Panama Hattie’s Rum Bar in Palm Beach Gardens.
- All five members of the city selection committee favored Breakwater.
What they’re saying: “It is a place to come after a morning walk, a youth sporting event, a sunset along the waterfront or simply as a familiar, trusted local destination,” Breakwater said in its proposal. “Our philosophy is simple: A good neighborhood starts with good neighbors.”
The bottom line: Breakwater proposed a 30-year lease with two 15-year extensions. It would pay $150,000 a year in base rent plus 3% of gross revenues over $10 million. It estimated its payment could amount to $316,440 in the fifth year.
Breakwater’s strengths:
- Experience with similar waterfront experiences, including The Wharf along Fort Lauderdale’s New River, Pier 5 on Biscayne Bay in Miami’s Bayside Marketplace and Regatta Grove along the Miami River.
- Its plan to double the size of the space by adding a second-floor event center.
- Its team includes the author of Currie Park’s master plan, Chen Moore & Associates.
Of note: The city advertised the selection committee meeting to the public but closed the meeting at the last minute, turning away five people who came to watch. The city reopened the meeting hours later for the committee’s deliberations.
- Stet News had tried to get copies of the three proposals before the meeting but the city charged $337 for them. When Stet asked again after the meeting, the city provided them for free but charged $10.63 for the committee’s six-page scoring sheet.
What’s next: Breakwater and the city negotiate a contract that must be approved by the City Commission.
See the three proposals right here. No charge:
Read more about Breakwater’s plans and see the names of selection committee members at StetNews.org.
— Joel Engelhardt
🌡️ Gateway project on the hot seat
Palm Beach Shores Commissioner Anastasia Karloutsos appealed for a smaller building that would still be profitable. (Photo: Carolyn DiPaolo/Stet)
Singer Island residents and visitors packed a Black church in Riviera Beach on Thursday to confront a developer about plans to build high-rise condominiums on the island’s Intracoastal waterfront.
Driving the news: The vast majority opposed the 25-story building planned on the eastern edge of the Blue Heron Boulevard bridge. They are alarmed by the scale of the Singer Island Gateway project and the damage it could do to the nearby internationally known snorkeling and diving site near Phil Foster Park.
They questioned the project’s impact on the environment, the island’s traffic, its water system and the shadow the 300-foot-tall building would cast on its surroundings.
And they chafed under the prospect that if this project isn’t built at 2525 Lake Drive, the property owner will pursue something even taller under the state’s Live Local Act.
Zoom in: William Wallace IV, senior acquisition officer at The Continuum Co., the New York-based developer, told Stet News that he chose St. James Missionary Baptist Church for the community meeting because he wanted to make some news there.
Wallace announced that Continuum intends to build 25 workforce housing units on a church property in the city. The developer is seeking rezoning that would allow the project to be 20 stories. The workforce housing project could help the developer qualify under city rules to build five stories higher, to the proposed 25 stories.
The rent generated by the workforce housing after operating expenses would go to a consortium of Riviera Beach churches and not-for-profits. He expects that to total $300,000 to $400,000 a year.
Why it matters: The provision would funnel a share of the economic benefit of the waterfront development to the mainland.
The other side: “You think we all want your money. I don’t,” said Riviera Beach resident Gary Heiser, who said he has snorkeled in the subtropical waters near Phil Foster Park since he was a boy.
“I’m asking you to consider what is good,” he said. “What is good is when we’re coming from the west to the east and we’re going over the bridge and we see the ocean and it’s not blocked by a building. That is good.”
Keep reading to learn more about what the developer has planned for the Singer Island Gateway at StetNews.org.
— Carolyn DiPaolo
🏨 Convention center hotel advances
Map shows the second hotel site, in red, which is now a surface parking lot, with the convention center and the first hotel to the left. (Map: Related Ross presentation)
Neighbors of Related Ross’ proposed convention center hotel fear there’s little they can do to stop the project.
Still, they expressed their concerns June 16 when the city Planning Board voted unanimously to move the project to the next stage.
Why it matters: Tourism officials say a second hotel is needed to draw more visitors to the downtown West Palm Beach convention center. The County Commission is considering whether to buy the hotel site, a 1.8-acre parking lot, from Related and lease it back to the developer in exchange for hotel lease payments expected to top $1 billion over 100 years.
- While those negotiations go forward, Related Ross is pursuing site plan approval from the city, with plans to start construction in August.
Neighbors to the south in Grandview Heights and to the north in the CityPlace Tower South worry about traffic, noise from events on the 20,000-square-foot pool deck, sprawling terrace and rooftop restaurant and the safety of pedestrians mixed with tip-hungry valet drivers speeding alongside them on narrow roads.
Related says it’s making changes to ease the neighbors’ concerns. Raised crosswalks, 8-foot sidewalks, traffic calming devices and flashing lights would be installed to slow valet drivers. No amplified music would be allowed after 10 pm. They’ll ask the county to evaluate the timing of traffic signals at Okeechobee Boulevard and Rosemary Avenue.
What they’re saying: Related is working to accommodate neighbors, Planning Board Chair Steve Mayans said. “We’re the Planning Board for the city of West Palm Beach, not for any particular neighborhood. I think it’s a really needed project for the city and I’m going to be supporting it.”
What’s next: The City Commission hasn’t announced a date yet for its hearing on the site plan and the County Commission hasn’t said when it will consider the terms of a deal with Related Ross.
Read more about neighbors’ concerns and the Planning Board’s decision at StetNews.org.
— Jane Musgrave
🍝 New take on Gardens Italian
The owners of Eddie and Vinny’s Coastal Italian plan to offer a wine club. The restaurant will replace Prezzo, which closes June 30, at PGA Commons. (Photo: Courtesy P Hospitality Management)
Eddie and Vinny’s Coastal Italian, an upscale restaurant and wine club, is taking over the space where Prezzo is in PGA Commons.
In its place will be what the owners call an experiential restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens.
Prezzo closes June 30 after a nine-year run. Eddie and Vinny’s is scheduled to open in the fall.
Why it matters: Eddie and Christina Pozzuoli, owners of both restaurants, say diners are looking for a “special place to go on weekends.” The first Eddie and Vinny’s restaurant is in Coral Springs.
What they’re saying: “This is more like, ‘How are we going to feel going there?’ Diners are looking for a whole meal experience,” Eddie Pozzuoli said.
- Nightly entertainment, a wine club and family-style service are on tap.
- The kitchen will split orders so diners can share, and taste more than one entree.
Prices: Menu pricing is upscale but within reach for the area. Entrees range around $34 and up to $70 for steaks. Cocktails are $17-$18 for specialty drinks, and wines go for $50 to $1,000.
What the owner is excited about: Pozzuoli plans a wine club.
- The Inner Circle gets free corkage for the first year, meaning patrons won’t have to pay to bring their own wine.
- Members get to taste four types of wines with four courses at wine club mixers. After the meal, they can buy the wines at a discount.
- Eddie and Vinny’s will host monthly tastings and offer wine specials.
- The second tier of the membership is the locker program. “You get a locker, and that’s the program that gets you reserved reservations (ahead of all others as members).”
The tasty stuff: The menu will be seafood heavy, thus the name. Local fish in season, such as hog snapper and pumpkin swordfish, will be offered.
Then there are the must-have Italian dishes for sharing: carpaccio, cacio e pepe, wagyu meatballs and Abruzzo-style lasagna with Bolognese.
Read more about the newest dining option in north county at StetNews.org.
— Jan Norris
🍊 The Juice
(State Archives of Florida/Golden Gem Growers)
👨🏼⚖️ Florida Power & Light’s parent company, Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy, agreed to a proposed $150 million settlement over the company’s role in making misleading statements about the involvement of FPL’s outside political consultants in efforts to warp Florida elections through the use of “ghost” candidates, use of dirty tricks to acquire Jacksonville’s city-owned electric utility, surveillance of a journalist and attempts to control media coverage.
- The proposed settlement comes at a critical time for NextEra as it moves to acquire Dominion Energy, a blockbuster merger that would make the Florida-based company the world’s largest regulated power company. (Florida Trib)
🧮 Palm Beach County Administrator Joe Abruzzo confronted Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia last week at a Boca news conference, challenging the chief financial officer’s conclusion that Palm Beach County is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars a year. (WPTV)
💰 Billionaire developer Stephen Ross is close to buying the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the former IBM complex west of Interstate 95 at Yamato Road, that has approvals for 1,243 residential units, 125,000 square feet of retail, 85,000 square feet of medical offices, a hotel and a 5,000-seat entertainment venue. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🏗️ Developer Terra, teaming with Miami-based BH Group, has proposed 31-story condo towers with 281 units on 1.5 acres owned by billionaire Jeff Greene just west of Currie Park along North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. Terra is the co-developer of the Mr. C Hotel & Residences in West Palm Beach. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🌿 Expansion of The Greene School’s West Palm Beach campus would include a one-story, 1,909-square-foot library; a three-story, 24,527-square-foot academic building; a skybridge over the railroad tracks; underground parking; a three-story, 27,298-square-foot racquet facility; and a 43,147-square-foot terrace with two tennis courts after City Commission approval of two measures on June 8. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🚔 Despite claims of transparency, a week after Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials announced the arrest of 250 immigrants in Broward County, basic information, such as the names of those arrested, remains unknown. Unanswered questions include: What days did the arrests take place? Where in Broward County? How many detained immigrants had criminal records and how many did not? (WLRN)
💵 Billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle expanded his Manalapan estate, for which he paid $173 million in 2022, by buying half of a neighboring lot owned by former Manalapan Mayor Stewart Satter for $35 million. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🌱 An urban oasis in Lake Worth Beach is changing hands. And the buyer has no interest in building condos. (Lake Worth Beach Independent)
- Meanwhile, Rodney Mayo’s Subculture Group nears an opening date for his Dada art-inspired downtown Lake Worth Beach restaurant, Man Ray. (Lake Worth Beach Independent $$$)
🇺🇸 The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County invites the public to a free event to meet judicial candidates from 6 to 7:15 pm Monday at the Vista Center in West Palm Beach. The Vista Center is at 2300 N. Jog Road. (League website)
💺 The Countywide Transportation Master Plan, initiated in July, has been drafted. It will be presented at four public meetings:
- June 30, 6-8 pm: Belle Glade Public Library, 725 NW Fourth St., Belle Glade.
- July 1, 6-8 pm: Palm Beach Gardens Public Library, 11303 Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens
- July 8, 6-8 pm: Boynton Beach Arts & Cultural Center, 125 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach
- July 9, 6-8 pm: Clayton E. Hutcheson Agricultural Services Center, 559 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach (Master Plan website)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast by Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, learns about the secrets of Palm Beach from local journalist and author Amy Woods. As the author of “Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure,” Woods spent years inside Mar-a-Lago, the Breakers and Palm Beach society’s biggest events, telling tales from the real, juice-stained origin of the Lilly Pulitzer print to a mansion’s brief, bittersweet connection to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. (Listen now; watch after 4 pm today.)
561NSIDER: 🌎 Art with a scientist’s urgent message
Kat Owens lies next to her “Bradley,” a blue whale that hung in Connecticut’s Bradley Airport. Her offer of this piece launched her connection with Resource Depot. (Photo: KatOwens.com)
Pods of people gathered around the huge table in Resource Depot’s second-floor art studio to help artist Kat Owens craft her latest project: an 80-foot fin whale made of recycled plastic.
What’s happening: Owens hosted the “Whale Makers” workshop as part of her exhibition, “Entangled and Ingested: The Work of Katharine Owens,” which is on display through Aug. 15 in the Pam Sartory GalleRE in West Palm Beach.
Why it matters: Owens’ work features life-size portraits of species that have scientific records of being subjected to entanglement and ingestion from pollution. They’re made by sewing recycled bits of plastic patchwork-style onto lightweight canvas. She uses clean, recycled garbage, because real ocean garbage is “really gross.”
Owens’ work calls attention to the ways plastic harms fish and mammals.
Context: She is a National Geographic Explorer, Fulbright-Nehru Fellow, and chair of the Department of Politics, Economics and International Studies at the University of Hartford. She is also a well-known plastic pollution researcher.
Yes, but: At her core, she is an artist who loves nature.
What she’s saying: “I think that the power of art is that it can make an impression,” Owens said. “Certainly, more of an impression than the scientific articles that I write that are only read by other scientists who already know this is a big problem. I wanted to do this art project to get beyond the scientific community and try to connect with regular people.”
The GalleRE is just one facet of this multipurpose space near Belvedere Road and Dixie Highway. Keep reading at StetNews.org to find out what’s happening this summer at Resource Depot.
— Janis Fontaine
We send a big Stet thank you to all who joined us Friday for our happy hour at Stormhouse Brewing in North Palm Beach.
It was great to meet you all, and we look forward to our next get-together.
– Joel, Carolyn and Liz
