By Tim Pallesen
East Atlantic Avenue traffic congestion remains a concern as the proposed Atlantic Crossing development goes before Delray Beach officials for site plan and design approval.
In response to residents’ concerns, the developer drew a site plan that shows delivery trucks unloading at the center of the mixed-use project.
“We moved all the loading internally into the site,” project manager Don DeVere said in announcing his revised 9-acre site plan to neighboring residents last month.
The project is under development by the Edwards Co. in a joint venture with Carl DeSantis.
But now city planners will oppose the central loading location, saying delivery truck drivers might reject it because it is too far from the project’s Atlantic Avenue shops and restaurants.
“My fear is that delivery trucks such as UPS are going to park in the traffic lanes of Atlantic Avenue, which would result in an unsafe situation at the foot of the Atlantic Avenue Bridge,” said senior city planner Scott Pape.
Coastal residents are still asking for an entrance from Federal Highway into the project as an alternative to entering from Atlantic Avenue.
“We feel an entrance from Federal Highway makes a lot of sense because it is a commercial road,” said Beach Property Owners Association President Andy Katz.
DeVere said the Florida Department of Transportation has approved an exit onto Federal Highway from the project’s 440-car underground parking garage.
But FDOT has refused to allow an entrance into Atlantic Crossing from northbound Federal Highway because of insufficient space for a right-turn lane, Pape said.
City planners also question street closings north and south of the project that residents are seeking to prevent traffic and parking problems in their neighborhoods.
Pape said the proposed closing of Northeast Seventh Avenue north of Northeast First Street would block access for city fire-rescue vehicles. “We have great concern,” he said.
The developer also promises to pay for the closing of Palm Square south of Atlantic Avenue, but that issue is unresolved with city officials.
Discussions between the developer and city planners continue this month before the proposal goes before the city’s Site Plan and Appearance Board for a recommendation to the City Commission.
The site plan shows Northeast Seventh Avenue as the main promenade for the mix of 264 apartments and 82 condos with 76,000 square feet of retail and 83,000 square feet of offices. The mix is similar to CityPlace in West Palm Beach and Mizner Park in Boca Raton.
This view, heading west on Atlantic Avenue from the Intracoastal bridge, shows the varied design of buildings within the complex. Base map and rendering provided by Edwards Companies
But unlike those two developments, the six buildings at Atlantic Crossing have been designed by different architects to appear as though they were built at different times.
“We rejected the monolithic look,” DeVere said of the eclectic design that has won support among some residents who took issue with the density of 40 units per acre that city commissioners approved for Atlantic Crossing last year.
“The developer has made an effort to listen to what the community would like to see,” Katz said. “Making the project look as though it was built over time by different people makes it look much more Delray-like.”
The proposed site plan shows four restaurants, retail shops and offices in two three-story buildings that front on Atlantic Avenue. More restaurants and shops are shown on the ground floors of a second set of taller buildings with residential units on the upper floors.
Cars carrying restaurant, retail and office patrons will be directed to valet parking, under a rooftop swimming pool for residents. Motorists will be alerted by electronic signs to avoid Atlantic Avenue if the bridge is up when they exit the project.
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