By Dan Moffett

    After months of telling South Palm Beach residents he was committed to building an architectural jewel where the dilapidated Oceanfront Inn now stands, developer Gary Cohen has quietly put the site up for sale. Cohen purchased the property in October 2012.
    The chief executive officer of Paragon Acquisition Group has listed the beleaguered property with HFF commercial real estate brokers in Miami. An ad calls it the “last remaining ocean development opportunity on the island” and says the town has signed off on a building plan.
    At times, though, the ad gets a little vague about the town and where the property is located. “Nestled on the cusp at which Palm Beach and the uber-exclusive enclave of Manalapan meet, the Site lies at the epicenter of wealth in South Florida,” the ad says.
    New Town Manager Jim Pascale thinks the developer’s reversal offers an opportunity. What if South Palm Beach bought the property from Cohen and turned it into a park?
    “If we want to view the town as more than a wintertime retreat,” Pascale says, “then the governing body should look at investing in amenities that make it a year-round community.”
    Amenities like a park. He says the Town Council should consider getting financing claiming the town’s last piece of open space.
After 90 days on the job, Pascale has other ideas he wants to run by residents, mostly in the form of questions.
    Some examples:
    “Should South Palm Beach consider regulating property rentals?”
    “Do we need a full-time police department?” Would residents be better off if the town contracted for police services with outside agencies?
    And perhaps most intriguing, as the town prepares to mark its 60th anniversary later this year, should it consider calling itself quits?
    “Is the continued existence of South Palm Beach in the best interests of its property owners?”
    That’s right, should there even be a South Palm Beach?
    Would residents be better off if they were annexed into another town or left unincorporated?
    “I know this is kind of a neutron bomb item,” Pascale said. “I’m very aware of the reaction, but this is about doing what’s best for the residents and improving the community.”
    Not surprisingly, Pascale has caused a relatively significant stir among the condo dwellers in a relatively short period of time.
    “I realize this could be controversial, and the reaction has run the gamut,” he says. “I’d say it’s been mixed at best. Some have loved an idea. Some have hated it.”
    A special workshop meeting scheduled for June 4 to give Pascale a chance to air his ideas in detail was canceled at the last minute. The town says the meeting will be rescheduled for an undetermined date. Public comment will be invited, and plenty of it is expected.
    Before taking the South Palm Beach job in January, Pascale worked 30 years in municipal government in Princeton, N.J., where an Ivy League community relished public debate about most anything. How that Princeton approach will work on A1A is another open question.
    “Some of the things might be a little out-of-the-box controversial and get people upset,” said Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello. “Some people will say some of these ideas are ridiculous. He’s getting some are-you-kidding-me responses but he’s looking at things with fresh eyes, and we need to consider what he’s saying.”
    Councilwoman Stella Gaddy Jordan put it this way: “It’s important that everyone comes to the workshop, and that they come with open minds and open thoughts.”
    Pascale wouldn’t mind if Gary Cohen showed up, too.

SOURCE: Town of Lantana

By Willie Howard

    The renovated parking lot at Lantana Beach should be lighted at night by late September.
    With no discussion, the Town Council on May 11 unanimously approved a $39,700 contract with low bidder Wilco Electrical to install 16 concrete poles with decorative light fixtures at the town beach.
    The contract covers only the cost of installation. The council in December approved the $48,000 purchase of the light fixtures and poles from Municipal Lighting Systems Inc.
    The new lights will replace those that were removed when the beach parking lot and drainage improvements were done last year.
    Town Manager Deborah Manzo said the town had intended to reuse the old lights, but they were so rusted that they crumbled when they were removed for the parking lot renovations.
    The new lights are similar in design to those installed on Ocean Avenue in conjunction with the new bridge.
    The fixtures will direct light toward the ground and are sea-turtle friendly, Public Works Director Mike Greenstein said.
    Wilco Electrical was scheduled to begin installing the lights on May 18. Terms of the contract require the company to complete the job by Sept. 18.
    The contractor will be allowed to work on the beach light installation between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
    Greenstein said the town also plans to install a third payment kiosk at the beach parking lot to make it easier for beach visitors to pay by the hour for parking.
    In other action, the council approved a $2.7 million contract with low bidder West Construction Inc. to build new baseball and soccer fields at 903 N. Eighth St.
    The old ball fields were removed as part of the demolition of the A.G. Holley Hospital complex that was completed in January, making way for a mixed-use development.
    Manzo said money from the state and from developers will cover the cost of building the three baseball and two soccer fields. They’re scheduled to be complete by January.
    The town has not decided whether it will manage the sports fields using town staff or find a private company to manage them.
    “We are discussing our options and will make a recommendation to the Town Council if the fields will be managed by someone other than the town,” Manzo said.

Kathy and Ben Baffer with their children, Ava, 9,

and Grace, 12, and their 15-week-old Goldendoodle, Lucky.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Kathy Baffer has fond memories of growing up in east Boca Raton.
    “In 1963, when my father built our home in Royal Palm, Boca was a small town with a small-town feel,” she said. “Back then, growing up in Royal Palm was really a true neighborhood with many children playing outdoors and in the streets.”
    In 1998, when she moved to the Seagate neighborhood in Delray Beach as a single woman, she found the same “true neighborhood” feeling.
    “I am so fortunate to live in this beautiful neighborhood, with my husband and where we can raise our two daughters (Grace, 12, and Ava, 9) and new Goldendoodle puppy (Lucky),” Baffer said.
    Baffer, 50, was president of the Seagate Homeowners Association for 14 years and recently stepped down to devote more time to her work (including volunteer work) and to study for her real estate license. Her husband, Ben, a general contractor and an expert in historic building restoration, is vice president of Kaufman Lynn Construction in Boca Raton.
    “My husband and I started a property management company, Baffer Properties, two years ago,” she said. “We take care of our clients’ homes when they are away for the summer.”
    After she met her husband (who lived in Virginia) on a blind date, the big question was “who is gonna move?” she said. “Well, I live across the street from the beach,” she remembers telling him then. Not surprisingly, he was the one to make the move after they married in 2002.
    The Seagate Homeowners Association has grown since she assumed leadership. “We have 96 families, the largest number in our history,” she said.
    “We have several events throughout our season, which basically starts with our Halloween party in October (for kids and adults) to the end of April (spring dinner),” she said. “All the Seagate members are on a master email list, so it’s very easy and fast to correspond with everyone, especially when I wanted to alert the members about any crimes. We also created a Seagate Facebook page this year, which has been another great way to communicate with all our members.”
    Baffer is a Sunday school teacher at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church. At Gulf Stream School, where her daughters attend and of which she is an alumna, she is a room mom and holds other volunteer positions.   
— Mary Thurwachter

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I am a true Florida native — born in Miami Beach and raised in Boca Raton. I attended Gulf Stream School, graduated from Saint Andrew’s School, and then I graduated from Southern Methodist University. After I lived in Dallas for 10 years, I knew I always wanted to return to South Florida, because of my love for this area. The quote my mom always said, “If you have sand in your shoes, you will return” is so true for me and many Floridians.

Q. What professions have you worked in? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I graduated with a BBA, with an emphasis in marketing. I worked for several medical companies in marketing positions. No matter how successful I was in my career and school, I still feel the greatest accomplishment is being the best wife, and mother to my two daughters and being active in the Delray community.

 Q. How did you get started working with the Seagate Homeowners Association?
A. When I moved to the Seagate neighborhood in 1998, I didn’t know anyone in the neighborhood and wanted to develop friendships with my neighbors, and get involved with the organization. I immediately got involved and in 2001 was nominated to become president.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?  
A. Choose a career that you are extremely passionate about. Once you choose, the drive and motivation will fall into place. Also, it is so important to get involved in your community.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Delray Beach?  
A. I love living in my beautiful Seagate neighborhood! Living within walking distance to Atlantic Avenue, plus across the street from the beach. It can’t get any better than this!

Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?  
A. My mother was a professional ballroom dancer, so growing up, we always had music playing in our home. These days, I truly enjoy listening to my daughter Grace play classical piano on her great-grandmother’s 1908 Steinway.

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?  
A. “Put your heart, mind and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret to success.” I have always loved this quote and I try to follow it every day.

Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. My husband, Ben, is my mentor. He always gives me great advice and guidance and encourages me with my new endeavors. I’ve seen how hard he works and how successful he has become, and he motivates me to excel and grow. Not only is he my mentor, but also my best friend.

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Jennifer Garner is such a strong actress. Her acting is diversified, going from comedy to drama. She seems extremely grounded, not the typical Hollywood type.

Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. I have a very close friend who makes me laugh every time I talk with her. She is just naturally funny! I can always count on her to put a smile on my face. I would recommend everyone having at least one of these friends.

Delray Beach’s eight highest-risk FEC railroad crossings were chosen

to receive $1.3 million in safety improvements — creating ‘quiet zones.’

Bruce Borich/The Coastal Star

By Tim Pallesen

    Delray Beach will receive federal money to create “quiet zones” by eliminating train horns on the east side of the city.
    Freight trains that now rumble through downtown might be moved west and Tri-Rail commuter trains might become more convenient for passengers on the eastern Florida East Coast Railway tracks.
    The future of South Florida railroads became clearer when All Aboard Florida officials and regional transportation planners spoke before city commissioners on May 5 to address city concerns.
    The city can’t stop All Aboard Florida, the proposed new passenger service to link Miami to Orlando with 32 trains a day on the FEC tracks. But commissioners still passed a resolution that says the city will oppose All Aboard Florida unless the private company pays for extra crossing gates to allow the quiet zones.
    The federal government already has committed to paying $930,000 for the motorist safety improvements and another $325,000 for pedestrian improvements at FEC crossings in the city, county Metropolitan Planning Organization director Nick Uhren told commissioners.
    Some Delray Beach residents have argued that the new Miami-to-Orlando service with stops only in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach has no local benefit.
    “Is there a need? Our citizens overwhelmingly don’t see a need,” City Commissioner Mitch Katz told All Aboard Florida officials.
    But the question of how Delray Beach would benefit might have been answered when Uhren joined with FEC Industries vice president Jose Gonzalez and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority executive director Jack Stephens to explain how All Aboard Florida has made other changes in commuter and freight trains possible.
    “They’ve created the opportunity for transformational change that didn’t exist before,” Stephens said.
South Florida has two north-south rail lines — the FEC tracks on the east, which carry most of the freight trains, and the western CSX tracks along I-95, carrying Tri-Rail and Amtrak.
    The three speakers explained how federal money is already being spent to connect the two rail lines so many of the freight trains that block traffic in downtown Delray can be moved west and Tri-Rail trains can shift to the downtown tracks, where a depot would be more convenient to commuters.
    Mayor Cary Glickstein, a board member on the county planning agency, had invited Stephens and Uhren to explain the larger plans to worried Delray Beach residents. “We have to think differently about transportation,” Glickstein said. “We need to get cars off roads and trucks off I-95. Rail is going to be the resolution.”

By Tim Pallesen
    
Mayor Cary Glickstein has persuaded Atlantic Crossing developers to reconsider a Federal Highway access road to relieve traffic on East Atlantic Avenue.
    The Edwards Companies will present two possible site plan revisions for city commissioners to review on June 16.
    “We have agreed to explore a site plan modification in the spirit of cooperation and at the mayor’s request,” developer vice president Don DeVere confirmed.
    The developer has zoning approval to build the $200 million mixed-use project without the east-west access road from Federal Highway that neighbors want.
    City commissioners approved a site plan without the road in January 2014 and a circuit court judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking the road last January.
    But some residents still worried about Atlantic Avenue traffic congestion have continued to pressure commissioners to do something.
    “The single criticism that I kept hearing was that people want the road,” said Glickstein, who approached the developer in February.
    “I didn’t understand the unwillingness to revisit this. It didn’t appear to me to be that difficult to make this modification,” the mayor said. “I asked them to give it another shot.”
    One modification for commissioners to consider on June 16 would be to add Atlantic Court back onto the site plan as the east-west surface road to connect Federal Highway to Northeast Sixth Avenue.
    The other alternative would still have ramps from Federal into an underground parking garage, but with improved traffic circulation inside the project. Glickstein said the developer will present an “animated” visual to demonstrate how traffic would flow.
    Glickstein applauded the developer for willingness to address citizen concerns. The Edwards Companies and Carl DeSantis are developing the project.
    “Nobody likes to be told what to do. In their minds, they have gone through the process legally,” the mayor said. “I give them credit for going back to the drawing board. We’re trying to forge a compromise.”

By Tim Pallesen

    Delray Beach residents will see a savings in their garbage collection fee this month as the city switches its garbage hauler to Southern Waste Systems.
    Garbage bills will go even lower next month as the city refunds a surplus collected for garbage carts.
    Southern Waste Systems beat out the city’s previous garbage hauler, Waste Management, in competitive bidding for the city franchise.
    As a result, the monthly garbage pickup fee for most residential customers will drop from $12.72 to $9.75 starting June 1. City commissioners approved the new rates on May 19.
    Commissioners also directed staff at a May 5 meeting to return a $1.7 million surplus that the city has been charging as a 90-cent monthly fee for garbage carts.
    Starting in August, refunds of $12.84 a month for four months will appear on the bills that residents pay for water, sewer and garbage.
    The refunds resulted after City Commissioner Shelly Petrolia first questioned the unused money in 2013.  The cart fee has been charged since 1997.
    The garbage hauler now pays for carts.

By Tim Pallesen

    Parking meters aren’t going to be installed downtown after city commissioners split on the controversial issue at a May 12 workshop.
    Mayor Cary Glickstein advocated strongly for the meters to generate $3.6 million each year as an alternative to raising property taxes.
    “Nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills, folks,” Glickstein said. “We need money to move this city forward. This is a means to that end.”
Glickstein got support from Commissioner Jordana Jarjura. “This is a way to collect from visitors who impact the city but don’t pay taxes,” she said.
    But in a rare split with the mayor, Commissioner Shelly Petrolia rejected the parking meters for fear they might hurt Atlantic Avenue businesses.
    “Are we risking killing the goose that laid the golden egg?” Petrolia asked the other commissioners.
    The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce supported the meters, but the owners of Big Al’s Steaks and Hand’s Office & Art Supply opposed them at the meeting.
    The meters got nixed when Commissioners Al Jacquet and Mitch Katz joined Petrolia.
    “I always oppose parking meters,” Jacquet said. “All they do is tax residents and businesses out of Delray.”
    City staff had estimated that the new downtown parking meters, combined with meters that the city already has in the beach area, would generate $5.3 million in annual revenue with $1.7 million in costs.
    Staff had recommended that some of the $3.6 million profit be spent on the Beach Master Plan, which needs $3 million to beautify Ocean Boulevard for motorists and pedestrians. Beach maintenance and dune restoration were also proposed for funding with meter money.
    Commissioners directed staff to replace existing beach-area meters with new “smart meters” that accept various forms of payments, including by cellphone. They also said they want more signs downtown to direct motorists to city parking garages.

INSETS BELOW: George Brown; Robert Weinroth; Al Zucaro

By Rich Pollack

    The Boca Raton Airport Authority will be welcoming two new board members this month but their stay may be short lived if the Florida Commission on Ethics determines their controversial appointment by the Boca Raton City Council was improper.
    Last month the City Council took the unusual step of appointing Deputy City Manager George Brown and one of its own members, Vice Mayor Robert Weinroth, to the independent Airport Authority board.
    The appointments mark the first time since the authority was created in 2004 by an act of the state Legislature that a sitting City Council member or a member of the city staff has been appointed to the seven-member board, according to authority officials.
    The decision — and Weinroth’s casting of the deciding vote on his own appointment — raised eyebrows and led to a complaint to the ethics commission filed by Boca Raton attorney Al Zucaro.
    In a separate but related case, the ethics commission was already looking into a possible conflict of interest by another board member, Jack Fox, who owns a hanger at the Boca Raton Airport.
    That case, sparked by an anonymous complaint that led to the authority’s attorney and Fox asking for a legal opinion from the ethics commission staff, was scheduled to go before the full ethics commission this month but has been delayed. In the interim, on the advice of the city’s attorney, Fox has been sitting out authority meetings.
    Fox, like Weinroth and Brown, was appointed to the board by the Boca City Council, which appoints five of the authority’s seven members. The two others are appointed by the Palm Beach County Commission.
    In the case of Weinroth and Brown, Zucaro is raising several questions, including whether the appointments will compromise the authority’s independence, which is spelled out in the state legislation that created it.
    “This is a complete power grab,” he said.
    Zucaro contends that the appointment of Brown puts the deputy city manager in the precarious position of “having to serve two masters.”
    “It’s clearly questionable to appoint a deputy city manager who reports directly to the city manager,” Zucaro said. “How, in any capacity, can he have an independent thought process to act on that board, independent of his actions on behalf of the City Council?”
    He said the conflict of having to represent the authority and the City Council at the same time also applies to Weinroth.
    “They’re not there to represent the best interest of the city, they’re there to represent the best interest of the Airport Authority,” he said. “It’s impossible to do both.”
    Weinroth said he believes its possible to do both.
    “I think the two interests are closely aligned,” Weinroth said.
    While there are cases where changes to the airport — building or zoning issues — might come before the City Council, Weinroth said he doesn’t see a reason for concern.
    “It would depend on the issue, but we can recuse ourselves if necessary,” he said.
    Weinroth said the City Council’s decision to place both Brown and him on the airport authority was a reflection of discussions the council had during a strategic planning session.
    “We felt that our lines of communication haven’t been at the level we would like to see,” he said. “With these appointments we’d like to address issues of concern to us.”
    Prior to his appointment to the board, Brown served as the primary staff liaison between the city and the Airport Authority, which this year has a budget that includes $3.4 million in revenues and approximately $7 million in reserves.
    One of the issues of concern, Weinroth said, is a policy of the Airport Authority that requires board members to report in writing any conversation he or she has with anyone else regarding issues that may come before the authority.  
    Weinroth said he does not plan to stay on the authority for his full two-year term, but will stay long enough to “make some points.”  He also said that both he and Brown have agreed not to accept the $100 stipend authority members receive.
    While questions have been raised about whether it was proper for Weinroth to cast the deciding vote to appoint himself to the authority, the vice mayor said he sought the advice of City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser, who determined it was acceptable.
    Zucaro, in a letter to the City Council announcing that he had filed a complaint with the state ethics commission asked that the council delay the appointments until after the ruling. That’s unlikely, Weinroth said, since the city attorney has concluded it’s not necessary.
    Airport Director Clara Bennett said she does not expect the questions surrounding the board appointments to impact the day-to-day operations of the airport.
    “The airport will continue to operate in accordance with all state and federal regulations,” she said.

Hudson Holdings, a co-owner of the Gulfstream Hotel, made a bid to create the Lake Worth Convention Center

and Beach Club. Many residents object to the plans.

Rendering provided

By Jane Smith
    
    One of the owners of the historic Sundy House in Delray Beach wants to do a project at the Lake Worth beach.
    Hudson Holdings, a co-owner of Lake Worth’s historic Gulfstream Hotel with vitamin kingpin and developer Carl DeSantis, made a bid last fall to create the Lake Worth Convention Center and Beach Club.
    The original proposal included a two-story, 40,000-square-foot building with 20,000 square feet of conference space, a new main pool that would be open to the public in the mornings and limited to club members later in the day, and a three-story parking garage on the lower lot with 239 parking spaces.
    A city committee requested four times that Hudson Holdings scale back its proposal. For the fourth revision, the company reduced its design by 14,000 square feet, said William Waters, community sustainability director for Lake Worth, at the April 28 committee meeting. It was the first time the plans were discussed publicly.
    Steven Michael, a Hudson Holdings principal, could not be reached for comment.
    The company also faces competition from a Michigan restaurant operator for the vacant space on the second floor to run the Oceanside Bar & Grill. A third bidder likely dropped out in January after the Wave House declined to provide more information.
    Hudson Holdings will have to wait for the City Commission to decide.
    At its May 19 workshop, the commission allowed 28 residents to speak about the beach and the plans. Most were against further development, evidenced by the red signs popping up around the city. The signs read: “Hands off our beach.”
    But the commission did not vote on its committee’s recommendations. At its June 2 meeting, the commission asked the city manager to set a meeting where the three companies could make their pitches.
    Hudson Holdings’ partner in the Gulfstream Hotel said it was interested only in the second-floor space of the existing building to hold weddings for hotel guests, said Jeff Perlman, executive vice president of CDS International Holdings in Boca Raton.
    Before Hudson Holdings can do anything more with the city, the company must clear two code and licensing problems. One on the Gulfstream Hotel is set for a June 25 hearing to determine fines for general neglect of the hotel site.
    For one of the motels it bought last year in the city’s south end, a Hudson affiliate was fined $330.69 Feb. 4 for not having a city business license and certificate of occupancy.
    “If the code issues are not solved, we can’t issue a business license for anywhere else in the city,” Waters said.
    In Boynton Beach, the company was selected last year to do a project in the city’s Heart of Boynton area. Michael appeared before a city board in April to explain his company’s decision not to go forward with the project. He was rebuked by the board members for stringing them along for months.
    In Delray Beach, his company is still involved with the Historic Sundy Village project, his two partners said. Bill Morris joined his original partner, Rick Marshall, in March.
    Morris, who no longer is associated with the nearby Atlantic Crossing project, said plans should be submitted in July. The plans include: 110,000 square feet of retail, 135 hotel rooms and 450 underground parking spaces.
    “The process is lengthy because of the historic buildings involved,” Morris said.

A boardwalk will replace the former dive shop at the Boynton Beach Marina.

Rendering provided

By Jane Smith

    Boynton Beach can now move forward with completing its $18 million marina.
    County commissioners agreed unanimously May 19 to allow demolition of a vacant two-story building, despite a plea from its former dive shop tenant to renovate it.
    The building will be replaced with a shaded park for the public, with a walking path and seating, roadway realignment, extra parking spaces and other features, estimated to cost $700,000.
     “We’re very excited,” said Michael Simon, assistant director of the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. It needed county approval because of a $2 million county grant received in 2006. The agreement limited what could happen to that 1969 building.
    The agency just opened its Harbor Master Building with a small store and restrooms open during marina business hours. The third phase of the marina can now be put out for bid, Simon said.
    The agency will put together an invitation to bid, which will include the cost of the demolition. Then the bidders will be reviewed by the agency’s board later this summer.
    Lynn Simmons, who ran Splashdown Divers in the building until about four years ago, had sued the agency when it became obvious that the building would be torn down. She ended up settling for a seven-year lease on her boat slip and $18,750 in credit toward the rent on the slip, which was set at market value. She also operates the Marina Bites convenience store in the Marina Village condominium.
    Her dive shop occupied the building when the agency bought the marina in 2006. Her lawsuit alleged that the dive shop had been promised a permanent place in the marina once it was finished.
    The Boynton Harbor Marina, just south of Boynton Beach Boulevard, consists of Two Georges and Banana Boat restaurants, the Marina Village condominium, and several fishing and diving businesses.
    Linda Cross, who lives at Marina Village, commended the agency for moving forward with replacing the old dive shop building. “It has no historical purpose, and it’s an eyesore,” she told county commissioners.
    Plus it’s a safety hazard restricting drivers’ views because the building sits at the convergence of three roads, Cross said.
    Simmons tried to sway commissioners by citing the cost to renovate compared to the more expensive cost to tear down the building and replace it with a green space. She also tried to make an argument about the lack of public restrooms being too far for mothers and their kids.
    But County Commissioner Steven Abrams, whose district covers Boynton Beach, commended the city and the agency for reviving the waterfront and creating “a gathering place for the community.”
    He also said the old dive shop building is “beyond repair, in my opinion.”

    OCEAN RIDGE — J. Gary Kosinski Sr., 76, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died peacefully May 12, in the Benefactors Pavilion of Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach.
    Born and raised in Pittsburgh to Wilma “Stormy” and Anthony “Toto” Kosinski, Mr. Kosinski graduated from South Hills High School and was an Alpha Sigma Phi at Penn State University, graduating in 1960. As managing editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review, he graduated with a juris doctorate, member of the Order of the Coif.
    Mr. Kosinski became an attorney and Partner at Eckert Seamans and practiced law for over 25 years, including a successful defense in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978.
    Mr. Kosinski was legal counsel for the township of Mount Lebanon and also gave free legal advice to anyone who needed it.
    Mr. Kosinski married Lynn Geyer at St. Louise de Marillac Church in 1964. Gary and Lynn moved to Mount Lebanon, and over the next 50 years became strong members of their community.
    As a father to Geyer, Gary and Kristen, “Big Gary” never left his children’s sides. Indian Guide chief, Little League coach, Hilton Head vacation chaperone and avid Steeler fan, Big Gary shared his passion for everything with not only his children but all of their friends. He was an inspiration and had a positive, lasting impact on them all.
    In the words of their young friends, Mr. Kosinski “elicited imaginative and conceptual discussions” and “shared wisdom and guidance in his unique and entertaining way.” As a member of St. Clair Country Club, he was often found distributing legal advice and political opinions around a table in the Men’s Grill.
    Mr. Kosinski is survived by his brother James (Joyce); his three children, Geyer, Gary (Penny) and Kristen; and his three grandchildren, Stormy Kate, Kyra Marie and Adrien Marley.
    In Pittsburgh, visitations were held May 15 at Beinhauer’s Funeral Home in Peters Township. The funeral service was held May 16 at St. Louise de  Marillac Church. A reception followed at St. Clair Country Club.
    In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made to the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, bethesdahospitalfoundation.org.
The family thanks everyone at the Bethesda Hospital BPU and Hospice for being angels in our time of need.

Obituary submitted by the family

George Gallego in the new location of his shoe repair shop on Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Steve Pike

    Two days before the May 18 opening of his new shoe shop in Boynton Beach, George Gallego Jr. took a few minutes to relax and reflect. That’s not exactly his style, but Gallego had earned it.
    The previous weeks had been difficult. Less than six weeks before, Gallego gave notice to his new landlord that he would move from his George’s Shoe Repair on Southeast Fourth Avenue in Delray Beach after 44 years. For weeks he couldn’t find a suitable location for the business his father, George Gallego Sr., started on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach in 1970.
    And in early May, Gallego lost a friend of 45 years. He called it a “death in the family.’’
    There was the mourning and the work. Always the work.
    Gallego had just passed the last of his business inspections when he sat down inside the new George’s Shoe Repair location at 640 E. Ocean Ave., No. 16, in Boynton Beach. It’s a fitting locale for a shoe shop. His neighbors include a small cafe, a nail salon and a seamstress who also does dry cleaning. “Service companies. Each of them complements the shoe shop,’’ Gallego said.
    It’s a new location and a new beginning, of sorts, for Gallego. He had operated the Delray shop since his father’s retirement in 2000 — and worked there alongside his brother Orlando since their days at Delray Beach Elementary School — but the Boynton Beach shop is his alone.
    “I hated to leave that place after so many years,’’ said Gallego, 56. “But this one is mine. It’s my baby. My dad (who at age 81 earlier in the day completed painting the sign near the street) is still a big part, but it’s mine. We all like our own space.’’
    Space, particularly of the parking variety, is something Delray Beach is running out of, so even before it officially opened, Gallego said the Boynton Beach location had drawn praise from his most loyal customers, many of whom live in the Gulf Stream and Manalapan areas, for being more convenient than the Delray Beach shop.
    “In a business like mine, it’s all about reputation,’’ Gallego said. “You’re only as good as your last pair of shoes.’’
    Gallego’s reputation is for two things: His leather craftsmanship with everything from motorcycle seats to saddles to belts made out of exotic animal skins; and for sometimes being a bit on the grumpy side.
    Each, he admits, is an ongoing project.
    “You’re married to this,’’ Gallego said as he looked around his new shop. “You breathe it. It shows in the kind of work you do.
“I’m working on the personality part,” Gallego added with a smile. “I’ve been accused of being a little rough around the edges.’’
    Gallego’s work, however, is as smooth as fine leather.

Andrea Goodman, Amanda Johnson, Qiana McGrady, Sarah Richardson, Lilly Gintowt, Annie Brown and Judy Cotter

(all co-workers at Snappy Turtle) were on hand at the April 25 grand opening of Amanda Johnson’s and James Knill’s

new art and design gallery in downtown Boynton Beach. The Amanda James Gallery is at 412 E. Ocean Ave., No. 1.

Photo provided

By Tao Woolfe

    Taxable property values in Palm Beach County rose an estimated 8.7 percent overall in the past year — and upward of 10 percent in some coastal municipalities — according to just-released preliminary figures from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office.
    The county’s taxable values have increased steadily over the past four years, but the 8.7 percent increase is the largest jump in more than a decade.
    “It shows that Palm Beach County has left the recession behind,” says John Thomas, director of residential appraisal services for the county. “At the end of a strong economic cycle like a recession, there are ripples in values that occur in the real estate industry. These numbers show that those ripples have calmed.”
    Among the municipalities with the largest jumps in taxable property values was Delray Beach with a 10 percent increase, and Lantana, with at 10.1 percent bump. Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge, and Gulf Stream all stayed below 7 percent.
    Thomas says the lower numbers generally indicate that cities have a lower level of new construction and a higher percentage of the population claiming a homestead exemption. The higher percentage of homesteaded properties, which enjoy a reduction in taxes based on year-round residency, reflects a more stable population and less extreme fluctuations in property values.
    In Boca Raton, for example, 53 percent of the property owners claim their homestead exemption. In South Palm Beach, which is made up almost entirely of condominiums, only 31 percent of the property owners claim the exemption, since many are seasonal residents.
    The dramatically higher taxable value percentage increases are most often attributed to new construction, Thomas says.
Boynton Beach saw about $77 million worth of new construction and that is reflected in its 9.34 percent increase in taxable value.
Delray Beach, too, experienced new construction and expansion, adding more than 1,000 units of residential and commercial property in its newly designated Sofa District (South of Atlantic), said Mark McDonnell, the city’s assistant director of planning and zoning.
    “We’re experiencing development and redevelopment and people want to move here,” McDonnell says. “We have a vibrant downtown, an active nightlife, concerned, caring citizens and an unparalleled level of service from city employees. Delray Beach has come of age.”
    So what does it all mean to taxpayers?
    It means that the 38 municipalities throughout the county could have extra revenue to fund capital improvement projects such as street repaving and bridge repair.
    It’s too early to tell whether the increases will also mean an increase for taxpayers. The individual municipalities, and the county, are working on their budgets and tax rates, and will continue throughout the summer.
    An updated tax roll will be released in July, and the final numbers won’t be available until October, the appraiser’s office said. Throughout the fall, property owners have the chance to contest the appraiser’s valuation of their homes and businesses.
    The taxable value is the keystone to the cities’ budgeting efforts, which is why the appraiser’s office releases the preliminary data at this time of year. But the individual cities can choose to give the money back to taxpayers by reducing the tax rate.
Cities can choose to draw taxes at last year’s rate — keeping the tax rate the same for taxpayers.
    Most city officials haven’t decided about tax increases — or decreases — so early in the process, but they know they’ll have a little extra spending money.
    Highland Beach Finance Director Cale Curtis estimates that about $490,000 will be added to the town’s revenue as a result of the increase in property values if commissioners keep the current 3.95-mill tax rate.
    In Lantana, the Town Council wants to keep the tax rate unchanged, says Town Manager Deborah Manzo, but officials there are delighted with the 10.1 percent increase in taxable value. The total taxable value for the town is estimated by the appraiser’s office at $799.3 million.
    Manzo attributes the increase, in part, to the $15 million sale of the A.G. Holley site to a Boca Raton developer. The 73-acre former tuberculosis hospital grounds had been leased for recreational use. Now that it’s privately owned, it’s on the town’s tax rolls.
    “There are new developments, and commercial activity  coming onboard,” Manzo says. “Our growth has been slow and steady. We’d like to get back to the $1 billion valuation mark.”

Rich Pollack contributed to this story.

An artist’s rendering of the Boca Raton Hyatt Place

By Christine Davis

    By August 2016, Boca Raton will have its first downtown hotel, Hyatt Place, on the southeast corner of Palmetto Park Road and U.S. 1, developed by Kolter Hospitality, an affiliate of the Kolter Group, a development and investment firm headquartered in Palm Beach County.
    Site work started in April, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony late in May. The new hotel will have 200 rooms as well as 8,000 square feet of third-party retail restaurant space.
    The land was purchased from Ram Development of Palm Beach Gardens, said Scott Webb, president of Kolter Hospitality. “There are no downtown hotels in Boca and we saw a strong opportunity and need for a hotel downtown.”
    Slattery & Associates of Boca Raton are designing this building, which will be 14 stories and 140 feet tall. The firm also designed Kolter’s Hyatt Place in Delray Beach. Steckroth Hospitality Group of Boca Raton will be involved with the interior design.
    “The city of Boca Raton was great to work with throughout the entire process, and they loved our design. Our Hyatt Place Boca will have a nice pool on an elevated deck with great sun exposure and a second deck on the ninth floor for lounging,” Webb said. “Also, from the downtown retail and restaurant perspective, it will have an inordinate amount of parking — 310 parking spots.”
                                          
    The winner of the Boca Chamber Education Foundation’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy Golden Bell Award is GameReef, created by Jordan Zietz, 13, who was awarded a $500 shopping spree at his local Sam’s Club. Jordan will represent Boca Raton at the regional competition in late May competing for college scholarships and an all-expenses-paid trip to America’s Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C.  
                                          
    In March, Bocaire Country Club hosted its 15th annual The Play for PINK golf tournament, sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Delray Beach, which raised more than $44,000 for breast cancer research. Since 2001, the annual tournament at Bocaire has raised more than $632,000 on behalf of The Play for PINK, which stands for Prevention, Immediate diagnosis, New technology and Knowledge. Bocaire Country Club is at 4989 Bocaire Blvd., Boca Raton.
                                          
    Boynton Beach litigation attorney and terrorism expert Peter Feaman will be Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club’s guest for the June 10 luncheon meeting. Feaman is a member of the rules committee of the Republican National Committee. The luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. at City Fish Market, 7940 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Costs to attend are $40 for members, $35 for first-time guests or $50 for second-time guests. Call 852-0000.
                                          
    Gary Rack, of GR Restaurant Management Group, and his wife, Videl, have listed their 10,424-square-foot Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club home for $7.495 million. Features include a wine room, two-story rotunda, infinity pool, custom ceilings painted by muralist Joseph Brown, and 110 feet of deep-water frontage and dock. Their five-bedroom, six-bath home is offered for sale through Douglas Elliman agents Senada Adzem and Monique Jemini Rack.
                                         
    On June 11, the Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Boynton will feature tastings of dozens of local restaurants’ signature dishes. The Wine Cellar will guide guests through wines of the world, and new this year, craft beer tastings will be poured by one of Boynton Beach’s local breweries, Due South Brewing Co. There also will be live music and a silent auction benefiting The Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation. The event, which will start at 6 p.m., will be held at Benvenuto Restaurant, 1730 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Tickets are $50 at the door. For information or to buy tickets in advance, call 732-9501 or email chamber@boyntonbeach.org.
                                          
    As of May 1, Genesis Community Health, a federally qualified clinic to provide adult and pediatric primary care and prenatal/OB-GYN services, has expanded its services and moved to its new location within Bethesda Hospital East, 2815 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach.
    Located across from the hospital’s Emergency Department, the Genesis clinic is an alternative resource for urgent care, as well as family care, routine checkups, testing and examinations for underinsured patients or those with no insurance.
    In its new location, Genesis Community Health has private examination rooms, a waiting area and staff offices. Hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 735-6553 or visit gencomhealth.org.
                                          
    The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce Charities’ fourth annual Seek in the City Scavenger Hunt is now open for registration. The event, scheduled for June 27, aims to increase traffic and awareness to Delray businesses in the summer, to raise money for education initiatives in Delray Beach, and to have fun with a chance to win prizes.
    Only 50 teams may participate this year. A team of up to five participants may register now online at seekinthecitydelray.com for $150 until sold out. Individuals may register for $50 and will be teamed up.
    Seekers will receive a list of around 100 clues that they must decipher and locate during the hunt. Clue stops are assigned a point value based on difficulty of the clue, distance and other factors. The more clue stops the teams discover, the more points are accumulated to potentially win first-, second- or third-place prizes.
    Over the past three years, the event has raised around $30,000 which has been distributed to local causes and charities. This year, the majority of proceeds will benefit education initiatives supported by Chamber Charities, specifically the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
    Email seek@delraybeach.com or call 278-0424.

INSET BELOW: Julie Dirby

                                          
    After seven years of forgoing a haircut, Julie Dirby, an employee at Mizner Country Club, donated 38 inches of her hair to the Gift of Hope, which held a fundraiser chaired by Mizner member and Gift of Hope founder Hope Friedman.

    The Gift of Hope is donating the hair on behalf of Dirby to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

    Dirby’s hair was cut by Jovita Rutkauskiene at Conte Salon in Boynton Beach. The salon donated its services that day to the Gift of Hope.

Harbour’s Edge senior living community breaks ground on a $20 million renovation project.

From left: Arthur Miller, Julie Rose and Chris Buscaglia of Plaza Construction, Andy Johnson of Harbour’s Edge,

David Moon of Plaza Construction, David Randazzo of Lifespace Communities, Leonard Sutton of Harbour’s Edge,

Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein, David Hagen, Phillip Silver, Steve Miller and Jennifer Stevens of

Harbour’s Edge, Todd Anthony of C.C. Hodgson Architectural Group, and Kathy Rousos of Harbour’s Edge.

Photo provided

                                          
    Harbour’s Edge senior living community is breaking ground on a $20 million renovation project, which will focus on building a new Lifelong Learning Center comprising a media center, library and performing arts center. The project will also add a second dining venue, remodel the main restaurant, and make large-scale renovations to the fitness center and wellness areas, spa rooms, as well as upgrading the interior design throughout the main common area. Construction and all phases of the project are scheduled to be complete by December 2016. Harbour’s Edge, 401 E. Linton Blvd., Delray Beach, provides residents with 266 independent living apartment homes, as well as a continuum of health care services.
                                          
    Daniel Salgado recently joined Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach as the new clubhouse manager. With a background from local clubs including the Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton, Salgado also spent six years at The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach as a manager of banquets and restaurants. 
                                          
    Christel Silver, owner of Silver International Realty, Delray Beach, recently attended the Asian Real Estate Association of America Global and Luxury Summit in Chicago.
    “International investment in the U.S. real estate market is no longer a trend. It is a fact of life,” Silver said. “Led by investors from Asia and Canada, luxury real estate in the U.S. is experiencing tremendous growth and development.”
                                          
    Linda E. Purdo, a Realtor and real estate educator for more than 20 years, has joined Fite Shavell & Associates’ Delray Beach office. Contact her at 504-8426.
                                          
    Crane’s Beach House Boutique Hotel & Luxury Villas, Delray Beach, has been named to the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, as a result of having won the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for five years in a row. In addition, Crane’s has been named to the Expedia Insiders Select List, and earlier this year, it received a certificate of recognition for gathering exceptional guest ratings and reviews from Hotels.com customers. Crane’s is a repeat recipient of the Florida Superior Small Lodging Association’s Donal A. Dermody White Glove Award for housekeeping excellence and exceptional service.
                                          
    Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan offers residents summer specials from June 1 through Sept. 30 that include staycations, discounts, upgrades, prix fixe summer menus, children’s summer camps, and special prices for spa treatments. Also offered are Eau’s summer retreat and social hour programs. Call (800) 328-0170.
                                          
    In April, local Realtors were honored in two categories at the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches and the Women’s Council of Realtors’ Blue Diamond Circle Awards Ceremony.
    Realtors with $2 million in sales and a minimum of six closed sales received the Blue Diamond Circle Award. Realtors with $5 million in sales and a minimum of six transactions received the Blue Diamond Circle Elite Award.
    Sharon Arnett, Brian Boles, Diana Cowan, Tonja Garamella, Tracey Goldenberg, Billy Howell, Judy Ramella, Jessica Rosato, Mark Rucco, Eric Sain, Maggie Sarubbi, Laurie Scherer, David Serle and Christel Silver received the Blue Diamond Circle Elite Award. Pamela Banks, Candice Brueggemann, Kathy Casaine, Lorraine Freed, Pamela Halberg, Cathy Lewis, Elizabeth Love and Christine Sarno-Olson received the Blue Diamond Circle Award.
    Said Jessica Rosato, a Realtor with Nestler Poletto Sotheby’s International Realty: “Being part of the Women’s Council of Realtors has not only equipped me with the vital tools necessary to provide exceptional concierge service to my customers, but also has recognized me for these achievements.”
                                          
    The staff of the Orchid Recovery Center, a Palm Springs drug and alcohol rehab facility for women, has launched its rehab blog. Recent posts have been about depression, emotional abuse, smoking, and anger management. To read the selection of articles posted, visit orchidrecoverycenter.com/blog.
                                          
    The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County will receive two Stevie awards for best public relations event and best house publication in a ceremony in Chicago on June 22. The Stevies recognize the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of companies and business people from around the globe.
    The council will be recognized for a cultural event produced for the 2014 Governor’s Conference on Tourism held in Boca Raton  and featuring the Palm Beach Symphony, Ballet Palm Beach and rapper Vanilla Ice. In addition, the council’s house publication, art & culture magazine, will be honored.
                                          
    The Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative aims to keep visitors coming this summer with its “Be Hot Here: It’s Always Cool in Delray Beach” marketing campaign.
    “We primarily target Floridians in the two- to three-hour drive radius,” said Stephanie Immelman, executive director of the cooperative. “We’re also targeting residents in the nonstop markets for Palm Beach International.”
    For information about summer specials, go to visitdelraybeach.org/hot.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.

By Emily J. Minor

   DELRAY BEACH — William Samuel “Billy” Calabretta, known around this beach community for his shrewd business mind, the sand in his shoes — when he was wearing them — and a quick and handsome smile, died May 16 from complications of cancer. He was 52.
    His wife, Jocelyn, said she and their dog, Roxi, have spent the weeks following his death “lost without him.”
    “He was loved by so many people in Delray Beach,” said Jocelyn Calabretta, who said it was “love at first sight” when the couple met at a party in 1985. “There’s never going to be another Billy.”
    Mr. Calabretta, who moved from West Virginia to Florida in the early 1980s, was a well-known financial planning specialist at Morgan Stanley Financial Group in Boca Raton, where he also held the position of managing director. His personality, which loved ones say can only be described as “big,” and his love for the world of high stakes wealth investment made him a sought-after adviser at the firm. Respected for growing wealth even through the most challenging of economic times, Mr. Calabretta had received many notable recognitions in the financial world and had recently been featured in Forbes magazine, his wife said.
    But while he did love people, numbers and beating the odds, it was the ocean, the outdoors and his family that held the biggest part of his heart.
    “He would walk into a room and heads would turn,” she said. “He worked so hard, and our dream was to travel the world.”
    Mrs. Calabretta said her husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer about three years ago, but continued to work, often at a worrisome pace, and enjoy his beloved outdoors. The couple had been married for 15 years and was well known in their coastal neighborhood for walking down to the water with their sand chairs to sit and enjoy the view — and each other’s company.
    The youngest of three — born to middle-aged parents and with two sisters who were a bit older — Mr. Calabretta was loved and appreciated for both his mind and his charm. His parents, William and Rose Oliverio Calabretta, preceded him in death. His father died when Mr. Calabretta was a young man. But his mother lived on for many years, and her only son doted on her, especially as she became older and more frail, his wife said.
    Besides his wife, survivors include his sister and brother-in-law, Deborah and Randy Renner of Delray Beach, and another sister and brother-in-law, Connie and Kevin Brogan, of St. Simons Island, Ga. Many nieces and nephews also survive him.
    A celebration of life was held in May at the Seagate Beach Club. The family asks that any memorials be made to Hospice by the Sea, 5300 East Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33407. Hospice by the Sea is also known as TrustBridge.

By Steven J. Smith

    HIGHLAND BEACH — Marion Frager made the most of her 95 years, dedicating her life to her husband, her family, her country and her art.
    Born Marion Nathan on Jan. 15, 1920, Mrs. Frager grew up in Roxbury, Mass., where she graduated from Roxbury Memorial High School. She worked as a medical secretary and lab technician. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 and her brother and sister enlisted in the Army and Navy respectively, she saw it as her patriotic duty to get involved in any way she could, so she enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and became a SPAR — an acronym for “Semper Paratus — Always Ready,” the Coast Guard motto.
    In 1942 she and her fellow SPAR inductees traveled to Palm Beach to live and train at the Biltmore Hotel. When her training was completed, she was stationed in a Philadelphia cigar factory that was converted into an infirmary.
    “It was heartbreaking to see the conditions of the servicemen and -women that were brought in there,” Mrs. Frager wrote in a family memoir, provided by her daughter, Sherri Goodstein. “Most of them were badly wounded and then there were the amputees and the basket cases. I worked long hours, almost to the point of exhaustion.”
    Finagling a transfer back to the Boston area, she worked at the Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Mass., as its Coast Guard representative. There she spent her days attending to patients’ needs — feeding them, administering medication and performing lab work.
    “Each Friday night I would take the Jewish patients that were able to leave the hospital back to my home for a Shabbat dinner that my mother lovingly prepared,” she wrote. “I loved helping patients to the point where they could be discharged and learn to live somewhat normal lives. Those that didn’t make it affected me terribly.”
    After the war, she worked at the Veterans Administration’s medical division in Boston. The first woman appointed to hold office by the state of Massachusetts Jewish War Veterans, she met Al Frager during a State Department convention and married him in 1950. Mr. Frager rose to prominence as an executive in the Stop & Shop retail chain. Recognizing his wife’s dedication to medical care, Mr. Frager later dedicated the Marion Frager Nursing Learning Laboratory at Northeastern University in her honor.
    The couple retired to Highland Beach in the 1990s and was active in local organizations such as the Donna Klein Jewish Academy and Jewish War Veterans of the USA. The marriage lasted 62 years until Mr. Frager’s death in 2012. They had four children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
    “She did a lot of volunteer work,” Goodstein said. “She was also an artist. She was very passionate about a certain type of art which she learned in a class she took. It’s the three-dimensional art of cutting paper. She would take pictures, cut them up, then turn them into pictures of other things. She would often incorporate real objects into her art. For example, if she were doing a piece on a man, she would use real hair for his hair. She never tried to sell her works of art. She did it as a hobby and gave them to everyone, even the hospice doctors and nurses who attended to her while she was sick.”
    Goodstein said she would most remember her mother for her sense of humor, her commitment to her family and her generosity.
    “She was very wise and a wonderful storyteller,” she said. “She always put herself out for others. She had such a passion for nursing and the medical field, even though she never became a nurse. But her daughter did, and so did her granddaughter. She was so full of life. She had a wonderful marriage to my father. They raised a great family that was also very devoted to them. They traveled the world together and with us. It’s pretty special to live to the age of 95. She did a lot with her life.”
    Mrs. Frager died on May 24. Services were held at Temple Beth-El mausoleum in Boca Raton. In her memory, the family has asked that contributions be made to the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, 1811 R St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. For more information, visit www.jwv.org.

Even in Sol-A-Mar’s scaled-back version, four of the seven proposed buildings

would still exceed the city’s 120-foot height limits.

Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

    The New Mizner on the Green “ultra-luxury” condo project has a new name, a new architect and a completely new look.
    It’s now called Sol-A-Mar. The project’s original “starchitect,” Daniel Libeskind, whose list of credits includes the original master plan for rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York and the Jewish Museum in Berlin, is out. West Palm Beach-based architectural firm Garcia Stromberg is in.
    And following through on promises made in January to significantly downsize the project, developer Elad National Properties has scrapped plans for four towers, with the tallest reaching 30 stories, that had stirred outcry from residents who do not want high-rises in the downtown.
    The re-envisioned residential project has seven buildings. Four would have 13 stories. Three four-story buildings would front Southeast Mizner Boulevard.
    But the changes so far have not moved Elad closer to gaining city approval to build.
    The four taller buildings still would exceed the city’s maximum height limit of 120 feet at the project’s location on nine acres near the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Yet they would be in line with additional height allowable under interim design guidelines for the core downtown area.
    Elad attempted to resolve this problem last month by seeking City Council approval of two changes to a city ordinance. But that effort fell short when Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth pulled the item from the May 26 City Council workshop agenda.
Weinroth, who had requested the matter be placed on the agenda, said he acted because one of the developer’s representatives was not able to attend the meeting.
    “It’s now deferred,” Weinroth said after the meeting. “It probably will not come back until after Labor Day.”
    Contacted after the meeting, attorney Charles Siemon, who represents Elad, said the delay was a “collective decision” spurred by confusion about what properly could be discussed at the meeting.
    Elad asked for “two minor amendments” to the downtown development rules. One would include the Sol-A-Mar property within the downtown area where taller buildings are allowed. The second would increase the number of allowable stories in that area to 13 from 12, although the maximum building height of 140 feet, plus 20 feet for architectural amenities, would not change.
    Mayor Susan Haynie and council member Scott Singer, speaking at the end of the meeting, said it was not the right time to consider Elad’s request.
    The city first needs to finalize downtown design guidelines, they said. City officials and the city’s urban design consultant are in the process of deciding whether the interim design guidelines, which outline what can be built downtown and give developers latitude to build up to 160 feet, need to be changed before they are formally adopted. The temporary guidelines have drawn criticism from some city leaders and residents who believe they have failed to produce attractive downtown buildings.
    “It is premature to consider expanding the area of the downtown that is eligible to develop” under the interim design guidelines, Haynie said.
    “It is a tough sell why we should be expanding the boundaries at this time,” Singer said.
    Elad’s request angered city residents who remain opposed to the developer’s plans.
    “They are not minor adjustments,” Ann Witte, a financial and economic consultant who is a board member of the city watchdog website BocaWatch, said of Elad’s proposed ordinance changes. “This has been carefully orchestrated.”
    The Sol-A-Mar property, which is east of the downtown core, was never intended to be included in the area where taller buildings are permitted. And Elad wants to allow 13 stories throughout the entire downtown core — an idea never before even considered, Witte said.
    But Siemon said the 13-story proposal would not add to Sol-A-Mar’s height or density. “Every (additional) floor allows bigger units, which we think is a shortfall in the city,” he said. “Most of the condominiums are fairly small and don’t rise to luxury condominiums.”
    The Sol-A-Mar property should have been included in the area where taller buildings are permitted from the beginning, he added. “Our position is that of all places in the downtown, this is the most suitable parcel. Why it was not included in the fist place, nobody has a clue as far as I can tell.”
    Sol-A-Mar remains in limbo. Elad submitted its new plans in May, but city officials did not accept them for review because the four tallest buildings are not permitted under the existing ordinance. Without the ordinance changes Elad proposed, the project can’t move ahead.
    Siemon expects Elad officials to make a decision soon on how they are going to proceed.
“I think it is an attractive project and would be a great boon to the city,” he said. “This is the kind of quality we have not been able to attract to downtown.”
    Siemon hopes the city will soon finalize downtown design guidelines to provide a clear vision for what kind of downtown the city should have and a roadmap for developers to follow — guidance they have been waiting for since the guidelines were temporarily approved in 2008. “And here we are, still waiting,” he said.

Attorney Mitchell Kirschner, Rabbi Ruvi New and architect Derek Vander Ploeg

wait to speak at the Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board meeting on May 7.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

An architect’s rendering of the north side of the proposed Chabad of East Boca facility.

By Sallie James

    It has been a bumpy ride for Chabad of East Boca and it’s not over yet.
    Plans for one of the most hotly contested developments in city history got the nod last month when the Boca Raton City Council voted to allow the proposed beachside synagogue’s height to exceed the 30 feet allowed by city code. The vote was supposed to pave the way for construction.
    But the victory was short-lived: Even before council members cast their final votes on May 27, an appeal citing injury and protesting the house of worship’s construction at 770 E. Palmetto Park Road had already been filed with the city.
    Now council members must address that appeal in July or August before anything else can happen.
    “This is going to happen, God willing,” said Rabbi Ruvi New, Chabad of East Boca’s spiritual leader. “We are not going to be deterred by this appeal. It’s totally baseless.
    “I don’t think there is any legitimate grounds for the appeal whatsoever. It may cause a short delay until the appeal is heard, but I am confident just as we have received a positive vote three times that that will continue to be case.”
    Residents who live in the neighborhoods on the barrier island near the proposed synagogue say the project is too ambitious, will draw too much traffic and create parking issues on the .84-acre parcel.
    “I don’t see any testimony let alone evidence that there was any injury from the height,” said council member Mike Mullaugh, who voted “yes” for the project. The project was approved 4-1, with council member Jeremy Rodgers voting “no.”
    Opposition to the project has been fierce.
    Proponents claim the open parcel on East Palmetto Park Road is perfect for Chabad of East Boca’s proposed 18,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art synagogue and world-class, interactive Israel museum and will increase area property values. They disagree with claims of increased traffic, noting that Chabad members walk to services per their religion.
    Opponents insist that such a facility is too intense a use for the site and will drive extra traffic into an already congested area that is also critically affected by the ups and downs of the Palmetto Park Road drawbridge. The height of 40 feet, 8 inches will be intrusive, they claim.
    “We’re talking about the height as if it were a flagpole and it’s a 6,000-square-foot building,” said resident Sharon Shubin.

Opponents fear precedent
    The appeal claims the city rendered its decision based on “improper and erroneous interpretations” of the city code that were made “arbitrarily and without reasonable analysis” of requests by residents who live near the project.
    Many homeowners worry that the city’s approval of the project’s increased height will set a precedent for even taller developments, which could ruin the ambiance of the area.
    “We are opposed to overdevelopment on the beach,” said homeowner Katie MacDougall, who lives in the nearby Riveria neighborhood and is among 19 parties included in the appeal. “The scale of the project is just too big for the parcel and the uses of the project are very ambiguous. To me, (the vote) was very premature. It’s far from over.”
    The proposed synagogue is slated to have a 156-seat sanctuary, a basement parking area with 56 spaces and a 25-space ground-level lot. In addition, the project would have a social hall and a high-tech Israel museum.
    Resident John Hoffman said the project sounds wonderful and was mystified by the intense opposition.
    “I can’t imagine not wanting such a beautiful cultural addition to our city,” Hoffman said. “It sounds like we are building a new Miami Dolphins stadium on Palmetto. It’s a Chabad center with a museum and an interactive museum.”
    Resident Chris Fluehr said it is the size and scope of the synagogue that is problematic.
    “We think that the city and council acted inappropriately by approving it. It’s too much density and too much height,” said Fluehr, a board member of the Riviera Civic Association, which represents 450 homeowners on the barrier island. “There is not adequate parking and there is not going to be adequate code enforcement.”

Long road to new home
    New, who started his congregation in the living room of his own house 15 years ago, said Chabad of East Boca has outgrown its current home at 120 NE First Ave., and desperately needs to move. The path to finding a new home has been frustrating and challenging.
    “It’s been a very long road — from our vantage point it’s been 10 long years,” said New, who has vowed his congregation will be good neighbors. “We want to move on and live in peaceful existence.”
    In 2008, the Chabad’s plans to move into a 23,000-square-foot building near Mizner Park were scuttled after the City Council approved strict new parking requirements that the Chabad was unable to meet.
    The path to approval has been a back-and-forth that has gone on for months.
    A site plan for the project was first recommended for approval by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board on March 19.
But after City Council members reviewed the plans on April 14, they sent the project back to the Planning and Zoning Board with questions about how the square footage was calculated.
    The Planning and Zoning Board reconsidered the project on May 7 after receiving clarifications to the technical questions, and again recommended approval, sending it back to the City Council a second time.
    “This is a commercial property,” New pointed out. “Consider the alternatives: restaurants, nightclubs, massage parlors. There’s a whole range of things that would have more impact on traffic.
    “That narrative that people just keep pounding and pounding and pounding has no legitimacy at this point,” New said.

    I have followed with interest the planned development around the Mizner on the Green site in Boca Raton, where the owner, El Ad National Properties, has proposed to replace this outdated 244-unit project and reportedly seek discretionary height increases.  The operative word is “discretionary.”
    As a retired developer, architect, banker and community activist, as well as a neighbor, I have a few thoughts to share.
Foremost, replacement of the existing buildings with others up to 100 feet — or about three times existing heights — and with over twice as many units, is already permitted by zoning. This is the standard enabled by the same 1992 zoning ordinance that permitted the nearby nine-story Townsend Place, Palmetto Place and 200 East condominiums. These comprise 560-plus units on less acreage than the 9-acre El Ad site.
    Revisions in 2008 to the old ordinance allowed greater building heights nearby, but this does not apply to the east side of Southeast Mizner Boulevard. Under current zoning, El Ad is limited to the 100-foot height in the 1992 code.
    Exceeding the ceiling that applied to the neighboring Townsend Place and 200 East properties would require, first, changing the city’s comprehensive plan to incorporate the El Ad site into the “downtown quality project sites,” and second, complying with the qualitative aspects of the discretionary height increase.
    The good news for the community is these involve the granting of a privilege, which should be earned. The 2008 ordinance allows a 140-foot building height (plus up to 20 feet of decorative features), but only “contingent upon satisfaction of specified criteria.”
    Importantly, this option increases only height, not the number of housing units permitted.
    In the instance of the El Ad site, assuming that the city is inclined to consider a master plan amendment and a height above 100 feet, the city and the community must weigh discretionary exceptions against the value of “proffers” offered by the developer. The following is my “wish list” of such proffers.
    Threshold size. Should the city modify its master plan to incorporate this nearly 9-acre site, I would prefer to see a threshold, of perhaps 5 acres in size, before such consideration. This would be comparable to the minimum 2-acre district size set under the 2008 ordinance.
    Increased building setbacks from the (Boca Raton Resort & Club) golf course, Townsend Place and Southeast Mizner Boulevard.
Vehicular traffic mitigation. Alignment of the primary point of vehicular access with an entrance to Royal Palm Place across the street, creating a controlled four-way intersection. The existing Townsend Place primary entry should be relocated to the north, to this new intersection. Traffic calming, deceleration lanes and safety features should be evaluated and implemented.
    Provision of a safe pedestrian crossing of Southeast Mizner Boulevard to and from Royal Palm Place, for Townsend Place as well as the El Ad project, either by crosswalks or pedestrian bridge.
    Provision of sufficient additional right of way, to permit a four-way intersection and future creation of a “roundabout” or cul-de-sac on Southeast Mizner Boulevard, at the above primary point of entry.
    Provision of easements, hardscape and landscaping of exceptional quality within and outside the perimeter of the project site, the Resort golf course, Townsend Place and Southeast Mizner Boulevard.
    Contextual, vernacular architecture, vetted by local design professionals.
    Green design: LEED certification, for passive/active solar design, recycling and storm water mitigation.
    Open space and open sky. Height concessions tied to a high standard of corresponding open space, with provision for maintaining offsite “view shed” resources at adjacent properties.
    I also recognize one of the worst-kept secrets in Boca Raton: that James Batmasian will soon follow this project with other proposed residential high rises at his Royal Palm Place. It is hard to imagine that he will not also seek higher density and heights.
Hopefully, both El Ad and Batmasian will be incentivized to contribute to a coordinated, optimal development plan, eventually encompassing over 1,500 residential units at Townsend Place, Mizner on the Green and Royal Palm Place, and also in the nearby Mark, Palmetto Place, Tower 155 and my own 200 East.
    If we can’t hope to stop the permitted development intensity, let us at least try to channel it into its best possible form.
John G. Colby, AIAE
Boca Raton