Artist’s rendering of a gazebo to be built on Delray Beach. Provided by Currie Sowards Aguila Architects

By Tim Pallesen

The citizen-inspired beautification of Delray’s municipal beach continues with the construction of two gazebos to begin this month.
The new gazebos will match the historic design of the larger beach pavilion that was rebuilt last year at Atlantic Avenue.
The structures are part of a beach master plan that “charts a course for growing into the future while evoking the charms of the past,” City Manager Don Cooper said.
The gazebos, like the pavilion, will be hurricane resistant, with metal beams, deck and roof held strong by stainless-steel hardware and fasteners. “It’s not going to blow down,” architect Bob Currie promised. The gazebos are located six blocks north and south of the pavilion.
The master plan was approved six years ago but got delayed because the city didn’t have money to begin construction during the economic recession.
That’s when citizens took the initiative by raising $60,000 at two Delray’s Got Talent stage shows at Old School Square to help pay the $325,000 cost for the pavilion.
The $47,010 cost for the two gazebos will be almost entirely covered by private donations.
The daughters of Forrest and Frances Lattner gave $40,000 in memory of their parents. Another $3,331 was raised by 12 local restaurants in their Savor the Avenue event.
Currie, the vice president of the Beach Property Owners Association, donated his architectural services to design the pavilion and the gazebos.
Now that the economy has improved, city commissioners have discussed spending another $3 million to implement the master plan by making the beachfront more attractive to pedestrians and motorists along Ocean Boulevard. Ú

By Dan Moffett

Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Keyser has scheduled a May 6 hearing to consider whether organizers of the movement to recall Ocean Ridge Town Commissioner Richard Lucibella have submitted legally valid petitions.
Lucibella’s attorney, Sidney Calloway, has asked the court to throw out the petitions, claiming they contain errors and are improperly filled out — “legally insufficient,” he says.
Haley Joyce, one of the movement’s organizers, has insisted that the petitions are accurate and legal. She said she has consulted with state officials to ensure her group is following the rules.
“I’m confident there’s nothing wrong with the petitions,” Joyce said.
Keyser said the hearing will deal only with the petitions and not complaints the organizers have about Lucibella’s conduct as commissioner. Nan Yablong, another recall supporter, said the group had hoped to bring in testimony about Lucibella’s role in the ouster of Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi in January.
“This is the only avenue provided by the state for voters to say they’re not happy with the performance of their elected officials,” Yablong said.
The recall group needs petitions with at least 233 signatures by the end of May to satisfy requirements for the second phase of the recall process and force a special election on Lucibella’s removal.
“This action began as a [response, by a] large number of Ocean Ridge residents, to Commissioner  Lucibella’s actions,” Joyce said. “In response, Mr. Lucibella chose to file a lawsuit against myself and others and he and his supporters have accused us of many things — including having a personal agenda, (or) the petition not being legally sufficient, (or) individuals signing because they were ill-informed.
“Let us be clear, this is not ‘personal.’ This is about a commissioner who, in our opinion, does not represent us.”
Joyce said the cost of the special election to taxpayers would be about $8,000 and “should Mr. Lucibella choose to resign, there would be no cost to the town.”
Lucibella says he is fighting the recall in part because it sets a precedent that will undermine the governing power of future commissioners.
“Current and future commissioners will face similar threats of recall, personal attack and libel, should they fail to please a few vocal residents,” Lucibella has said.
An April 8 hearing before Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Peter Blanc ended with both sides claiming victory.
Blanc ruled that the recall organizers could continue gathering signatures, but he also granted Lucibella’s request for an emergency injunction that prevents the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections from certifying the petitions until Keyser can rule on their legality.
Calloway had asked Blanc to shut down the signature collections completely, claiming the petitions already submitted were “fatally flawed.” He argued that, while Lucibella’s opponents have the right to engage in a recall initiative, they had to do it the right way —  “not with a deformed recall process,” he said.
“We’re not arguing against the recall effort,” Calloway said. “But the documents are legally insufficient on their face.”
Calloway said the effort was having a damaging effect on Lucibella’s reputation, but Blanc was not persuaded.
“Those of us who are public figures are often subjected to unfair criticism,” the judge said.
Joyce told the judge that Lucibella was trying to stall the process until the town’s part-time residents return to their northern homes. “He wants to push this into the hot summer,” she said.

By Jane Smith

    For the first time in more than 19 years, Delray Beach will offer a summer GreenMarket. The question is where.
    Market Manager Lori Nolan proposed the Block 60 parking lot on Northwest First Avenue, just east of the Tennis Center and west of Swinton Avenue.
    She said the community had asked for the summer GreenMarket when making her presentation April 23 to the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board, which runs the program. She said it would be revenue neutral. The board approved that location.
    She proposed holding it from mid-May, with an anticipated start date of May 16, to October every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon with about half of the vendors of a typical winter season.         The market’s current location at Old School Square was ruled out because the ground had become rutted, making it difficult for strollers and wheelchairs to navigate, she said.
    At the end of the meeting and after Nolan had left, board member Angela Gray made a motion to reconsider the location. It passed 4-2 with Paul Zacks and Bill Branning voting no because Nolan had left and Gray didn’t know what the cost would be. Commissioner Cathy Balestriere was absent.
    Then Gray proposed holding it in Libby Wesley Plaza at the southwest corner of Southwest Fifth and West Atlantic avenues. If the vendors don’t fit, she said, reduce the number or apply to close Southwest Fifth during that time.
    “As a board member, I seldom do this, but I want to make this happen at this site,” she said.        

They agreed, again by a 4-2 vote.
    In other action, the board granted a six-month extension to allow Delray Beach Holdings to finish the governmental approval process. The company plans to build the iPic Theater, a Class A office building, 7,290 square feet of retail space and a multilevel garage on agency land.

In the early days, the school founded in 1964 was referred to as the Wee Wisdom School, and VW microbuses served as student transportation. Photo provided

By Ron Hayes

If you want to know why the Unity School of Delray Beach has flourished for 50 years, take a short stroll down the covered walk that runs between the middle school classrooms and the Advanced Learning and Enrichment Center.
Each of the walkway’s supporting columns is engraved with a virtue.
Patience. Silence. Gratitude. Honor.
Forty-five columns. Forty-five virtues.
Charity. Tolerance. Empathy. Strength.
And of course, Unity.

Head of School Louis St-Laurent poses near one of the 45 columns of virtues.

“Each class adopts four virtues each year, and once a week in our Lessons In Living classes they study those virtues,” says Louis St-Laurent, the head of school. “We teach the whole child.”

A classroom photo from early days captures a simpler time. Photo provided

Unity School has been teaching whole children since 1964, when it opened as the Wee Wisdom School with two buildings, serving children in preschool through third grade with a program based on the Montessori method.
Today, the school still stands on the same 8.5 acres at Northwest 22nd Street and Swinton Avenue, but the past half-century has seen the arrival of three more buildings, a computer lab and library, media center and playground.
Now a staff of about 72 men and women direct the education — physical, mental and spiritual — of more than 300 children from preschool through eighth grade. But the philosophy remains the same.

Darlene Lang

“We share ground with Unity Church, and the Rev. Nancy Norman is our CEO, but the school is nondenominational,” says Darlene Lang, who arrived as a first-grade teacher in 1985 and is now the director of curriculum.
Founded in 1889, the Unity Church — not to be confused with the Unitarians — emphasizes a practical, positive approach to Christianity, and while the school advocates no particular religion, the underlying philosophy remains.
“We emphasize three basic points,” St-Laurent explains. “Know thyself, how you respond to others. Choose thyself, choose to be compassionate. And give thyself, in service to the community.”
Earlier this year, St-Laurent recalls, one student hit another. “And he instantly burst into tears and was sobbing, ‘I don’t know why I did that.’ ”
St-Laurent met with the boy. “We agreed he should be sent home for a day, and when he returned he spoke to one of the younger classes on ‘What I Did and What I Learned from it.’ ”

A practical approach to character development the Unity way.

Cole Fox of  Gulf Stream and Ava Hammer of Boynton Beach pose in the school garden after an Earth Day celebration.
Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Ava Hammer, 13, of Boynton Beach is a seventh-grader who’s been at Unity since preschool. Ask her the most important lesson she’s learned in those years and she answers instantly.
“The Golden Rule.”
Cole Fox, 13, an eighth-grader from Gulf Stream, doesn’t hesitate, either.
“The most important lesson I’ve learned,” he says, “is that you get out of life what you put into it. If I don’t study, I don’t do well, but if I spend two hours on Power Point math questions, I can keep a 95 average.”
Unity is much more than a touchy-feely form of secular Sunday school. Building intellect is as important as building character.
Cole has received a 50 percent scholarship to the American Heritage School in Delray Beach, which is not unusual, St-Laurent says.
“Our kids can go to any school they want,” he boasts. “I’ve had students in my office in tears saying, ‘I don’t know what school to choose.’ ”
This year, Unity’s annual Science Fair was renamed the Future Scientists and Engineers Conference.
“We brought in a team of speakers from the University of Central Florida who had created a bionic arm with 3D printing,” Lang said. The school received two new 3D printers of its own in March.
And blending academics with character, the students were assigned to think up a science project that would affect the world in a positive way.
“One of the younger boys created an iPad holder that was attached to a pole with rolling wheels,” Lang said with a smile. “It incorporated a lot of duct tape.”
When word reached the students that the school was revamping the middle school computer lab, several asked if they could help redesign it. A new elective class was created, and now three student study groups are meeting with St-Laurent and the school’s Internet technology director.
As it begins its second 50 years, Unity School doesn’t have a waiting list.
“But we’re about to,” St-Laurent said. “We can only get so big.”
And then the head of Unity School says: “You didn’t ask me what I’ve learned here.
“I’ve learned that every child has that one special quality in them that you can find to love about them, and then we can work to expand and grow that special quality.”

FAU professor John Hardman draws a chalk line through the Marina Historic District in Delray Beach. As part of an Earth Day art performance, participants took turns using the wheeled marker to draw a line along the 4-foot mark, which is an average of where flood waters reach after storm surge or heavy rains. The Marina Historic District was one of three neighborhoods designated as having been increasingly affected by rising sea levels and flooding. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Tim Pallesen

Atlantic Crossing has received preliminary city approval for a critical plat that is necessary before the $200 million mixed-use project can get construction permits.
The plat that was approved by a 5-1 vote of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board on April 20 doesn’t include an access road from Federal Highway that an overflow crowd argued is necessary to relieve traffic congestion on Atlantic Avenue.
The vote came after an Atlantic Crossing attorney insisted that the city has no choice but to approve a plat that matches the site plan that city commissioners approved for the project in January 2014.
A previous plat had shown Atlantic Court as the east-west street that neighbors now want.
“To approve Atlantic Crossing without access from Federal Highway would be civic insanity,” resident Judy Craig said.
Coastal residents fear increased traffic will block emergency vehicles from crossing the Atlantic Avenue bridge. “We as citizens are imploring you to think about our safety,” Cindi Freeburn told the advisory board.
But a Circuit Court judge ruled in January that neighbors can’t have the disputed access road because the previous plat no longer applies.
“When the site plan was approved, that roadway went away,” developer attorney Stanley Price said. “A court has adjudicated that issue.”
Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Chris Davey said he couldn’t understand how a city right-of-way could be abandoned without a public hearing. But the other board members said they had no choice but to give preliminary approval.
“The city has approved a site plan,” board member Jay Jacobson said. “That’s the reality.”
“I don’t see what avenue we have other than to approve the plat,” board member Mark Krall agreed. “The filing of a new site plan eliminated the old plat.”
After staff review, the new preliminary plat will come back to the Planning and Zoning Board for a recommendation to the City Commission on whether to give final approval.
City Attorney Noel Pfeffer has advised commissioners it is too late for them to require that Atlantic Court be built. But commissioners voted on April 21 to hire an outside land-use attorney to give a second legal opinion to satisfy residents.
Atlantic Crossing will need construction permits after it   finishes demolition of existing buildings on the west side of its 9-acre site.
The first necessary permit will be to excavate and construct a 440-space underground garage. Ú

By Tim Pallesen

It began with a request to give homeless people a shower — and ended with city commissioners saying the Caring Kitchen must move.
Christians Reaching Out to Society, known as CROS Ministries, serves nearly 100,000 hot meals to poor people each year in a city-owned building at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northwest Eighth Avenue.
“It’s a critical need and nobody wants it in their backyard,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said.
Neighborhood opposition wasn’t evident until a March 31 City Commission meeting where the Caring Kitchen sought city approval to build a 165-square-foot addition to its 3,061-square-foot building, in order to accommodate showers and a washer and dryer.
“We’re talking about dignity and self-esteem by giving the homeless clean clothes and a shower,” architect Gary Eliopoulous said in presenting the request.
But neighbors seized the opportunity to ask that the Caring Kitchen be moved someplace else because of the vagrants it attracts to their residential neighborhood.
“The food pantry has been tolerated since it opened in 1997,” Reginald Cox said. “To add to it would add insult to injury.”
Neighbors said homeless people leave trash in their yards. Deborah Wright, who lives across the street, said she can no longer invite her grandchildren to her home after she saw a couple having sex in the Caring Kitchen parking
lot.
“I’d hate to see someone injured, murdered or raped,” Wright said. “We’re not asking for you to eradicate the Caring Kitchen. Just look for a better location.”
At the April 21 meeting — where city commissioners unanimously agreed with City Manager Don Cooper’s recommendation that the Caring Kitchen be moved — the Caring Kitchen withdrew its request to provide showers.
“We will work together to work this out,” Glickstein assured Caring Kitchen administrators.
Cooper estimated that the search for an appropriate new location could take two years. Wright asked for two months.

By Jane Smith

    Reality came in the form of defined goals and clear objectives for the Delray Beach City Commission and its Community Redevelopment Agency board.
    Seeing their plans in black and white created a somber mood among both groups when they held  separate sessions in April.
    That atmosphere contrasted with the lively sessions held in February when everyone was feeling invigorated to wrestle ideas into achievable outcomes. City commissioners also want the agency to pay more for the downtown costs, because it collects more than 80 percent of the property taxes generated there.
    The two groups met in a joint session on April 29, after this edition was printed.
    At the Delray Beach City Commission workshop on April 14, its chief financial officer, Jack Warner, sought commission approval for the city’s goals. He gave a “state of the city” presentation: Delray Beach is managed day-to-day with people keeping their heads down and getting work done without a long-range plan; has half of its general fund coming from property taxes; has adhered strictly to its budget leading to obsolete and under-maintained infrastructure; has some services not up to its standards; and is not properly organized, allowing silos to form and staffing to be out of sync with important functions.
    He recommended the city adopt a multiyear planning and budgeting process where the initial plan is the basis for next year’s budget; grow and diversify its revenue base; institute a scheduled repair and replacement program of fleet, technology and buildings; focus on high-value programs such as Clean and Safe for the downtown, limited special events, a master plan for the beach; and align staffing to commission-approved objectives and levels of service. He also wants to see the city create and staff an information technology department to serve internal and external needs.
    Vice Mayor Shelly Petrolia called the presentation “a downer. After the goal-setting session I felt uplifted.
    “We’re being told we don’t have enough money or enough time or enough people or enough bandwidth,” she said. “I think we have a lot of money that is coming into this city; it’s just not used right.”
    City Manager Don Cooper said this is the first step to resolve those issues and suggested she hold onto that positive feeling.
    Mayor Cary Glickstein said he appreciated the presentation. “These things are usually more sobering than they are energizing,” he said, “but I think it was an accurate codification of what we discussed.”
    He assured his fellow commissioners that they have seen progress, “but it is coming painfully slow.”
    He advised Cooper and Warner to “be bold.” The commission passed the goals unanimously.
    At the CRA session on April 23, Executive Director Jeff Costello received a similar response when he presented the agency’s eight goals for approval.
    “They will be the basis for our budget. They are more manageable than the 19 we had last year,” he said.
    He stressed that they were not in the order of importance, just a listing of goals. They are: Adopt and implement Phase II for the Delray Beach Center for the Arts; survey northwest/southwest neighborhood alleys; implement parking management system; redefine and restructure the Clean and Safe program; evaluate the West Atlantic redevelopment plan; implement redevelopment strategies for North Federal Highway area; study relocation of Caring Kitchen; and implement Veterans Park improvement plan.
    He faced only a few questions, such as whether the goals can be modified and could another goal be added about exploring programs at the Tennis Center.
    His board approved the goals. Commissioner Cathy Balestriere was absent.

The 15.65-acre Ziff estate reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to Intracoastal Waterway, dominating this aerial view of Manalapan north of the Boynton Inlet. Photo/Bing Maps

By Christine Davis
 
People born under the astrological sign Gemini are said to love to talk, but when it comes to Manalapan’s Gemini, the Ziff family’s 15.65-acre compound at 2000 S. Ocean, mum’s the word, except word is out that the property is on the market for $195 million.
    Gemini the compound, with its quiet yet glamorous mystique, can’t help but garner attention.
    The 12-bedroom main house, which was reconstructed in 2003, has 62,220 square feet, and the guest house named the Mango House has seven bedrooms, according to recent news reports. Other structures on the property include two guest cottages and a manager’s house.
    Altogether the buildings total 85,000 square feet, with 33 bedrooms, 34 bathrooms and 13 powder rooms.
    Also mentioned are Gemini’s beautiful botanic garden with 1,500 species of tropical trees and plants.
    Other features include a large-scale train in a butterfly garden and a golf practice course. Tax records note five structures on the property and tennis courts, boat docks, a boatlift, reflection pond, a utility building, basketball court and pool.
     When the property was on the market in 1973 (for an unknown price), here’s the gist of what society columnist Suzy Knickerbocker had to say about it: Gemini was owned by Great Britain’s brewery scion, the “incomparable” Loel Guinness and his wife, the “ravishing” Gloria, who had lived at Gemini for 20 years at that point.
    Going back further, she pointed out, the estate had been built by Mrs. Paul Mellon’s father, Jerry Lambert (of the Lambert pharmaceutical company). “It’s so beautiful, you could swoon,” she wrote. “But bring money.”

Most drivers on A1A do not realize they are driving over a living room and that the property’s lush landscaping conceals  85,000 square feet of buildings.  Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

    The residence, she explained, was in two parts, so aptly called Gemini: one part oriented to the ocean and the second part to the lake.
    The estate’s amenities were bountiful: 1,417 feet on both the ocean and the Intracoastal, a two-story, 39-room Georgian/British Colonial main house with six master suites and a living room that stretched under A1A (joining the residence’s two parts), a salt-water 50-by-25-foot pool, a pitch and putt green, a private island off-shore, helicopter pads (one with landing lights), and two studios, all set in exotically landscaped gardens.
    Other newspaper articles of the time mention that Jackie Kennedy Onassis visited the Guinnesses, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
    An interesting side note: In 1981, Gemini was rented by Silvio De Lindegg and Adelita Scarpa for $10,000 a month. De Lindegg was a Gatsby-esque international land developer, and his lady friend, Scarpa, a Brazilian heiress.
    He had convinced investors and banks to put millions into his building projects, but his deals went south, he defaulted on loans, he went bankrupt, and the duo disappeared.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news of the quiet marketing of the estate.

    Since the Ziffs have owned the property, many changes have been made to the structures and the landscaping. Currently, the Manalapan estate is not listed on the MLS, but it is offered for sale through agents at Christie’s International Real Estate and Premier Estate Properties in Boca Raton.
    Manalapan town records on the property date back only to 1974. They indicate that no new structures were added until 2003, when the Mango House, also referred to in the records as a caretaker’s house, was built in the southwest portion of the property.
    Nothing was torn down, either, according to Lisa Petersen, town clerk, but there were many renovations and remodels noted on the ARCOM index.
    She noted two tunnels to the beach recorded, one in 2000 and a south tunnel in 2007 (and Knickerbocker mentioned the tunnel, or actually, a room under A1A, in 1973). That makes three tunnels on the property. (The main house, by the way, was designed by Marion Syms Wyeth in the 1940s, but now has a different look.)
    Ann Ziff is listed as being on the board of trustees for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami. Carl Lewis, director of the Fairchild garden noted that the garden routinely exchanges rare plants with a large number of peer institutions, both public and private, to ensure the survival of those species in cultivation. “Gemini Gardens is one of those institutions,” he said, and this is standard operating procedure for any garden that grows rare species.
    In 1992, William B. Ziff Jr. sold the Ziff-Davis publishing empire for $1.4 billion. His father co-founded the company in 1927, and Ziff Jr. inherited it in 1953. He died in 2006.

By Dan Moffett

The 144 property owners on Point Manalapan can expect to receive a survey ballot in the mail this month that asks their opinions about installing natural gas service.
The Town Commission will use the responses to decide if there is enough interest to justify allowing Florida Public Utilities to run gas lines to the point. Commissioners approved language for the ballots at the April 21 meeting, and also agreed on the ground rules for the survey:
• At least 60 percent of the respondents must say yes to gas service for the project to move forward.
• Each property owner will have 60 days to complete the ballot and return it in the stamped envelope. Seasonal residents will receive ballots at their summer addresses as well their Manalapan homes.
• The estimated cost per property owner for installing the gas lines is between $420 and $480 annually for 15 years. Those numbers do not include the cost of connecting each residence to the main lines and converting appliances from electric or propane to natural gas.
• Town Attorney Keith Davis will hold custody of the ballots until they are opened and tallied at a public meeting in July.
“We want this process to be as fair as we can possibly make it,” said Mayor David Cheifetz, “and we want to avoid some of the problems other places have had.”
Hypoluxo Island property owners voted to bring natural gas to their homes in February, but some residents complained that the voting system was unfair and that islanders were pressured into endorsing the project. If Point Manalapan says yes to gas, installation of the lines could be completed sometime next year.
In other business:
• Commissioners gave unanimous approval to a zoning commission recommendation that calls for a 15-foot setback requirement for beach houses on State Road A1A.
The town has had a 35-foot setback requirement since 2011, and for decades before that the standard was 50 feet. Several property owners recently had complained that they didn’t have room to build with the 35-foot limit and would require zoning variances from the town. The state Department of Environmental Protection has encouraged communities to move building boundaries as far from the dune lines as possible.
“DEP would like to have it sit right on A1A if they could,” Town Manager Linda Stumpf said of the setback requirement.
• Mayor Pro Tem Peter Isaac reported a savings of roughly $125,000 in the Audubon Causeway Bridge project by eliminating replacement of the water main to Spoonbill Road.
“That will be replaced at a later date,” Isaac said.
The town also hopes its engineering consultant, Engenuity Group Inc., can squeeze another $100,000 in savings out of the project, bringing the total cost of the new bridge in at around $1.1 million. Drawdy Construction of Lake Worth is scheduled to begin work on the project this month, and commissioners still hope to have the new span completed before the end of the year.

Helen Burns, director of admissions at Gulf Stream School, is surrounded by a group of first-grade students. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

When Gulf Stream School closes for the summer, Helen Burns will say goodbye to the staff and students just like she has for the past 13 years.
But this time, the adieu will be even more heartfelt. That’s because Burns, the school’s beloved director of admissions, is retiring.
And that prickly question about age? “Just say I’m old enough to retire,” she quips. And young enough to have the energy for a plethora of plans. The Bradford College grad has lots of things she wants to do, including decoupage, gardening and learning to archive.  
“Gardening has been a big part of my life,” says Burns, who has lived with her husband, Robert, in Gulf Stream for 16 years. “In retirement, I would like to get my master gardener designation and take a course in archiving, as we have a collection of history from my family going back to the 1700s.”
But there’s even more on her agenda. “I am heavily involved [in] and currently president of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the quality of life on the barrier island. This organization works tirelessly 24/7 and 365 days a year to protect the island from poor [development] and over- development,” she explains. “They bring timely issues to the attention of voters and are engaged in educating the public on issues that may affect our towns. Without their knowledge and aid, it would be hard to sort out some of the more pressing matters that affect our day-to-day lives.”
She’s also serving on a board dedicated to “providing a proven educational program for students with language-based learning disabilities. It is our intent to bring a school to South Florida that has a proven record and a solid model for educating children with learning issues. It is a fascinating journey,” she says.
And, perhaps, the grandmother of two will find time to watch a rerun or two of Cheers. After all, she was the first manager of Cheers, the Boston pub that sparked the television show.  “It was a lot of work and a lot of sweat equity,” she says. As for the show? “It was hilarious. I thought it was great.” And, we’re pretty sure everyone knew her name.
— Linda Haase

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I grew up in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. I attended Sewickley Academy from kindergarten until ninth grade, when I went away to school in Connecticut. I then went to college in Boston.  
Growing up in a small town allowed us to be very independent as children. It was safe. We played with others in the neighborhood, and our parents never worried about us. It was a great place to grow up.  

Q. What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. Almost too many to list. I worked for TWA as a flight attendant. I worked in the hospitality business for a while and then tried out banking. I finally found my place in admissions in 1991. My professional accomplishments are few, but I have personally gained so much from working with parents and children throughout the years.

Q. Tell us a little about your fondest memories at Gulf Stream School. How long have you worked there?
A. This is my 14th year at Gulf Stream School. I love working with the very young children as they are admitted to the school in prekindergarten and have remained here long enough to see those same grins when they graduate and move on to the high schools of their choice. It is extremely gratifying.

Q. What advice do you have for a young person selecting a career today?  
A. Think out of the box. Be an entrepreneur.  

Q. How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?
A. I have been coming to Delray Beach to visit my parents since I was 18. I always knew about Gulf Stream and it just felt like the right place for someone moving from New England.

Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?  
A. The unique character and charm of the homes; my neighbors. It feels as though it is a gated community without the gates.
Block parties!

Q. What book are you reading now?
A. The final book in the Ken Follett trilogy, “The Edge of Eternity.”

Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?  
A. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland.
And, “Never burn your bridges” — my mother.

Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Me — no one else would believe it.

Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. My son, Tyler, who is married and living in Chicago with his wife and two adorable daughters. He is hilarious and much smarter than I am. 

OCEAN RIDGE — After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Bernd Anton Schulte died peacefully at his home in Ocean Ridge on April 15. Mr. Schulte was born on Aug. 28, 1942, to German parents residing in Sofia, Bulgaria, joining a growing family that would eventually total five children.
At a young age he and his family immigrated to Manhasset and Brookville, N.Y., where he graduated from Jericho High School.
On one of several road trips the family visited the American West, where a teenage Bernd fell in love with Montana. Summer jobs as a young wrangler in Montana turned into college in Missoula, and a lifelong commitment to the University of Montana, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Montana Grizzlies.
After graduation in 1965, Mr. Schulte started his distinguished business career with W.R. Grace & Co. in New York City, beginning as an intern and culminating as head of business development.
Shortly after joining Grace, Mr. Schulte served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 to ’68. Upon his return, he continued his lifelong career with Grace, which took him to the restaurant operations of Far West Services in Newport Beach, Calif., for 17 years, then back to Grace corporate headquarters in New York, and ultimately, as part of the Grace headquarters relocation in 1991, to Boca Raton. There he retired in 1999 as a corporate vice president and executive responsible for the general development group. During more than three decades he excelled in the business of finance, traveling the world to identify business opportunities and executing the multibillion-dollar merger and acquisition strategy for this global Fortune 50 conglomerate. He was also instrumental in implementing Grace’s divestment program and was a confidant to corporate executive management.  
In retirement, he became an avid golfer, redoubled his commitment to the University of Montana Alumnae Association and Greek Task Force, coordinated the activities of Grace’s Florida Alumni Association, and immersed himself in Ocean Ridge’s government, serving his community for several years as a town commissioner and vice mayor. He also actively participated with the Washington, D.C.-based Defense Orientation Conference Association, joining members on many of their trips around the world to U.S. military installations.
Mr. Schulte’s every involvement produced profound, long-lasting friendships that blessed him throughout his life. Recognizing the importance of so many people in his life, his family is deeply appreciative of the immeasurable outpouring of kindness shown to them by his many friends and former colleagues.
He leaves behind his wife, the former Marie-Christine Noel, and son Peter. He was preceded in death by his brother, Uve Hublitz, and sister, Antje Fong, and leaves behind sisters Doris Wetzel and Karin Barnaby in New York, and sister-in-law Beatrice Noel in Miami.
Mr. Schulte will be interred at the Boca Raton Mausoleum following a private service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Trust Bridge, or Hospice of Palm Beach Foundation, at 5300 East Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33407.
— Obituary submitted by the family

By Dan Moffett

Four years ago, Bonnie Fischer won a seat on the South Palm Beach Town Council and quickly made beach restoration her priority.
In March, she won the town’s election for mayor. Her priority hasn’t changed and neither have the questions from residents about why there’s been so little progress implementing a plan to deal with the eroding beaches.
“It’s very frustrating,” Fischer said. “I hate that I keep giving reports but I don’t have anything new to say.”
The town has been working with Palm Beach County and the state for the last four years on a $5 million plan known as the Southern Palm Beach Island Comprehensive Shoreline Stabilization Project. But bureaucratic delays have become chronic.
The Army Corps of Engineers released a much-anticipated and belated 1,000-page draft of an Environmental Impact Statement for the project in December.
Now the county says public review of the EIS is running behind schedule, too. It could be the end of the year until the EIS is approved and completed — and many months more until residents see any changes to their beaches.
“Frankly, we’re still in limbo,” the mayor says. “It’s still a long way away from happening.”
“I empathize with your position,” Michael Stahl, an environmental program supervisor for the county, told the Town Council at its April 28 meeting. “It’s frustrating for us as well. We want to get your beaches restored, too.”
  In February, Fischer attended the National Conference on Beach Preservation Technology in Clearwater. She brought back some large numbers for taxpayers to consider: The cost of the seven groins is about $700,000, the cost of replenishing the sand could run about $3.45 million over three years, and it will take about $800,000 per acre in mitigation costs to offset potential environmental damage from restoration.
“Just because we have groins doesn’t mean that’s the end,” Fischer says. “There’ll still be upkeep costs for renourishing.”
South Palm Beach’s share of the $5 million bill for the project is 20 percent, with Palm Beach County using tourism bed tax revenue to pay another 30 percent and the state covering the rest. The location of the project runs .82 miles through the town to the Eau Palm Beach Resort in Manalapan.
Since joining the commission, Fischer has pushed for the town to take a harder look at the costs of the project and consider setting money aside.
Fischer’s predecessor as mayor, Donald Clayman, had favored constructing breakwaters instead of groins. But the county has opposed breakwaters, believing federal agencies would not permit them because they do irreparable harm to the environment. 
Groins are concrete panels that are mounted on concrete support piles. The groins are to be installed perpendicular to the shoreline and backed with about 75,000 cubic yards of imported sand. The hope is the groins will disrupt the southward migration of sand along the beachfront and help stabilize the town’s shoreline. Engineers believe there’s enough sand off shore in the county to last for the next 50 years to satisfy the current nine beach renourishment projects on the drawing board.
“Being a businessman, I thought you could get all this done in a year,” said Councilman Robert Gottlieb. “You get some sand and dump it on the beach. Boy was I wrong.”

By Jane Smith

Boynton Beach will soon have two Italian restaurants that are operated by the same person despite efforts not to choose just one company for the eateries.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board tapped Sal Campanile to negotiate to buy historic homes at 211 and 480 E. Ocean Ave. and turn them into restaurants. Both sides hope contracts can be presented at the board’s May meeting.
Campanile, who offered a total of $560,000 for both sites, was ecstatic. “For over a year I’ve wanted to open restaurants in Boynton Beach and bring a lot of foot traffic to the downtown,” he said. “Pizza is my passion.”
At the April meeting, he spun a tale of growing up in Naples, Italy, where “great food is a way of life.” His family still operates businesses there producing olive oil, wine and mozzarella. He said he has lived in Boynton Beach for nearly 10 years and has four kids.
At 480 E. Ocean Ave., known as the Ruth Jones cottage, he will open The Little Pizza Shack and serve wood-fired pizza and free-range rotisserie chicken.
He said he is a master pizza chef certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Naples. He also owns Mastino Wood-Fired Pizza Kitchen in Delray Beach, which opened in October, and Pazzi Pasta restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y. Previously he ran ZaZa Pizzeria Napoletana in Sugarloaf Key.
His competitors included Bruce Kaplan of the Local Development Co. in Philadelphia. The CRA board members took umbrage that no one from that company could attend their April meeting. Christian Prakas, son of restaurant broker Tom Prakas, whose company has the exclusive listings on the two properties, presented Kaplan’s plan and apologized. The younger Prakas also said Local Development had upped its offer by $75,000 to $325,000, all cash at closing. That company wanted to do a craft brewery and pizza place at 480 E. Ocean.
Paul Snitkin, a broker at Anderson & Carr in West Palm Beach, presented for well-known restaurateur Rodney Mayo. Snitkin said Mayo offered to lease the property with an option to buy at $275,000 in the first three years, or he would be amenable to purchase it.
For 480 E. Ocean, Mayo proposed doing a Boynton Fish Camp similar to Conchy Joe’s Seafood Restaurant in Jensen Beach, a branch of Subculture Coffee that is based in West Palm Beach, or a Shaker and Pie restaurant that features wood-fired pizza.
The board voted 6-1 in favor of Campanile. Board member Woodrow Hay voted no. He preferred Kaplan, who has the financial backing to complete the concept. Hay was concerned about one owner having control of the two properties. “If something goes belly-up, then we have two pieces of property to worry about,” he said.
Campanile agreed to match Kaplan’s offer of $325,000 for the 480 E. Ocean house.
The pizza chef said he has $1.5 million available to buy and renovate the homes.         Paperwork given to the agency lists his partner as Deborah Grazioso of Ocean Ridge. She had a Northern Trust bank branch manager write a letter saying she has “in excess of $1.5 million” to invest.
Initially Campanile, Kaplan and Mayo were interested in the 211 E. Ocean Ave., known as the Oscar Magnuson house. Campanile and Kaplan had offered to buy with cash, $255,000 and $300,000 respectively. But Mayo, who was offering $275,000, withdrew his proposal.
“Rodney Mayo has multiple restaurants, more than 15,” Snitkin said. “He likes to create a buzz for the area with multiple locations.” Because Mayo didn’t get the bid for the 480 property, he pulled his offer for the Magnuson house, Snitkin said.  
Vice Mayor Joe Casello said he prefers Campanile with “his proven track record and bank account — which is huge.” Campanile plans to open La Piazzetta restaurant with a wood-fired grill in the Magnuson House.
The Prakas brokerage received thanks from Commissioner Mike Fitzpatrick for the list of choices.
“Personally I am disappointed that Rodney Mayo pulled out. He is the gold standard in restaurants in South Florida,” Fitzpatrick said. “I see Sal as a good substitute. I am concerned about putting all the eggs in one basket, but this is what is on the table.”
Campanile received unanimous support for his Magnuson house proposal.

By Steven J. Smith

    GULF STREAM — A star athlete. A brilliant and fiercely competitive lawyer. A savvy businessman. A loving husband, father and grandfather. A generous friend. A gentle companion to animals. These are just a few descriptions one receives when learning about the life of Ted Rogers.
    A product of Chevy Chase, Md., Mr. Rogers excelled in tennis in his youth, winning the 1951 U.S. Tennis Association Junior Championships in singles and doubles at the age of 17. But his wife, Patty, said his parents had higher goals in mind for him.
    “They urged him to take up law, as his father was an attorney,” Mrs. Rogers said, adding he joined the firm of Shaw, Pitman, Potts and Trowbridge (now Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman), where he played an important role in building its corporate and securities practice. He also served on the board of Chevy Chase Bank.
    “He was instrumental in getting Chevy Chase Bank going,” Mrs. Rogers said.        Mr. and Mrs. Rogers met about 20 years ago when he hired her as property manager for his new Gulf Stream home. Their business relationship evolved into a romantic one over the years and they married about a year ago.
    “I watched his home while he was gone and saw that everything was clean and organized when he came down from up north,” she said. “I made sure the pool and the roof were in good order, as he was going back and forth a lot before he moved from Chevy Chase to Gulf Stream full-time in the mid-1990s.
    “He told me he liked that home because there were paw prints embedded in the tile as you entered the house,” she said. “They reminded him of his dogs, who were like members of his family.
    “Ted was a very loving, caring, generous person who would do anything for his family and friends.”
    Never was that generosity more evident than when his friend Robert Marsteller was injured.
    “Mr. Marsteller had lost his job and was walking in downtown Washington, D.C., when a woman came flying out of a parking garage and pinned him against a UPS truck parked across the street,” Mrs. Rogers said. “He was left paralyzed at 42 years of age, a young wife, two small children and two big dogs. When Ted heard of his plight he immediately offered the Marstellers his five-bedroom home in Chevy Chase. They lived there for three years while their townhouse was reconfigured.”
    Mrs. Rogers said her husband was passionate about sports and that love translated to his son, Ted Rogers, who enjoyed a stellar college football career at Williams College and played linebacker for the Washington Redskins in the early 1990s.
    Mr. Rogers died March 31 at the age 81, after a lengthy illness. He is survived by Mrs. Rogers, two children and eight grandchildren.
    “He was a genuine guy,” Mrs. Rogers said. “For such a brilliant person he was so humble. Very down to earth. ”
Memorial services were held on April 11 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach and on April 24 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, Md.  
Contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or the Wayside House or the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League.

GULF STREAM — Helen Baur Allis, known to all as “Nana,” died peacefully on April 9. Born in Milwaukee on April 24, 1927, she was a resident of Fox Point, Shorewood, River Hills and, finally, Mequon, Wisc., and Gulf Stream.
Mrs. Allis enjoyed a loving and supportive marriage of 65 years to William White Allis. Mrs. Allis leaves behind four children who were devoted to her: Mary Allis Schellhorn of St. Simons Island, Ga., Wendy Allis of Somerville, Mass., Bill Allis of Harrisburg, Pa., and Jeffrey Allis of Delray Beach.  She is survived also by six grandchildren, two great-granddaughters and 14 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents Lorraine and E. Frederic Baur; brother John Baur; sister Rosemary Lindsay, and grandson Peter Schellhorn.
Mrs. Allis graduated from Milwaukee Downer Seminary and attended nursing school in Arizona. When she returned to Milwaukee, she taught nursery school at Milwaukee Country Day School.
A range of community organizations benefited from Nana’s enthusiasm and many talents, including the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Ballet, Junior League of Milwaukee, Green Tree Garden Club, and Medical College of Wisconsin. She also served on the boards of directors for Columbia Hospital and the Garden Club of America.  Mrs. Allis helped found a halfway house for women who suffered from mental illness and participated in a reading program for young children during her time in Gulf Stream.
Mrs. Allis was instrumental in the success of Fairfield Greenhouse, a company founded by her husband. She worked with the company for 10 years and made great friends of all employees. She and a good friend partnered to start a small business, Michael-Williams Ltd., selling fashion accessories for several years.
An avid sportswoman, Mrs. Allis loved to swim, ice skate, and play tennis. With her husband’s encouragement, she took up golf during the early years of their marriage and became a very good player. She competed at a high level in Milwaukee Country Club tournaments and district leagues. Following in her parents’ footsteps, Mrs. Allis took on competitive bridge with gusto.
She travelled with her husband throughout the U.S. and around the world and loved to visit their many friends and family.
Mrs. Allis was a gracious entertainer, voracious reader and lover of jazz. She had a discerning eye, a unique style, lots of pizzazz, and a zest for life and laughter. She was a devoted and fun-loving friend to people of all ages and walks of life.  
Although Mrs. Allis struggled with Alzheimer’s disease during her last years, her family and friends were heartened to see her strength and personality shine through. Rest in peace, Nana.  
Family will greet friends from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 23 at Forest Home Cemetery, Landmark Chapel, 2405 Forest Home Ave., Milwaukee, followed by a service honoring Nana’s life at 10:30 a.m., with Pastor D. William Knapp officiating.  Private family burial will follow the service.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Nana’s memory may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Wisconsin, 620 S. 76th St., Suite 160, Milwaukee, WI 53214;  or the  Garden Club of America, 14 E. 60th St., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022.
Letters of condolence may be sent to the family c/o Mary Allis Schellhorn, 159 St. Andrews, St. Simons Island, GA 31522.
— Obituary submitted by the family

Warren Adams at the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Lona O’Connor

Warren Adams will be the first to point out that he didn’t invent historic preservation in Boynton Beach. That honor belongs to a dedicated group of preservationists who conducted a survey of the city’s historic buildings in 1996.
But with phone apps and radar and interactive websites and GPS mapping, he has brought history into the 21st century — and won grant money to pay for the work. Now people from other cities are calling him to find out how to do the same.
Adams worked with the city’s historic preservationists to put together its first historic planning ordinance. The City Commission agreed to hire him as its first full-time historic preservation planner in 2011.
“We recommended that the city hire a full-time planner, hoping that we might get a part-time position,” said newly elected historic board chairman Barbara Ready. “We were shooting for the moon, but they went for the full-time position.”
Even though he was born in New Jersey, he adds a couple of Scottish-influenced r’s to that word. He spent his formative years in Paisley and Glasgow, where he was also trained in historic preservation, in a country that treasures its thousand-year history.
Lately he’s been showing up at neighborhood association meetings, to encourage owners of homes older than 50 years to consider having them added to the historic building survey. He emphasized the positive — the city reviews plans for additions to historic houses, but does not dictate changes. And there’s the possibility of a tax credit, too. He’s starting to get a trickle of inquiries from homeowners.
“That’s why I like him so much,” said longtime preservationist Janet DeVries, who worked on the 1996 survey. “He’s very low-key. He presents the facts and he has that enthusiasm. He knows you can’t force people but you can plant the seeds.”
A department of one, he has added hundreds of buildings to the survey, often walking from house to house with a clipboard and a camera. He has uncovered local notables from the past.
Leading college students, on a recent Sunday he tramped through the city’s five undeveloped scrub areas.
“It was a hot, long day, but it was really good fun. It’s good to get students involved. They’re really keen on it.”
Add to his to-do list: interpretive boards for those scrub areas.
His enthusiasm is so infectious that one of his historic preservation board members, Eric Salomonsson, followed him to explore a deserted downtown house partially constructed with 1940s oil cans.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Adams told the board.
“It was cool,” said Salomonsson of the field trip, passing around a few oil can labels he salvaged.
Adams set up historic markers on two “heritage trails,” which offer the full history of buildings when a smartphone is waved over their scannable QR codes. The latest marker, at the city marina, highlights Janet Hall, the first woman licensed to operate a fishing boat in the city.
Another local whom Adams has brought to light is Conrad Pickel, a world-renowned stained glass artist who worked in Boynton Beach. Last year Adams teamed up with two glass galleries in Lake Worth for a tour centered on Pickel.
“It was so much fun,” said board member Susan Oyer of the tour, parts of which are free. The second Pickel tour is scheduled for May 23.
The city received the 2013 municipal achievement award from the Florida League of Cities, for historical education.
Next up — pending the winning of another state grant — is to further investigate Wells Avenue, the former main street of the Heart of Boynton, a traditional African-American neighborhood and one of the city’s oldest.
Adams already has persuaded builders of a model block of new homes in that area to add front porches and other features to echo architectural details of the original homes, some of which were built by Robert Wells, the street’s namesake, who built the first subdivision in the Heart of Boynton in the late 1800s.
“The residents really value their history,” said Adams. “And I’m hopeful that (historical research) is going to regenerate and solidify the community.”

By Jane Smith

The main street of downtown Boynton Beach will soon be brighter and safer, with increased lighting approved by its Community Redevelopment Agency board.
“I think this project is very important to the development of Ocean Avenue,” said board member James Buchanan. “I think it’s not just the lighting on the street, but the lighting in the trees that will create an atmosphere” needed to revitalize the downtown.
At its April meeting, Assistant Director Mike Simon presented a slide show that depicted a dark stretch of East Ocean Avenue between Seacrest Boulevard and Federal Highway. The section includes two historic homes — at 211 E. Ocean and 480 E. Ocean — that the CRA will sell soon and will be converted into Italian restaurants. East Ocean Avenue also houses City Hall, the civic center, Dewey Park and the amphitheater.
Simon, who received board direction in March to work with Brang Construction to bring the lighting contract more in line with the budgeted amount of $252,715, then presented two options.
One would reduce the price by about $41,000 by eliminating lighting in 16 trees and the second by about $52,000 by eliminating lighting in 24 trees, not the $160,000 needed to close the gap.
The savings were not big enough to justify the cutbacks, the board decided. Members approved moving money from another budget item to make up the shortfall.
The light poles will be  painted teal, instead of black which Simon had proposed. Board member Woodrow Hay said a previous City Commission had wanted a distinctive look for Ocean Avenue to match the color of the bridge and the poles on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The vote passed 5-2, with board members Mike Fitzpatrick and David Merkel voting no. Fitzpatrick had wanted to see a bid for LED lights, not the incandescent ones used in the contract. Merkel sided with Simon, who wanted to see black light poles. Ú

By Steven J. Smith

Stephen Klingel, president and CEO of the National Council on Compensation Insurance, says corporations should always be good citizens in whatever community they are located, as his is in Boca Raton.
“That can be measured in the number of executives that have served on boards, whether it’s the United Way, the Red Cross, the South County YMCA, the Literacy Coalition or the Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “Secondly, the employees themselves. There are rarely any kinds of charitable activities where you won’t see NCCI employees participating. We support that by giving them paid time off to support the charity or community issue of their choice.”
He practices what he preaches, sitting on two boards himself: the Economic Council of the Palm Beaches, which promotes an open and collaborative relationship between the public and private sectors; and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach, the official public/private economic development organization for Palm Beach County and Enterprise Florida.
On May 8, the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce will honor Klingel, 64, as Business Leader of the Year.
He has helmed NCCI for the last 12 years and said the honor came “as a complete surprise,” although he and his company have been very active with the Boca chamber over that time.
NCCI is one of the nation’s most comprehensive sources of workers compensation insurance information. The company gathers data, analyzes industry trends and prepares objective insurance rate and loss cost recommendations to its clients.  
Klingel came to the company in 2002 from an insurance company in St. Paul, Minn., for which he had worked for 29 years before moving to Boca Raton to head up NCCI.  
“I love what NCCI does and was well aware of the company, so it was an easy decision to move here,” Klingel said. “I love the whole Florida lifestyle, the business climate and everything else. It’s been a great opportunity to try something different.”
Under his stewardship, NCCI has focused more intently on what Klingel called the company’s core deliverables: accuracy in its data analysis and listening to its customers.
“We tend to serve two distinct constituencies — state governments and insurance companies who write workers compensation,” he said. “Those two constituencies don’t always agree, but we have worked on meeting both of their expectations at the same time and we’ve been very successful.”
Klingel plans to retire next year and looks forward to this next phase of his life.
“I want to spend more time with our children and grandchildren, who are spread all over the country,” he said. “Also my wife, Sally, and I are relative newlyweds.              

We got married last September, and retirement is going to offer us a chance to explore the world. And who knows? Maybe I’ll find my way on to a corporate board of directors. I would enjoy doing that. I’d also like to do some ad hoc teaching, instructing high school or college kids on what the business world is really like.”

If You Go
The Boca chamber hosts its annual Business Awards Luncheon on May 8 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real.
This year’s honorees are Capitol Lighting’s CEO, Ken Lebersfeld, Small Business Leader of the Year; Stephen Klingel, president and CEO of NCCI, Business Leader of the Year; and The ADT Corp., Business of the Year. Approximately 300 guests are expected to attend. For information or to purchase tickets, call 395-4433, Ext. 233.

The Manalapan property purchased by Jeff Greene sits adjacent to county-owned property at the Boynton Inlet. Photo courtesy Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

By Christine Davis

Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene has expanded his sizable Florida real estate holdings by purchasing the southernmost property in Manalapan, the 4020 S. Ocean estate formerly owned by longtime resident Ken Brown. Greene was the sole participant in a bankruptcy court-ordered auction April 8, handled by Fisher Auction Co.
According to auctioneer Lamar Fisher, “Greene paid the $6.5 million minimum bid and 6 percent brokers fees for a total of $6.89 million.”    

The 2.39-acre estate reaches from the Atlantic to the Intracoastal Waterway and is just north of the Boynton Inlet. It was once appraised at $11 million and is currently taxed at more than $3.3 million.
Greene said he loves the property. “It’s a good value, a fantastic location. Right next to the Boynton Inlet, if you want to get out into the ocean, you can’t get any better than that. And the deck. Isn’t that a great thing? It feels like you are standing out in the middle of the water.”
He bought it as an investment property, and he’s not sure what he’ll end up doing. “We have lots of choices. Right now, we are working on getting it closed, and then we’ll decide. We might fix it up, subdivide it, resell it. We may clean it up and rent it until we decide what to do with it.”
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We’ve heard “location, location, location” over and over again when it comes to real estate, but the buzzwords are “growth” and “development” when it comes to Manalapan, Point Manalapan and Hypoluxo Island.
In 2012, 13 waterfront homes in that area sold, totaling more than $39 million in sales. The next year, sales nearly doubled to more than $76 million. Sales jumped again in 2014, with 22 waterfront residences selling for a total of more than $80 million.
“The interest seems to be at an all-time high,” said Jack Elkins, a Realtor with Fite Shavell & Associates. Reasons he cites include harsh winters in the North, Florida’s favorable tax rates and incentives, and an increase in the number of companies relocating in the county.
Three recent companies that the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County helped relocate are Olympus Insurance, DB Capital, and wealth management firm and hedge fund Govic Capital.
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The George family’s Abeleina Properties Inc., owner of 326 and 400 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, sold on April 1 for $19.5 million. The properties were listed in October for $21.5 million through Howard Bregman, of Marcus & Millichap. Rosebud George West One, an affiliate of Menin Development, is the buyer.
“Menin Development is a prominent developer throughout the Southeast, but this is their first (development) in Delray Beach,” Bregman said. Tenants include Kilwins Chocolate and Ice Cream, Huber’s Pharmacy, Thida Thai Jewelry, Real Eyes Optical, Cupcake Couture, the Legacy and the Green Owl restaurant.
All have lease contracts.
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Through a $500,000 grant from the Gail S. Posner 2008 Revocable Trust, Wayside House in Delray Beach opens the Tina Posner Center for Career Excellence, a career center to help women recovering from substance abuse prepare for interviews, find and retain jobs, as well as assist them with future career goals. Also, the new career center and the Drug Abuse Foundation are collaborating with the Delray Beach Drug Task Force to form a business council of employers, for whom the center will provide a resource to help ensure employee retention, conflict resolution, employee productivity, personal development and random drug testing for their employees.  
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For folks who prefer fresh produce and other natural goodies but hate driving way out west of Boynton to Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market on State Road 7, cheer up. Bedner’s is heading east. The family that moved from Pennsylvania to begin farming mostly cucumbers and peppers in 1960 has its eye on some property in downtown Delray Beach just north of Atlantic Avenue and east of the railroad tracks. They hope to open this fall.
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Crane’s Beach House Boutique Hotel & Luxury Villas recently received a certificate of recognition for gathering exceptional guest ratings and reviews from Hotels.com customers. In addition, Crane’s has earned awards for outstanding customer service from Expedia, TripAdvisor and the Florida Superior Small Lodging Association. Crane’s is at 82 Gleason St., Delray Beach.
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On Thursdays in May, from 6 to 9 p.m., Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative hosts “On The Ave: Sets in the West” free concerts along with activities, a Kid’s Corner and food tents. On May 7, Plaid Blazer will play classic hip-hop music, and members of the Milagro Teen Center’s 7 Cyphers hip-hop program will perform. On May 14, Pocket Change will play R&B and dance music.
Also, former NBA stars Otis Birdsong and Micheal Ray Richardson will be on hand to meet and greet.
On May 21, FUSIK will play Funk music. On May 28, Eric Biddines with Freedom in the Groove will play hip-hop. Performances will be at the Libby Wesley Plaza Stage at West Atlantic Avenue and Southwest Fifth Avenue.
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Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach has established a junior board of directors, a group of children and teens ages 10 to 18, who meet quarterly with the club’s general manager and COO, Larry S. Savvides, and Mizner’s Kids Manager Kristy King. At formal meetings, they discuss upcoming events, give feedback on previous activities, and brainstorm for future events and endeavors. One of the first recommendations by Junior Board members — an open gym time at the club’s fitness center for their age group — was approved by Mizner’s Board of Directors. “The goal of the program is to empower Mizner’s next generation with leadership skills and promote dependability and creativity among Mizner’s junior population,” said Savvides.
For the second consecutive year, Mizner Country Club in Delray Beach has received the Club Managers Association of America’s International Wine Society Award of Merit. Additionally, Mizner’s sommelier, Sylvie Gervais, received the “Simply the Best Women Sommelier” title at the Simply Italian Great Wines Americas 2015 Tour in Miami.
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The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce recently held a Focus on Women Business Expo at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton. Affording opportunities to network with business leaders and minute-mentoring with business experts, the expo provided women entrepreneurs and small business owners with a place and a platform to promote their businesses, as well as meet and support each other.  
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The Realtors Commercial Alliance of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast has received a $2,200 micro-grant from the National Association of Realtors. The alliance will use the funds to build a walk-through pergola with seating within the Gladiolus Education Garden, 51 NW Ninth Ave., Delray Beach, in partnership with the Gladiolus Education Garden Committee.
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Carls Patio is opening its newest location at 14851 Lyons Road, Delray Beach, at the Delray Marketplace.
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BYL Network Inc., a new free 24-hour interactive broadcast network based in Boca Raton, launched its third season of shows April 6. BYL stands for Better Your Life, and it aims to do just that with its programming across six channels: Women, Men, Money, Home & Travel, Sports & Entertainment and Late Night. New shows this season include Louise Phillips Forbes’ Live, Delray Beach resident Lori Wilk’s Successipies, and Boca Raton resident Neha Uberoi’s Neha Shows. To watch, visit bylnetwork.com.
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John W. Kelly, president of Florida Atlantic University, will speak about the university’s current achievements and future growth plans at the Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club’s 11:30 a.m. luncheon meeting to be held May 13, at the City Fish Market, 7940 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Costs to attend are $35 for members paid in advance or $40 at the door and $35 for first-time guests or $50 second-time guests. For information, call 852-0000.
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Brenner Real Estate Group’s senior vice president, Helen Weissman, and Scott Brenner, president/CEO, negotiated the lease of 7,880 square feet of office space within Atrium Financial Center, 1515 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Weissman and Brenner represented the tenant, Center-State Bank. The landlord, Atrium Financial Center, Ltd., was represented by Dyana Kenney of Penn-Florida Realty Corp.
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On March 23, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Terri Harmon of Boca Raton to the Area Nine Family Care Council. Her term will go through March 19, 2018.
Since 1998, Harmon has served as the executive director of the Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization, Boynton Beach, a nonprofit that offers education and advocacy programs for children and adults with Down Syndrome throughout Palm Beach County. The Family Care Council Florida’s mission is to advocate, educate and empower individuals with developmental disabilities.
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The Swedish fashion retailer H&M plans to open an 18,000-square-foot store in time for back-to-school shopping at the Boynton Beach Mall. It will be near the Center Court. H&M also has stores in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Wellington. The Boynton Beach Mall is at 801 N. Congress Ave.
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Eric Shepherd (left), president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America, congratulates Vince Cerone, general manager and COO of Braman Motorcars. Braman Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Palm Beach is the first North American dealership to win both National and Global Dealer of the Year awards. Photo provided

Braman Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Palm Beach is the first North American Rolls-Royce dealership in history to win Rolls-Royce’s National and Global Dealer of the Year awards simultaneously. These awards recognize Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Palm Beach as the top dealer in 2014 among 127 Rolls-Royce retailers worldwide and 41 in North America. Also, they signal that North America has regained the title of largest sales region for Rolls-Royce with a 30 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.
“Winning these awards means two things to our customers,” said Ralph Avila, general sales manager of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Palm Beach. “First, they know that not only are they getting the best luxury car in the world, but they’re getting it from the best dealership in the world. And, as Dealer of the Year, we will also be able to offer our customers more bespoke and special-edition Rolls-Royce models than anyone else. For instance, Rolls-Royce will build only 35 of the new Waterspeed Collection Phantom Drophead Coupés for the entire world, and we’ll get three of them. And, in a few years, when the new ‘all-terrain’ Rolls-Royce is introduced, we will be among the first to have one on the showroom floor.”
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Within two years of buying 323 unsold units at the Promenade condo in Boynton Beach, the Related Group of Miami has almost sold the place out. Only 15 units are left. Related bought the note on the 14-story, two-tower complex with 318 condo units and 77 hotel condo units in December 2012. Related renamed the complex, Casa Costa (Spanish for Beach House).
“It’s a charming development, right on the Intracoastal with spectacular views of the Intracoastal and ocean,” said Craig Studnicky, principal of Related ISG International Realty. His job was to bring the buyers, and he did, with 40 percent coming from Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil. “My job was to get the South Americans there,” he said.
“Jorge Perez got it at a very good price, and Related gave it to me to sell for around $285 a foot. That’s under replacement value, which would be $325-350 a foot just in costs, so buyers were getting a great value.” Casa Costa is at 400 N. Federal Hwy.
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At the Florida Capitol in April, State Rep. Lori Berman (D-Lantana) introduced House Resolution 9065 to honor Dennis Gallon, president of Palm Beach State College, for his more than 50 years of service in education. Gallon will retire on June 30.
After a national search for his successor, Ava L. Parker, executive vice president and COO of Florida Polytechnic University, has been named Palm Beach State College’s new president. Before her time at Florida Polytechnic University, she served on the Board of Governors of the State University System, and she is a partner with the Jacksonville law firm of Lawrence & Parker. She earned her Juris Doctor degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Florida.
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The Business Development Board and the Palm Beach County School District have added an alternative to the nationwide Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The new program, Take a Student to Work Day, is scheduled for May 26, the same day as the School District’s annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
Aimed toward high school students gaining knowledge about employment opportunities available in the county, local businesses are encouraged to volunteer to host a student for a day of job shadowing.
Businesses that have already volunteered include the Greater Delray Chamber of Commerce, Quantachrome Instruments, Discover The Palm Beaches, Glidden-Spina and Partners, the O’Donnell Agency, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Lockheed Martin, Biotools, NCCI, BDO, The Gehring Group, the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, Leo A Daly and Morgan Stanley. Businesses that are interested in participating, contact Allie Amelio at aamelio@bdb.org.

Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis@comcast.net.