Cyclists enjoy unfettered access to the new bike lanes on the stretch of State Road A1A through Highland Beach and part of Delray Beach now that traffic-control barrels are gone. The $8.3 million resurfacing and drainage project lasted more than a year but is largely complete, according to state transportation officials. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

The bright orange-and-white barrels that lined State Road A1A through Highland Beach and part of Delray Beach for more than a year are gone, and that’s good news for many bicyclists and a good sign for anyone using the 3.35-mile stretch of beachside highway.

Since July 2024 the barrels, which were put up on the shoulder of the highway to protect construction workers and guide motorists during an $8.3 million resurfacing and drainage project, have been seen as a road hazard for bicyclists like Larry Burgreen.

A snowbird from upstate New York, Burgreen often rode his bike from his home in north Boca Raton to Delray Beach on A1A, but shelved the trip last season and during the past few months due to the construction.

“I wanted to start biking again but the barrels are there,” he said shortly before the barrels were removed, adding that he believed the ride would be unsafe.

Burgreen says he is looking forward to resuming his trips on the barrel-free sides of A1A.

“I am sure I will be trying out the new bike lanes soon,” he said.

Now that the barrels have been removed, bicyclists who rode in the lane of traffic alongside cars, SUVs and other vehicles can now use the newly paved and in some places marked bicycle lanes on either side of the road.

A cyclist navigates traffic while in the new bike lane in Highland Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

The removal of the barrels is also signaling a long-awaited completion of the project, which originally had been proposed to take little more than a year.

The project, according to a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation, is scheduled to be completed within a few weeks. But a substantial amount of the work, including most of that which could disrupt traffic flow, is already completed, according to Highland Beach town officials.

In recent weeks, work including pavement markings and installing sod and pavers in driveways has been done, according to the town leaders. A remedial punch-out list of items — and a few more paver installations at driveways — are what primarily remains.

One of the last remaining steps will be a walk-through with Highland Beach and Delray Beach officials, along with FDOT representatives who will point out any “minor details that might have been missed” to the construction contractor.

While the paving of A1A was completed before the start of December, the barrels remained until shortly before Christmas, with bicyclists like Burgreen wondering why they hadn’t been removed.

The answer, according to an FDOT spokesperson, was based on safety concerns for both bicyclists and crews who continued to work in the area.

“The barrels in this area were placed to guide motorists and cyclists through the active work zone and to create a consistent, predictable traffic pattern during construction,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Coastal Star.

With completion of the project imminent, Highland Beach is moving forward with two projects: the embedding of lights in the eight pedestrian crosswalks on A1A and the resumption of a sewer lining project.

The sewer lining, which has already been completed on side streets, could cause some minor traffic flow issues, town leaders say, but they likely will be short term.

The embedded lights will augment pedestrian-activated flashing lights at entrances to the crosswalks on both sides of A1A, to go with flags pedestrians may carry for added visibility. 

Related: Along the Coast: Changing skyline

By Larry Barszewski 

A major mixed-use downtown development planned on the east side of Federal Highway just north of Ocean Avenue has been in the works for almost nine years, but construction still hasn’t started.

Boynton Beach city commissioners, serving as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, agreed to do what they could to help the project move forward. At the CRA’s Dec. 9 meeting, they increased the CRA’s subsidy for the eight-story Ocean One project to $11.5 million — $2.5 million more than they approved in May 2024.

The CRA receives tax money from the increased property value of developments in the CRA district. It is money from those tax revenues — to be generated by the Ocean One project — that the CRA has pledged to pay over 14 years to support the estimated $174.1 million project. 

“This is such a big piece of our downtown,” Mayor Rebecca Shelton said of the 3.5-acre site.

“I remember when it was a Bank of America building and you couldn’t go there. You’d get robbed in your car — and the prostitutes — and so, it was a blighted property for so long.”

She supported the increased amount of tax increment funding because “we’re so close to having what the residents want as a viable downtown and I do like the project.”
Ocean One received its first city approval in 2017, but the original developer failed to meet its CRA-imposed deadline to begin construction and sold the property in 2021.

The new owners, Hyperion Group (BB1 Development LLC), received approval in April 2023 for a revised project that includes 371 residential units and about 25,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. It also has green space and public plazas with outdoor seating. 

In May 2024, with Hyperion back before the CRA board seeking $11.5 million in tax increment funding, the board approved $9 million. In return, the developer agreed to provide 90 public parking spaces inside a planned garage, as well as 20 on-street spots, with 20% of the parking revenue to be shared with the CRA. 

But this past May, the developer put in a request that the CRA up the tax increment funding to $16 million, which commissioners at the Dec. 9 meeting said was too high.

While they wouldn’t agree to $16 million, they did say from an economic analysis that the $11.5 million was justified.

“What’s the alternative, right?” Commissioner Thomas Turkin said. “The alternative is you guys can’t perform, you have to sell the project, then we get a 10-12 story building, or another Live Local project which I think, again, is not what residents want to see.” 

Boynton Beach is moving ahead with its proposal for downtown, but it’s back to the drawing board in Lantana

The northern portion of The Villages, a mixed-use project in downtown Boynton Beach, is under construction. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Related: Lantana: Hotel project shelved, but Ocean Avenue still primed for major development

Related: Boynton Beach: Ocean One gets $2.5 million more from CRA

By Jane Musgrave

Boynton Beach Mayor Rebecca Shelton smiled Dec. 17 as she swung a sledgehammer, destroying the walls of the crime-ridden Inn at Boynton Beach.

“It’s the highlight of the last 10 months of being mayor,” Shelton said. “This is why I ran for office.”

The demolition of the 20-year-old hotel on the south side of West Boynton Beach Boulevard at Interstate 95 is seen as the key to a sweeping revitalization plan that is to transform the city.

“It sends a message: Boynton Beach is open for business,” Shelton said.

Exactly what will be built on the roughly 2-acre site is unknown. After paying $8.1 million for the land in October, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency now wants to buy 13 adjacent parcels — appraised at $7.5 million — to create what it hopes will be a signature project.

Community meetings will be held to determine exactly what will be built on what would become a 6-acre site.

“It is the gateway to the city and it needs to be beautiful,” said Shelton, who serves on the CRA board along with the rest of the City Commission.

An office building with retail on the ground floor is one possibility. Or, she said, a high-end hotel might be considered.

Chris Brown, the newly hired executive director of the CRA, said he hopes to have a deal in place with a developer in 2026.

But, he emphasized the redevelopment of the hotel site is just one part of a grand scheme to turn the city’s unsightly, traffic-choked entryway into a pedestrian-friendly area that will become a destination instead of a place people drive en route to somewhere else.

“I’m going to be spending a lot of time on Boynton Beach Boulevard,” said Brown, who was CRA director in Delray Beach during that city’s boom years.

In addition to the hotel site, the CRA owns other land on West Boynton Beach Boulevard to boost revitalization efforts.

It owns a lot on the north side of the road at Northwest Fourth Street and another one two blocks over at Northwest Second Street. It also paid $917,000 for two lots on the south side at Seacrest Boulevard, one that has long been home to the U.S. Post Office.

Like the hotel property, there are no firm plans as to what will eventually be built on those sites. The vacant land gives the CRA a blank slate to carry out its new vision, Brown said.

The city is also getting an assist from the Florida Department of Transportation, which owns the road. As part of a $64-million, four-year project to reduce congestion for motorists getting on and off Interstate 95, landscaping will be added to the stretch of  Boynton Beach Boulevard from I-95 to North Federal Highway.

Crews soon will begin planting trees along the sidewalks that were widened in a $7.2 million project that wrapped up in 2025. 

Aesthetics are important, Brown said. “If we can get some really quality development with quality architecture, we can change the nature of Boynton Beach Boulevard,” he said.

But it won’t be easy. Even in Delray Beach, where the downtown’s transformation in recent decades has been hailed as a model of success for other cities to emulate, it has been a decades-long struggle to develop the blocks on Atlantic Avenue from I-95 to the heart of the downtown that begins at Swinton Avenue.

Downtown developments

Brown said one promising sign is that private developers are investing in Boynton Beach’s downtown area. In the next five years, 2,000 units are to be built, he said.

Already, Edgewater Capital Investments is at work on an eight-story complex on East Ocean Avenue that will have 336 apartments, 668 parking spaces, 8,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The project, Villages at East Ocean, extends to Boynton Beach Boulevard and is expected to be completed in two years. A second phase planned on the south side of Ocean Avenue will bring an additional 171 residences.

Other planned large residential developments, with commercial spaces and eight-story buildings, include Ocean One at the northeast corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway, The Pierce across from it on the west side of Federal Highway, and Town Square to the north and south of Ocean Avenue near City Hall.

Having people living in the city’s core to shop and go to restaurants is a game-changer, Brown said. “It will change the downtown,” he said.

The key, however, is giving them a safe, comfortable area so they will get out of their apartments and visit local businesses. 

In addition to making Boynton Beach Boulevard pedestrian-friendly, Brown said he wants to remake Ocean Avenue. Like Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, he said he wants to expand the sidewalks and install bricks to make the city’s long-struggling downtown more attractive.

Brown admits the CRA’s plans are ambitious. But, Shelton said, city leaders have ignored key areas for too long, which wasted resources and caused the city to stagnate.

For instance, instead of patrolling the streets, city police spent hours at the Inn at Boynton Beach, where drug deals, sexual assaults and domestic violence were common.

“Now we can put the cops back on the streets where they belong,” she said.

Likewise, the city doesn’t fully benefit from special events it hosts. After watching the holiday boat parade or the July 4 fireworks or attending the Pirate Fest & Mermaid Splash, people head somewhere else.

They go to Delray Beach or to the Key Lime House in nearby Lantana, Shelton said. “So, we don’t get any economic benefit from it,” she said.

She is hopeful the planned revitalization will change that.

Larry Barszewski contributed to this story.

The Villa Magna condo wants to improve its visibility along A1A, but current Highland Beach rules will not allow the bigger signs it wants. Tim Stepien/ The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

The challenges kept coming for a beachfront condo in Highland Beach as its board members attempted to upgrade the entrance signs near their driveways on State Road A1A.

The first challenge, though not totally unexpected, came when they met with town leaders and learned that the signs they hoped to put in were too big and didn’t meet code.

Then came the news that the town doesn’t have a process for granting a variance, and the only way for the condo, Villa Magna, to get the green light to improve the signage would be to have the Town Commission change an ordinance that’s been on the books for years — a cumbersome and slow-moving process.

While all that was happening, the Villa Magna team looked up and down A1A and saw that many of the signs in front of buildings — those with the names of the buildings and addresses — were bigger than allowed under the same code blocking their project.

Yet there they were.

“It appears they were non-compliant and had been that way for a long time with no town action,” said Town Manager Marshall Labadie, who sent Highland Beach’s code enforcement officer out to measure, confirming what Villa Magna had found.

The bigger condos, many with longer frontage on A1A, tended to have the larger signs, he said. Many of those signs exceed the allowed 10 square feet for the face of the sign.

When Villa Magna officials went checking, they found signs that were larger than the 10 square feet Highland Beach allows, including ones at the Ambassadors and at Highlands Place — and even one of Villa Magna’s own current signs. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

How that happened, Labadie says, might have been the result of Highland Beach’s not having a full-time town planner until 2018 and no one to ensure the bigger signs met code when they were installed.

Those signs that do not meet the code will be considered a lawful non-conforming use, Labadie said, meaning that they will be allowed to remain as is. If those signs are replaced, however, the new signs will need to comply with the code.

What that code will be in the future is up in the air.

Once Villa Magna’s leadership brought forward the problems with the current ordinance on permanent signs, town commissioners agreed to take a hard look at whether changes need to be made.

With Labadie calling Villa Magna “the canary in the coal mine” alerting officials to what may be considered an obsolete provision in the code, commissioners agreed to ask for a recommendation from the town’s planning board on whether to keep the ordinance as is or change it.

If the planning board agrees that the ordinance needs to be changed, it would have to consider issues such as how big the signs can be and whether a variance process is needed for condo boards like Villa Magna’s.

In bringing their case to the commission, representatives from the 92-unit condo said one of the main concerns is safety.

Villa Magna is just north of the Delray Sands Resort, and visitors often end up driving into Villa Magna’s driveways by mistake and then have to back out onto A1A.

The problem is magnified when the sun goes down, says Joan Stein, a longtime Villa Magna board member and a co-chair of the decorating committee that is involved in the signage project.

“It’s very difficult at night,” she said. “You don’t see the sign until you’re on it.”

Villa Magna, which has three signs on A1A, is asking for five signs, the biggest of which would be 24 square feet.

The condo has 370 linear feet of frontage on A1A and three driveways, and its leaders believe the size of the signs is in scale with the size of the property.

With the request requiring a change in the ordinance, the decision on what size new signs can be may take several more weeks.

“It’s going to take longer than we thought, but it’s worth the effort,” Stein said. 

The developer backed out of this hotel and retail proposal at 210 E. Ocean Ave. in Lantana, but the town hopes for a future project there. Rendering provided

Related: Along the Coast: Changing skyline

By Mary Thurwachter

It looked like big changes were coming for Ocean Avenue, Lantana’s main drag and business district. 

During a special Town Council workshop on Dec. 8, representatives working with Kenco Communities displayed plans to build a seven-story hotel — with a rooftop pool — and a five-story building with shops, restaurants, a parking garage and its own rooftop pool that would have a water view and be open to the public.

Lantana has a four-story height limit, although it has made some exceptions and council members have said they would be willing to at least consider five stories for the land at 210 E. Ocean Ave. 

It encompasses four parcels on the north side of the road owned by sister-and-brother Marsha Stocker and Steven Handelsman. A few single-story shops and restaurants stand across the street and, at the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway, sits the Old Key Lime House, a brightly colored building that is Lantana’s largest business. That popular eating spot exudes the town’s old seaside fishing village vibe.

The Kenco proposal, which brought much interest and excitement, didn’t have that feel, and a few people said so.

Former Council member Ed Shropshire called the planned buildings “a monstrosity” that didn’t hold up to the town’s seaside village identity.

Nevertheless, the proposal, with early renderings that would be subject to change during any future site plan review process, drew mostly favorable support from both the council and the attending residents. 

Alex De Angelis of HdA Architects and Valentina Broglia of Urban Design Studio presented the plans.

Developer bows out

But a week after the workshop, on Dec. 15, Nicole Dritz, the town’s development services director, received an email from the developer Kenco saying it was no longer going forward with the plans.

“Unfortunately, we terminated our deal with Mr. Handelsman on Friday and will not be moving forward the project at this time,” it said.

Dritz said after receiving the email that she hoped to schedule a call with the developer “just to see if there were any big red flags.” 

“There was definitely a little bit of hesitancy on their part, which is why we originally offered to hold the workshop,” she said, “just to give them a little bit of peace of mind. If I had to speculate wildly, I just think they probably needed to be higher and denser than what we were maybe willing to do.”

She said that the town was “super bummed” that this project would not work out, but is ready to see who else is interested.

“There was a lot of support from the community,” Dritz said, “I really liked the use itself as a hotel, just the idea of bringing people into our downtown. It didn’t work out this time, but thankfully we found out early and we can kind of start to work with anyone else who’s ready.”

Although the developer terminated plans to build a seven-story hotel and five-story mixed-use building, the idea received some positive feedback. Rendering provided

Council members’ reactions

Jesse Rivero, the council’s newest member, admitted he was a little disappointed. “It’s been so long stagnant, the community was hoping for something new and exciting. Time will tell. For now, I’m optimistic,” he said. 

“There are other potential buyers,” Mayor Karen Lythgoe said. “And we now know the level of community support. The buyer is the one taking a huge risk in buying an expensive property and in these uncertain economic times, who can blame either side.” 

Lythgoe said her understanding is that Kenco wanted another extension and the property has already been off the market for a few months.  

Council member Chris Castle said he wasn’t disappointed but that he believes “the project could have made a good impact for the town. I believe more developers will come forward in time and with plans to achieve similar projects.”

Council member Kem Mason said seven stories was not acceptable to many residents from whom he had heard. 

Vice Mayor Mark Zeitler said he liked the hotel, restaurants and shops, wished the hotel didn’t have to go seven stories, but understood the economics of why that was in the plans. “Traffic would have been the worst part,” he said, “and it’s already a problem.”

At the Dec. 8 workshop, council members and residents, while interested in seeing more-developed plans, expressed concerns about a seven-story building on property that, for many years, was home to a handful of Key West-style cottages that had fallen into disrepair. Those were demolished in May 2024 and the property was sodded and enclosed with a chain link fence. Many trees were saved and some residents said they would prefer the property remain as is.

Owners now willing to sell

A bright spot for the town, Dritz said, was that it was able to convince the property owners to sell, rather than lease, as has long been their preference.

“Due to the current market conditions, I believe that it became apparent to the owners that it would be difficult at best for a potential developer to redevelop the property and make a reasonable rate of return on their investment under the terms of a lease,” Town Manager Brian Raducci said.

“As a result, I believe that selling the land became a more viable option for all concerned parties,” Raducci said.

“We will continue to communicate our desire for the site and what we envision for the properties going forward to ensure that any potential redevelopment will benefit our entire community.”

A million in fines owed

The Handelsmans still owe significant fines on the property, since the cottages had not been meeting codes for years. The fines, exceeding $1.1 million, “helped to nudge them in the right direction” as far as selling the property, Dritz said.

Dritz said the town has authorization to foreclose on the property. “But I think more than that our end goal is to have something developed there that’s going to kind of spur some economic growth in the downtown. It’s very much less about the fines to us and more about getting a development in there.

“We certainly don’t want the code fines to hinder any type of development effort, but if the owner decides just to sit on the property, then we have some legal action that we can take.”

Islanders’ views

Several Hypoluxo Island residents weighed in on the proposal.

Patricia Towle, who opposed the plan, was concerned about the increase in traffic and said the town should do a study on traffic during peak season before going ahead. 

“I live east of the bridge,” she said. “Right now, to get to Dixie Highway, especially in season, takes me maybe 15 minutes. If you put a seven-story structure there, with cars turning in and out, it’s gonna take me a half an hour.” 

Michelle Donahue said she was excited about the attention this parcel has attracted and was delighted to learn more about Kenco’s boutique hotel/restaurant proposal. “I’m sure if Kenco is truly interested, they’ll come back around with another offer, or the Handelsmans may find another developer with similar interests. My overall hope is that the entire parcel will remain intact and developed as a single project rather than being subdivided into four separate projects.” 

J.J. McDonough said he was happy that the Handelsmans are open and amenable to selling the property. He suggested the town not be so tied to having an “old fishing village vibe” and move on as other communities have. He said Lantana needs to do better self-care.

“We’re so frugally minded that we just can’t see the big picture,” he said. 

One of my favorite sections of the paper is philanthropy.

It’s not just pictures of happy, smiling people — although many of those photographed are indeed happy, smiling and looking good. 

The section is consequential because it keeps tabs on massive charitable giving that pays for vital services and innovation. The largesse also addresses systemic issues in areas such as health, literacy and the arts, while inspiring new solutions and strategies for social good by spotlighting what works. 

Amy Woods has been curating the section for The Coastal Star since August 2012. She’s leaving the paper this month after 13-plus years and we thank her and wish her well. 

“I helped spread the word about South County’s charity scene and its benefactors and beneficiaries,” she says. “The number of good deeds and the amount of good work being done in the area has been an honor and a joy to highlight. I have formed bonds and relationships with the administrators and the volunteers leading the charge for their important causes. 

“What has been most rewarding about my role at The Coastal Star is the ability to shine a light on the critical needs in the community.”

Previously, Amy was editor of Notables at The Palm Beach Post for 11 years. In 2023, she wrote her first book, 100 Things to Do in Jupiter Before You Die. Her second book, Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, comes out this month.

As Amy goes on to devote time to her books, we welcome Lou Ann Frala, who has been a well-respected and admired copy editor at The Palm Beach Post since 1985, leaving during the pandemic in 2020, then returning in February 2022 as a sports copy editor. 

In her career, she also served as an assistant business editor, and she was op-ed editor for 12 years. Her career began on the sports desk of The Kansas City Star, and she served as sports editor on small papers in Texas and Missouri before coming to Florida in 1985.

Lou Ann, who was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

She says she “is delighted to be joining The Coastal Star,” and we are delighted to have her on the philanthropy desk. 

To reach Lou Ann and our philanthropy section, send news and photos to our newly minted philanthropy email, philanthropy@thecoastalstarcom. 

Help us keep the good news coming — and keep smiling!

— Mary Thurwachter, Managing Editor

Mary Csar is moving to a Jacksonville historic district, closer to her kids. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Mary Hladky

Mary Csar has been involved in preserving Boca Raton’s history almost from the moment she moved to the city in 1978.

She joined the Boca Raton Historical Society and soon was giving tours at The Boca Raton, the historic resort launched by famed architect Addison Mizner.

She changed her focus for a time, serving as president of the Junior League of Boca Raton, joining the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and later working in community relations at the now-closed National Cartoon Museum.

And then the historical society beckoned again, hiring her to coordinate events for the society’s 25th anniversary. When the executive director’s position opened, she applied and was hired in 1999.

After almost 27 years in that role, Csar retired in December. Olivia Hollaus, a former society board president, has taken her place.

“It will be a very smooth transition,” Csar said.

Over her nearly three-decade tenure, the historical society has strengthened its finances, professionalized with the hiring of curator Susan Gillis, and completely renovated the Old Town Hall, which houses its history museum and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gillis’ hiring was key. “That is when we really started documenting our collections and getting things in shape,” Csar said.

Csar launched the Boca Bacchanal in 2003, an annual fine wine and food event that is the society’s main fundraiser, to support its education and historic preservation programs.

Another early project was restoring two 1947 rail cars, a steam engine and a caboose, at the former Florida East Coast Railway station at 747 S. Dixie Highway.

The society sold the train station in 2020 so that it could invest in its biggest project — turning the Old Town Hall, at 71 N. Federal Highway, into a full-fledged museum.

That project was complicated by all the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And its cost soared to $4 million after workers discovered that the old building had many unexpected problems, including disintegrated cast iron pipes that had to be replaced.

“We had no idea we would have to do so many renovations on the building. There were things that came up that we had to do,” Csar said. 

That prompted Csar to ask the City Council for $1.2 million in financial help. Council members were reluctant but eventually provided the money.

“We have to credit the city for really helping us out,” she said.

Further help came from a $1 million donation from museum supporters Barbara and Dick Schmidt. The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum is named in their honor.

The finished museum includes a city timeline from the pre-Columbian era to the 21st century that runs along an interior hallway. Individual rooms are dedicated to specific subjects.

Among the highlights are the first settlers, Addison Mizner and the Cloister Inn, the World War II Boca Raton Army Air Field, Florida Atlantic University’s groundbreaking, IBM’s production of the first personal computer, construction of the Town Center mall and the 2001 anthrax attack on the AMI building.

Csar said the museum, which is open Wednesday through Saturday, attracts many visitors.

“The exhibits are very intense,” she said. “There is a lot to see. Our lectures are very well attended.”

Csar is now ready for her next chapter.

She and her husband are moving to Jacksonville to be near their son, who lives there, and nearer to their two daughters in North Carolina and New Jersey. “It is time to focus on family,” she said.

But she is not forsaking history. The couple’s new home is in the Riverside historic district along the St. Johns River.

“The whole area is a preservation district,” she said. “That excites me to no end.” 

By Mary Hladky

In a widely anticipated move, Republican Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer has announced his candidacy for Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, hoping to unseat Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

A strong supporter of President Donald Trump, Singer made clear in his Dec. 18 campaign announcement that, if elected, he intends to follow Trump’s lead.

“I’m running for Congress as an America First conservative who believes that we need leaders in D.C. who will work to build on President Trump’s success to secure our borders, defend our nation, cut waste, and bring taxes and costs down for all Americans,” he said on social media.

A video accompanying his announcement included a clip of a shout-out from Trump thanking Singer.

Singer also touted his record as mayor.

“As Mayor, I fought to keep taxes and crime low, while increasing investment in public safety, infrastructure and helping add jobs to our community,” he said.

Singer faces a crowded Republican field. Six other candidates include former state Rep. George Moraitis of Fort Lauderdale, and Joe Kaufman, who was the party’s 2024 nominee against Moskowitz.

The 23rd District covers Boca Raton and Highland Beach, runs west to Coral Springs and south into Fort Lauderdale.

It is now almost evenly split between Republican and Democratic voters. But that could change because Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislative leaders are planning redistricting of its boundaries ahead of the 2026 election.

Singer was first elected to the City Council in 2014 and has served as mayor since 2018. He is term-limited from running again and his last day in office is March 31.

Moskowitz was first elected in 2022 and reelected in 2024, both times by small margins.

Singer, a lawyer who graduated from Harvard and Georgetown Law, has maintained a high profile as mayor.

He successfully lobbied Brightline officials to build a train station in Boca Raton that opened in 2022, and followed that up by spearheading plans to create a transit-oriented development on city-owned land abutting the station.

He was the force behind creating a public-private partnership with developers Terra and Frisbie Group to redevelop the city’s downtown campus. That has proved to be contentious, with the residents group Save Boca pushing to kill the project.

Once it became likely that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani would win the New York City mayoral election last November, Singer launched a high-profile campaign to lure to

Boca Raton high net worth individuals and corporations opposed to Mamdani’s policies and plans.

By John Pacenti

When it comes to unhinged moments for this Delray Beach City Commission, admittedly, the bar is fairly high, as meetings routinely have devolved into shouting matches during Mayor Tom Carney’s term with the gavel.

Yet, the Dec. 8 commission meeting may live in infamy. 

Carney verbally sparred with Commissioners Tom Markert and Juli Casale over his favorite punching bag: the Downtown Development Authority. 

For a mayor who insisted months earlier that his colleagues follow decorum, the meeting was a lesson in Robert’s Rules of Disorder. One longtime political player called it “chaos.”

It started simple enough.

The commission was set to approve the DDA’s interlocal agreement and disperse $700,000 — funding for running the Old School Square campus that was delayed because of an audit about that management spearheaded by Carney.

The DDA gets most of its $2.7 million budget from an additional property tax of $1 per $1,000 of taxable value for property owners who live within its boundaries, generally along Atlantic Avenue and surrounding properties from Interstate 95 to State Road A1A.

The audit found “control deficiencies and documentation weaknesses,” but said the DDA agreed with recommendations to tighten up policies — by March — on purchasing and credit card use, among other things.

The DDA “admitted and, in the documents, they didn’t have all the receipts. So how do you not have any fraud?” Carney asked.

Carney proposed holding back some of the money from the DDA until the implementation of promised changes — and bedlam ensued.

No longer allies

It’s easy to forget that Carney, Markert and Casale ran as a slate and were elected in March 2024 in races that focused on development, city management and taxation.

The mayor refused to allow other commissioners to speak, interrupting them.

Markert, who says he has the most corporate experience on the dais, told Carney that the city audit was completely normal, finding insignificant deficiencies. “I would say, whoopty-do,” he said.

“I, as a commissioner, would like to know what is going on with your attitude toward the Downtown Development Authority,” Markert told Carney. “You take a swipe at them every time you can. We just finished an audit. I was hoping today you’d be coming in apologizing to the DDA.”

When Markert asked Carney about his experiences with audits, the mayor told him, “With my banks.”

“Where’s your bank? I missed it. Where’s it been?” Markert retorted.

Carney’s father established Carney Bank of South Florida and other financial institutions — none of which exist today.

Markert has been a strong DDA defender, saying that the organization has played a key role in making downtown a destination for locals and tourists alike, with its plethora of restaurants, unusual shops and thriving businesses. 

The DDA also stepped into the void in 2023 when the city couldn’t find anyone to run Old School Square — its pavilion, its museum, its banquet space — when the nonprofit that managed it for years was kicked out by a former commission for lack of financial transparency. 

It got even uglier at the Dec. 8 meeting when Casale — as if tagged in like a wrestler — took over for Markert and tried to defend the DDA, saying the mayor was wrong that 60% of the DDA’s budget goes to administrative costs. “You can’t keep saying inaccurate things,” she said.

She said Carney’s obsession with the DDA extended to writing a misleading op-ed in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 

Casale didn’t mention that Carney also insisted on sitting on the DDA’s board over the summer after he discovered he was allowed to in the City Charter. Some appointed business owners said they were uncomfortable. 

He made a public records request for the DDA’s financials when DDA Executive Director Laura Simon said she would provide them in a one-on-one meeting. 

Taking it to the state

Now, state Sen. Mack Bernard has gotten the state involved, using the mayor’s op-ed on the DDA as justification. “It is legitimate to question the continued necessity of its existence,” Bernard wrote to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. That committee voted at its own Dec. 8 meeting to authorize Bernard’s requested operational audit of the DDA by the Florida Auditor General. 

Bernard called the DDA “a monster” at that meeting. 

The Legislature could dissolve the DDA, which it established in 1971.

“Mack Bernard got a call one month ago, at exactly the time we all found out that this audit wasn’t going to produce misconduct, fraud, or misuse of taxpayer funds,” Casale said at her commission’s meeting.

Decorum? What decorum?

Carney repeatedly talked over Casale, saying he would not stand for being accused. It came down to decorum, with Casale saying the mayor had violated the city’s code of conduct and refused to support an important partner in the DDA.

She said four different people told her that Carney is intent on eliminating the DDA or reducing its scope. 

Carney said the DDA has ignored businesses west of Swinton Avenue. The mayor has explored creating a new taxing district for that area.

At one point, Casale had enough of the mayor’s interruptions and shouted, “Please stop!”

“I don’t understand why you want to eliminate them,” she said. “Just answer the question. It’s obvious, why?”

That is indeed the question.

DDA in the crosshairs

Simon says the DDA has always been transparent about its finances at its meetings. It has only been in the last few years, when the DDA board turned over, that the issue has emerged.

“We overcommunicate our financials,” she said. “We have had very little — if any — concern from the public regarding our financials.”

Some city staff and community leaders say the DDA has a reputation of being aloof and not playing well with others. Still, Simon says property owners in the DDA aren’t looking for a tax break by getting rid of the DDA.

“The property owners rely on us to keep their businesses in business,” Simon told The Coastal Star. Certainly, the blogs and newsletters are abuzz with the issue. So much so, the city auditor was forced — sources say by Carney’s complaining — to respond with a letter to the commission.

Internal Auditor Elena Georgiev on Dec. 15 clarified that while she did not find any fraud, her look at the finances was limited in scope. “The audit was not designed or conducted as an investigation, and no conclusion of wrongdoing was done in my report.”

But Georgiev also said that her findings were “significant in a public-sector context because they increased risk and reduced transparency, even in the absence of fraud.”

Which begs the question: Why didn’t Carney ask for an investigative audit?

Behind the scenes

Speaking on background, city officials and leaders have their suspicions that others could be pulling Carney’s strings.

Mary McCarty, the former city commissioner who went to prison for corruption while on the County Commission and got a pardon from President Donald Trump, is often seen gesturing or even shouting out to Carney during meetings. At a Dec. 1 commission meeting, Casale had to tell her that her behavior was not appropriate.

The Coastal Star has a pending public records request for communications between McCarty and Carney.

McCarty says she is not the impetus behind Carney’s obsession with the DDA — though the audit findings do cause her concerns. She explained her gesturing.

“I get very frustrated with the way Tom runs a meeting. He doesn’t ever ask for a motion,” she said. “It’s like they’re sitting up there around their kitchen table.”

And then there is the theory involving Andre Fladell — that the longtime political player is no fan of the DDA because of events it holds on the beach, which he considers his turf. Fladell is also an ally of McCarty.

Fladell, when contacted, said he was the one who reached out to Bernard, a former city commissioner, after Carney’s op-ed. He said he was disturbed by the audit’s finding on gifts. 

“I alerted Mack Bernard. I said to him that there is an issue with employees of the DDA spending money on alcohol and gift cards and not keeping track of who is receiving bottles of wine and gift cards,” Fladell said.

He said he had the same conversation with McCarty. He said Markert’s shot at Carney Bank on Linton Boulevard was “really bad” because the bank would give loans to small local businesses when the corporate banks would not.

He did describe commission meetings currently as “chaos.”

Casale said the alliance among her, Carney and Markert is no longer. “It went from Tom, Tom and Juli to Tom, Mary and Andre,” she said.

Carney’s big cudgel currently is his contention that 60% of the DDA’s budget goes to administrative or outside marketing costs. 

“The city auditor found the DDA had a lack of financial controls and the state has now opened a full audit,” Carney told The Coastal Star. “I don’t understand why my colleagues continue to protect the DDA at the expense of transparency and accountability to taxpayers.”

Turf war?

Simon appeared in front of the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee on Dec. 8 without any support from the city and has told Carney the DDA would gladly give the keys back to Old School Square if the city is unsatisfied with its management of the campus.

At the Tallahassee hearing, Jim Knight — chairman of the DDA’s board — said: “We don't want to run Old School Square anymore. We think it’s better to be run by a private agency, as opposed to a taxing authority, so forth. So we’re looking to hand that off sooner than later." 

Simon told The Coastal Star that she clarified for the legislative committee that the figure for administrative costs is 30%. 

Make no mistake, Simon is Delray Beach royalty, with her family being among its earliest settlers. And the question that Carney is just engaging in an old-fashioned turf war hasn’t escaped her.

Carney, after initially refusing to meet, finally sat down with her over the summer. 

“He said, ‘It’s just government, it’s just political. I do this to every board I join,’” Simon recalled. “He says, it’s not personal — it’s personal.”

Carney denied ever making that statement.

In the end, the mayor got his way at the Dec. 8 meeting. Only half of the DDA’s budget for Old School Square — $350,000 — was released while the DDA amends its policies and the state starts its audit.

At the end of the meeting, Carney had one more thing to add as City Manager Terrence Moore made a casual mention of city directors celebrating birthdays. It was Mary McCarty’s birthday, too, he noted. 

Save Boca battles unfavorable court ruling

The latest Terra and Frisbie Group plan for Boca Raton’s downtown campus has office, hotel, multifamily and commercial buildings (1-7) on 7.8 acres east of Northwest Second Avenue, with park and government space to the west. Rendering provided

By Mary Hladky

Terra and Frisbie Group, which plan to develop a 7.8-acre section of the city’s downtown campus, have unveiled new details about what they envision.

Boca Raton voters will decide whether the downtown campus project can go forward in the March 10 city election.

But the city and Terra/Frisbie are moving quickly to finalize a master partnership agreement and the 99-year lease of city land to the developers so that the project can move ahead quickly if voters give their approval.

Final City Council votes on both matters are expected on Jan. 20 in what will be pivotal decisions.

Though it now seems an unlikely outcome, a council majority vote against the partnership agreement and lease would kill the project unless the council takes some other action.

It would also nullify the March 10 ballot question that allows voters to cast up or down votes on the downtown campus redevelopment plan.

Yet it probably would be too late for the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to strip the measure from the ballot. In that event, city and election officials would have to explain to voters in advance that the measure no longer is operative.

The project originally was to encompass the entire 31.7-acre downtown campus. But after residents who have banded together as Save Boca strongly opposed that, Terra/Frisbie agreed to leave the nearly 17.3 acres west of Northwest Second Avenue as recreation and park space along with a new City Hall and Community Center.

The developers confined the land they would lease to 7.8 acres on the east side of the street. Nearly 6.7 other acres on that side are part of the campus and will not be leased. They will remain under city control.

Latest design
Presenting their conceptual plans on Dec. 15, Terra/Frisbie said they plan seven buildings and a parking garage on the site.

They include a 120,000-square-foot office building and a 30,000-square-foot grocery store on a parcel immediately west of the Brightline station and east of the Downtown Library.Below that, a 180-room hotel would front Northwest Second Avenue.

Four residential buildings would be built south of the hotel with a total of 765 rental units.

A condo building with 182 units would be located east of the hotel.

The maximum height for the office building is proposed to be nine stories, while the other buildings can be up to 12 stories.

City officials have not yet provided a location for the parking garage but have said it will have about 1,900 parking spaces.

The city will own the garage but will share it with private users. It will include public parking.

The buildings will include restaurant and retail, generally on the ground floor.

A pedestrian promenade will run through the property from the Downtown Library to West Palmetto Park Road.

Council members did not offer their opinions on the plans, with several saying they needed time to digest what they had seen.

City’s proposed ordinance
In another matter related to the development project, Mayor Scott Singer has proposed an ordinance that would set procedures for when the city wants to sell or lease any city-owned land greater than one-half acre.

The ordinance is Singer’s answer to Save Boca supporters who insist that city residents be able to vote before the city leases or sells any city-owned land greater than one-half acre.

To enable that, Save Boca wanted changes to a city ordinance and the city charter so that a vote by the public is required.

The measures were aimed against the City Council’s plans to lease downtown campus land to Terra/Frisbie.

Voters were going to have their say on the ordinance and charter changes in a special Jan. 13 election. But Palm Beach County Circuit Judge G. Joseph Curley ruled on Dec. 1 that both be stricken from the ballot because one was unconstitutional and the other required a vote before Jan. 13.

Singer’s ordinance would require two public hearings before a sale or lease is approved.

Before each hearing, the city would have to mail a notice to all property owners within 500 feet of the city-owned land and post a notice on the land so that residents know what is happening.

Council members will consider the ordinance this month.

But Save Boca founder Jon Pearlman already has panned the idea, saying it is “a political maneuver by Mr. Singer.”

“It is a fake Boca law,” he said at the council’s Dec. 16 meeting, that still allows the council, and not voters, to decide whether land can be sold or leased.

Save Boca fight continues
Pearlman has not given up on the ordinance and charter changes.

The litigation has not ended between him and retired Boca Raton attorney Ned Kimmelman — who argued that the wording of the two changes is misleading, confusing and violates Florida law.

Pearlman now is seeking to have Curley’s Dec. 1 order vacated. He also wants the proposed ordinance and charter changes to go before city voters at a regularly scheduled election.

Kimmelman had dismissed Save Boca and Pearlman as defendants in his lawsuit in November, which prevented them from defending the two changes in court.

So Pearlman is also seeking to be returned as a party to the case. Curley ordered on Dec. 23 that the two sides schedule a hearing on that matter.

“The case is still ongoing, and we are actively fighting it,” Pearlman told the council on Dec. 15. “We are very confident that we will ultimately prevail and that these Save Boca laws will go before the voters, who will then have the opportunity to enact them into law.”

The legal sparring has grown increasingly heated over the past month.

In a court pleading, Kimmelman contends that Pearlman and his supporters began collecting voter signatures to place the two changes on the ballot before registering as a political committee, a violation of state law.

As a result, the signatures are invalid and the two changes cannot be voted on, the pleading states.

For his part, Pearlman has accused Kimmelman of “judge shopping” in order to get a favorable ruling from another judge.

That prompted Kimmelman to send Pearlman a letter, saying Pearlman “defamed” him. Kimmelman told him to “cease and desist publishing these falsehoods immediately or I will sue you for compensatory and punitive damages.”

If Pearlman prevails in the litigation, it might have no effect on the Terra/Frisbie project since no new election can be held before the one already scheduled for March 10 when voters are now expected to have a say.

But it would impact future land leases or sales, and city officials say holding elections for them would be cumbersome and costly and delay routine transactions that voters most likely would approve.

Project clears P&Z hurdle
The city completed a procedural step toward moving the project forward on Dec. 18 when the Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council lease the 7.8 acres to Terra/Frisbie.

But the board’s review was limited in scope. Members were not tasked with evaluating the project, but only to say whether the lease is “advisable” from a planning perspective.

Work has begun on an oceanfront four-story home in Boca Raton east of State Road A1A.

Delray Beach-based Azure Development LLC, which owns the .42-acre property at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., applied for a building permit on April 30 after the Boca Raton City Council in October 2024 granted a variance to build a home on the sand east of the city’s Coastal Construction Control Line.

The application values what will be a 6,931-square-foot structure, across A1A from the Blue Water Townhouses, at almost $3.2 million.

The city’s Development Services Department issued the permit on Dec. 4 and collected fees of $69,122.

To get the permit, Azure had to meet 17 conditions, including that the building’s windows transmit no more than 31% of any interior lighting onto the beach, which is nesting habitat for protected sea turtles.

Azure first sought permission to build on the dune in February 2019 but was rejected by the City Council. The property appraiser’s office values the vacant land at almost $3.4 million.

— Steve Plunkett

Anyone who was at the Delray Beach Historical Society on Dec. 6 honoring the life of Bob Ganger had to feel his presence. The people who spoke acknowledged how deeply he had touched their lives, both as a mentor and a friend. 

I remember the first time meeting Bob at his office located in the alleyway a few doors down from my home, the historic Hartman House. Although the room was small and a bit dark, his brilliant light shined through and I knew he would help ensure Delray would retain its charm and character. 

The Florida Coalition for Preservation was and will always be his baby. There is no denying how much he saved from the wrecking ball, with Briny Breezes being near the top of the list, providing affordability for everyday folks to live by the water. 

Honestly, there was no scope above his reach in saving our shores. And the little guy and gal always came first with him.
As one of the speakers at the celebration of life said, what Bob’s name stood for was, and will always be, the best of the best.

— Benita Goldstein, Delray Beach

I was tickled by the article regarding Milani Park in the recent The Coastal Star.

I was reminded of a Highland Beach public meeting probably 10 years ago.

I was the only resident speaking for the renovation. There was talk about the arrival of drug traffic, that the portable johns are notorious for homosexual activity, the increase of traffic itself, nudity and sex on the beach, possible immigrants from Cuba, and uninhabited houses/apartments being vandalized.

Well, my words were forgotten when this Native American and his wife came charging into the room whooping and dancing like a Native American in a John Wayne movie.

Why? It seems there had been the discovery of the remains of a Native American, buried 500 years ago.

The entire audience immediately became lovers of Native American history. Unlike a movie with John Wayne under the stagecoach, rifle in hand, Native Americans circling, there weren’t no John Waynes in the bunch. 

Immediately, the crowd had many suggestions which, in my opinion, would result in very few visitors. There was talk about a Native American museum, researching the area for a possible Native American graveyard, pay parking for the lot, and no access to the beach because of the graveyard research.

The list went on. In my suspicious mind, I believed and still believe the only issue was to severely impede the visitors to this park.

— T. Hoy Booker, Highland Beach

Boca Raton will soon begin work on projects along the coast estimated to cost $6.5 million.

The City Council on Nov. 18 approved hiring Burkhardt Construction of West Palm Beach to serve as construction manager on the projects.

The work will include the replacement of three restrooms at Spanish River Park, the replacement of six lifeguard towers and the rehabilitation of three sea walls that protect against flooding.

The sea walls are located on the east side of Southeast Wavecrest Way near Lake Drive, at Jeffery Street along the Intracoastal Waterway and at east end of Northeast 32nd Street.

After design drawings are completed for each of the projects, Burkhardt will update the costs, which then must be approved by the City Council.

For now, the lifeguard tower replacements are projected to cost $1.6 million, the new restrooms almost $2 million and the improved sea walls $3 million. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has provided a $950,000 grant to help defray the sea wall cost.

— Mary Hladky

A special statehouse election primary will be held Jan. 13 for the District 87 seat that was vacated when former state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned his position after being appointed Palm Beach County’s clerk of court and comptroller by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The district includes most of Manalapan, eastern Lantana, plus South Palm Beach and points north to Juno Beach.

The state says the Jan. 13 election will have a Republican primary between Gretchen L. Miller Feng and Jon Maples, and a Democrat primary between Emily Gregory and Laura Levites.

The winners of the two primaries will face off in the special general election on March 24, two weeks after the county’s March 10 municipal elections.

Caruso replaced former Clerk of Courts Joseph Abruzzo, who was hired as county administrator by the County Commission.

— Staff report

Several hundred people gathered in downtown Boca Raton for the annual menorah lighting to mark the fourth night of Hanukkah and honor victims of the deadly attack in Sydney, Australia. Before the celebration began, the community paused for prayers and reflection, remembering the 15 people killed and dozens more wounded in the horrific shooting at Bondi Beach during a celebration on the first night of Hanukkah. For Rabbi Ruvi New of Boca Beach Chabad, who addressed those in attendance, the tragedy is deeply personal. Two of his cousins were wounded, with one, 20 years old, still hospitalized after being shot twice. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

The Ocean Ridge Town Commission at its Dec. 1 meeting for 61 minutes grappled — in what Mayor Geoff Pugh called “a great discussion” — with whether single-family property owners could exceed the town code for house size in exchange for easements needed for flood control. 

It will come up for a second reading at the commission’s Jan. 12 meeting.

The town needs an easement on a property on Harbour Drive North, a street that frequently experiences flooding. The homeowner, according to Town Manager Michelle Heiser, wants to add 500 more square feet.

“The homeowner, like it or not, knows we need that easement and says, ‘This house my wife wants, it includes a bigger closet,’” Heiser said. 

The proposed addition to the home also would not be visible from the roadway and the ordinance is an effort to solve the impasse, she added.

The issue at hand is FAR — floor area ratio — the measurement of a building in relation to the size of the lot or parcel on which it sits. Currently, the town allows a 36% FAR for parcels up to 20,000 square feet.

For the Harbour Drive North home in question, which sits on an 11,761-square-foot lot, the proposed ordinance would allow the property owner to go from a 36% FAR to a 42% FAR, increasing the house maximum — now at 4,704 square feet — to 5,227 square feet.

“The proposed ordinance would create a sort of tiered approach to allow for properties to increase their FAR up to a certain percentage based on the town’s request for an easement,” Town Attorney Christy Goddeau said.

Goddeau said any prospective single-family residence would still have to pass muster with the Planning and Zoning Commission, be compatible with the neighborhood, and satisfy other factors.

Future consequences

Commissioner Carolyn Cassidy spoke out against the ordinance as proposed, saying the town has crafted rules to keep property owners from “maxing out” their residences. She noted that the ordinance really is because of an “uncooperative homeowner” on Harbour Drive North.

“To build an ordinance because of one property owner, because we need it now, I think, is a mistake,” Cassidy said.

“This is a blanket ordinance for the entire community that we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” she noted. 

Commissioner Ainar Aijala Jr. asked Goddeau if such accommodations would be a rare circumstance.

Yes and no, she said. Currently, there are only two properties, besides the one on Harbour Drive North, where the new ordinance would apply.

“But as you know, things change in town, given drainage issues and flooding issues, there may become a need that this is utilized more by the town,” Goddeau said.

Public comments were also pointed.

“I think it’s a really slippery slope, whether you’re doing it for one homeowner or only because of an easement or only on a certain street,” said former Mayor Kristine de Haseth, executive director of the Florida Coalition for Preservation. “The character of our town is based on the fact that we don’t have these Boca McMansions.”

Former Commissioner Terry Brown had the opposite viewpoint. “In my opinion, you’ve got to do horse trading. And this is an example of where you’re going to do it,” he said.

Cassidy asked whatever happened to the idea of the town abandoning the right of way. 

Heiser said that the town engineer did not see that as a good solution because of flooding issues and has already started the permitting process with the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District.

“It looks like we’re trying to solve a problem, but I want to make sure there aren’t unintended consequences that we just can’t foresee,” Aijala said.

Flooding issues

Commissioner David Hutchins and the mayor live on Harbour Drive North.

“When it floods on that street, it’s dramatic, and it can affect a lot of activities,” Hutchins said. “The reason we were looking at this easement was so we could move the water off the street, at least on a high tide.”

He said the homeowner has “got us over a barrel,” but the goal has always been flood control.

Pugh said it was time to make a deal. 

“So if you want me to tell everybody on my street who complains vociferously about the flooding on the street that we didn’t do it because we wouldn’t give that guy 500 more square feet,” Pugh said. “I’m not willing to do that.”

In the end, the commission passed the ordinance on first reading but with amendments, including a preamble that the commission intends for such easement swaps to be limited use and that it would periodically review requests. The commission also asked Goddeau to tighten up the language on whether the easement remains with the town if the property is sold and to explore if the FAR percentages could be lowered.

In the meantime, negotiations continue with the homeowner. 

By Mary Hladky

In yet another sign of trouble for the Mandarin Oriental project in downtown Boca Raton, affiliates of developer Penn-Florida Companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 23 after they were unable to repay lenders about $210 million at loan maturity.

The affiliates, Via Mizner Owner II and Via Mizner Pledgor II, are building the 164-room Mandarin Oriental hotel on Federal Highway to the north of Camino Real.

The hotel and adjacent branded condo residences were to be completed in 2017. But construction has proceeded very slowly with long periods of no activity. Many Boca Raton residents complain that the construction site is an eyesore.

A summary of the bankruptcy case states that the Penn-Florida affiliates and secured lenders “seek to engage in a consensual chapter 11 process for the reorganization of their businesses and to protect the high market valuation of the property for the benefit of all parties of interest.”

They estimate the value of the building upon completion at more than $450 million.

They have asked to file the case under seal because public disclosure of certain information could chill interest in the property and could be used for negotiating leverage.

One year ago, another affiliate of Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to head off an auction of its 101 Via Mizner luxury apartment building located immediately south of the condos and hotel.

Penn-Florida faced losing that 366-unit building because it failed to pay off a $195 million senior loan provided by an affiliate of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in 2022.

That problem was resolved in July when Cardone Real Estate Acquisitions — led by real estate investor and social media celebrity Grant Cardone — purchased the building for $235 million and creditors were repaid.

A number of would-be condo owners who had placed large deposits on units, and were tired of waiting for the building to be completed, have filed lawsuits seeking return of their money.

Contractors also have filed suits, claiming they had not been paid for completed work.

Greg Dunham is retiring after nearly nine years as town manager, effective Jan. 30. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream Town Manager Greg Dunham is calling it quits after almost nine years at the helm of town government.

“This is a great town to retire from. It’s been a great ride,” said Dunham, whose last Town Commission meeting will be Jan. 9, with his last day on the job coming Jan. 30. 

Dunham, who became Gulf Stream’s town manager on May 1, 2017, told commissioners and town employees of his imminent departure at Mayor Scott Morgan’s annual Christmas party for the Town Hall staff on Dec. 19.

When he was hired, he told commissioners he jogged 3 miles a day, six days a week and hoped to keep working until he turned 75, depending on “how my knees do.” 

He almost made it. Now 73, he had one knee replaced two years ago and the other one last year.

Under his watch, Gulf Stream finished the second phase of its long-drawn-out project to bury electric, telephone and cable TV lines and remove all the utility poles. It also embarked on an ambitious 10-year capital improvement plan to upgrade its stormwater drainage system, replace its water mains and repave its streets. 

The town is now in the eighth year of the project, with work in the Core District expected to finish in April before moving on to Place Au Soleil.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed being here because we accomplished a lot,” Dunham said.

And while he accepted the job in 2017 with enthusiasm, he admitted he almost didn’t come to Gulf Stream. At the time, the town was still battling resident and twice unsuccessful commission candidate Martin O’Boyle in court over his hundreds of public records requests. Gulf Stream and O’Boyle settled the last of 44 lawsuits the following year.

“I said, ‘I’m not going to do this.’ And then the mayor got on the phone,” Dunham said. “He was very convincing.”

Morgan called Dunham “a great town manager.”

“He not only brings decades of experience, which gives him the judgment to handle almost every issue that can come up,” the mayor said. “The most significant thing about Greg I think is his personality. He is a genuinely kind and considerate and smart manager.

“And what always impressed me was not only the way he could manage staff, but whenever a resident had an issue, they would call him. He didn’t want to talk to them on the phone about it; he always wanted to go meet them in person at their home.

“And that was a striking and demonstrative element of (his) managerial skill. (He) would resolve things directly with our residents, and I really appreciated it,” Morgan said.

Dunham started out as a police officer and assistant city manager in Texas, then moved to Florida State University to finish a master’s degree in public administration. With diploma in hand, he got work as an assistant city manager in Palm Beach Gardens, then was town manager in Ocean Ridge from 1998 to 2002 and in Manalapan from 2002 to 2010. After a break from government jobs, he served as town manager of Kenly, North Carolina, for five years before coming to Gulf Stream.

He plans to travel in retirement. His first trip will be to Vietnam with his older brother, who was badly wounded there when Dunham was still in high school.

And he’s looking forward to the birth of a grandchild in May. 

“I don’t think I have any regrets,” said Dunham, who just received a plaque from the International City/County Management Association for his 45 years of public service.

“I wouldn’t trade any of my career in local government service for anything,” he said. 

At least one homeowner on Sailfish Lane says blighted homes and properties such as this one at 5 Sailfish Lane are lowering property values. This home was cited for overgrown vegetation. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By John Pacenti

A stroll down Sailfish Lane in Ocean Ridge finds a street in flux. 

Older ranch-style residences, built in the 1950s, are mixed with modern, larger homes and even brand new construction that looks spectacular but also out of place. 

There are established families who have lived in their homes for decades alongside rental properties. And all of it within a short walk to the beach — a neighborhood with homes having market values just north of $1 million.

Eric Brief, who lives at 8 Sailfish Lane, appeared at the Nov. 3 Town Commission meeting and said he was ready to sue the town over properties that are not being properly maintained.

“We don’t hear about blight a lot in our town, but it exists and it’s not being dealt with, and it’s a real problem, and you’re going to have a problem on your hands,” he said.

His panorama of complaints included an Airbnb that wakes him up routinely, cars being parked on the lawn, a garage held up by a 2-by-4 and a house with a lawn that was two feet high.

“You’re probably looking at a bunch of residents getting together to sue the town over this, because it’s hurting our lifestyle and our real estate values,” he told commissioners. “I’ve been coming here for 10 years, and I’m not going to put up with it anymore, and it’s going to get ugly.”

However, Brief also said he files complaints against families over what they say are trivial matters: a beach chair or barbecue equipment left outside the garage after an outing, a random car seat left out after cleaning of the vehicle.

Other homeowners didn’t want to go on the record because they feared retribution either from Brief or the town, but they said he has been harassing certain neighbors for years, calling him a bully.

New measures considered

Vice Mayor Steve Coz said the town is working to tighten property-maintenance rules to address visible signs of blight without imposing “draconian” measures that would pit neighbors against one another.

Coz said Ocean Ridge does not have a formal blight ordinance to present and that he has been consulting with the town attorney, the town manager and residents while drafting proposed language. He said the effort is focused on clarifying code language to target what is visible from public streets.

“No one would complain about what the neighbor has in their front lawn if they can’t see it,” Coz said. He said the town’s existing codes were written decades ago and need tightening so enforcement is clear and defensible.

Coz offered examples of conditions the proposed language aims to address, including front yards that mix stone with construction debris and lawns overrun by weeds.

Coz acknowledged the temporary loss of a code-enforcement officer when a contracted inspector took another job. He said hiring a replacement and putting clearer guidelines in place will make enforcement less ad hoc and reduce the need for police involvement in code matters, which he said can inflame situations.

The vice mayor said he expected to present discussion points to the Town Commission after the holidays. “It’s going to take a couple of months,” he said, and emphasized that any ordinance would avoid being heavy-handed.

Are existing laws enough? 

Town Manager Michelle Heiser, though, said that the town does not need a new blight ordinance — it needs to enforce the ordinances it already has.

Heiser said the town has statutory and local tools to address blight and code violations. Rather than drafting new rules, she urged better use of existing processes, including working with property owners and, when necessary, using the town’s special magistrate for enforcement.

Heiser said town staffers have been actively engaging with one particular homeowner on Sailfish Lane across from Brief with what looks like concrete chunks as ground cover. “They’re going to at least come into the minimum compliance by putting some sod down,” she said.

She emphasized a willingness to work with residents but defended the town’s current approach of education first, enforcement when required.

A neighbor, who had been subject to complaints from Brief, did not want to comment when contacted. The home in question was not one of the 1950s models but a modern single-family residence with landscaping and not a hint of blight in sight. 

Other homes — also subject to Brief’s complaints — had received notices from code inspectors days after he addressed the commission.

Big houses, small lots

Brief, who said he has lived in Ocean Ridge for 33 years, said he doesn’t want to be the bad guy. “If somebody doesn’t call on it, the town doesn’t do anything,” he said.

Former Commissioner Terry Brown lived on Sailfish Lane briefly when his house was undergoing repairs. His insurance company put him up in a home that was being rented. 

He agreed that Ocean Ridge residential streets are transforming as the town updates zoning and encourages larger single-family homes in areas once dominated by duplexes and modest old seasonal Florida cottages.

“They’re allowing huge houses to be squished into small lots,” he said.

Brown said the town is actively reviewing nonconforming lots on streets. “They’re trying to clean up the south end, and we’ll see what happens,” he said.