News

By Steve Plunkett

Rising prices for materials and labor and a lack of interest by contractors have forced another delay on the seven-year effort to rebuild the once-popular observation tower at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
The city asked for bids to build an ADA-compliant tower last December, estimating the cost at $1.4 million. It received just one bid — for $2.6 million.
Briann Harms, executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, told district commissioners at their Feb. 7 meeting that she had met with city staff and the Friends of Gumbo Limbo after the bid came in.
“We all agreed that probably the best thing to do at this point is to wait a few months and see if things change as far as the pricing of certain materials ... and rebidding the project and hopefully solicit more bidders and more competition for the project,” Harms said.
The city owns Red Reef Park, which includes Gumbo Limbo; the district pays for capital improvements and all operations there. The Friends have promised to contribute $600,000 toward the tower’s reconstruction.
Commissioner Steve Engel agreed that the $2.6 million price was too much.
“Let’s wait, let’s see what happens. I don’t think it can hurt us,” Engel said.
Commissioner Craig Ehrnst said the city should reconsider the design of the ADA ramp. The Friends earlier proposed an inclined elevator like one in Maryland that they said would cost much less.
“While I’m disappointed about the amount, I suspect this has to do with the design and the structure,” Ehrnst said. “The ramp system that has been designed is significant. I just call into question, is that really the right way to do it?”
District commissioners rejected the bid and approved hiring a grant writer to seek out funding opportunities for various projects. Harms said that could help in completing the tower.
“The city staff will be monitoring the pricing. We’re going to keep checking on it and revisit it if the pricing changes or plateaus,” she said.
The Friends’ pledge is buoyed by a $250,000 promise from the Kosowsky family in remembrance of their son, Jacob, who died in a traffic accident in 2018. The tower’s viewing platform is to be named Jacob’s Outlook.
Stephen Kosowsky, who made the bequest more than two years ago with wife, Sharilyn, and daughter, Mia, posted the design plan on Facebook on Sept. 8, Jacob’s birthday.
“The design for Jacob’s Outlook is almost complete,” he wrote. “Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, the city and Greater Boca Beach and Park District are pushing to complete by Jacob’s next birthday.”
Boca Raton demolished the 40-foot-tall tower after engineers in 2015 declared it and the adjoining boardwalk unsafe.