By Jane Smith

    Boynton Beach city commissioners are pinning their downtown development hopes on the 500 Ocean project, while they are concerned about the developer’s request for financial assistance.
    For more than 10 years, developers have toyed with creating a project on the 4.7-acre site at the southwest corner of Federal Highway and Ocean Avenue.
    In its first incarnation, the $105 million The Arches was proposed to have 378 condominiums and 40,596 square feet of commercial uses (retail, office and restaurant space). The project fell into foreclosure, and the site remained vacant for years.
    On July 1, city commissioners gave unanimous approval to Morgan Boynton Beach LLC to develop the multi-family project. The corporation is a joint venture of LeCesse Development Group of Altamonte Springs and Morgan Management LLC of Pittsford, N.Y. Their upscale project consists of 341 luxury rental apartments in five- and six-story buildings, 13,330 square feet of retail space, 6,613 square feet of office space and a seven-story garage that could hold up to 664 vehicles, including 14 handicap spaces.
    “Boynton Beach is a growing community,” said Tom Hayden, development director at LeCesse, when asked why his company wants to build in the city. “We are excited to work with the city staff and CRA to bring it to the next level.”
    City Commissioner David Merkel had said in June he supports the project in principle but was troubled by the developer’s request for financial assistance from the city. The commission’s actions on July 1 did not cover the financing aspect. They were asked to vote on the rezoning and site plan. The financing request will be reviewed by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
    Hayden had requested $7 million earlier this year. When questioned July 1 about the financing help, Hayden said, “We continue to discuss that with the CRA.”
    Residential developers don’t usually ask for this assistance, said Vivian Brooks, executive director of the CRA. “We asked them to produce the documents so that we can analyze the need,” she said. “I don’t want to do a Digital Domain (referencing a failed project in West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie) and have it be in all the papers that we gave them money without doing due diligence.”
    Even if the CRA staff recommends approval, the CRA board, which consists of the commissioners and two community people, might not approve the request, Brooks said.
    The 500 Ocean development would be lushly landscaped with 185 canopy trees and palms. The palms would give quick height, Boynton Beach’s Director of Development Nancy Byrne had said in May when showing the plans. The canopy trees would provide shade in later years.
    The site plan was amended July 1 to allow a hired tree consultant to determine the health of 48 palms and trees existing on the site.
Boynton Beach planners are proud of the landscaping plan they created with the developer.

    The apartments will range in size from a 747-square-foot one bedroom to a 1,306-square-foot three-bedroom unit. Each one will have a balcony, ranging in size from 60 square feet to 235 square feet.
    The development, designed in a contemporary style with some Mediterranean embellishments, will have three plazas: one at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway, and two along Ocean Avenue. The corner plaza, at 2,418 square feet, will contain a seating wall, benches, trees and an art feature. A second plaza, at 1,492 square feet, will sit between two retail buildings. The third plaza, at the corner of SE 4th Street and Ocean Avenue, will have 2,236 square feet, lined with palms and sit opposite a future Tri-Rail Coastal Link station.

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