News

By Jane Smith
    
    After waiting for more than 10 years, Boynton Beach will finally get a project that could jump-start its downtown.
    City commissioners sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board gave tentative approval to a $4.3  million package to construct the $67 million 500 Ocean multifamily project. With two community members on the board, the vote was unanimous in mid-October.
    “I can’t tell you how long I waited for this to happen,” Mayor Jerry Taylor said.
    To him, the 500 Ocean project with its 341 apartments in a mix of five- and six-story buildings with a seven-story parking garage, will be a catalyst for downtown Boynton Beach.
    Before agreeing to provide the financial incentive over 10 years, some of the CRA board members demanded to know whether the developer who received approval would be around in the end.
    “It’s a long-term deal for LeCesse,” said Tom Hayden, development director at LeCesse Development Group of Altamonte Springs. “We are proud of this one, we will be here at the end.” LeCesse is a partner in the multifamily project’s developer Morgan Boynton Beach LLC.
    But that quasi-promise still left some of the commissioners uneasy.
    The 4.7-acre property at the southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway has been vacant for about 12 years.
    The incentive money would come from property tax revenue generated by 500 Ocean’s construction.
    LeCesse requested the money to be front-loaded to cover the gap between the expected rental income and increasing construction costs. For the first four years, the developer would get 75 percent of the tax revenue and the CRA 25 percent.
    To do the deal, the CRA requested the developer add 6,000 square feet of Class A office space above its retail space. The office space would bring more professional jobs to the downtown, said Vivian Brooks, executive director. The CRA also requested the building be green-certified to fit into the city’s climate action plan and green building program.
    Commissioner Mike Fitzpatrick asked why the developer had not produced the financial documents requested when it first sought the money in the summer.
    Hayden dodged that question by saying his investors would be reluctant to provide that type of information. “I would say they would provide it before closing,” he said.
    Fitzpatrick said that would be after the CRA board votes. “I don’t see any hard evidence that you need our money,” he said.
    Hayden did not reply. Taylor came to his rescue when he said the need for the money was explained in the presentation.
    The board felt more comfortable when Brooks said the developer won’t see any money until it secures a construction loan.
    Ground will be broken for the project next spring, Hayden said. Then it will take another 18 to 24 months for the project to get its certificate of occupancy.
    Brooks will bring a revised agreement for the board to sign in the future