LEFT: Donald Ross’ original design for the course. RIGHT: Pro golfer Gene Sarazen blasts out of a bunker in the 1950s at the Delray Beach municipal golf course. Photos provided by Donald Ross Society and Delray Beach Historical Society
By Christine Davis
Delray Beach’s deteriorating municipal golf course, built in 1925, should be considered for listing on the city’s local Register of Historic Places, the City Commission unanimously agreed on June 6.
Commissioners also agreed to tell staff to allocate $125,000 toward the restoration of the course to make it eligible to apply for a $500,000 state grant to restore the links — partly designed by Donald Ross, one of the country’s preeminent golf course architects.
The course has languished for years for lack of funding, and frustrated commissioners two years ago proposed to sell 8-10 acres abutting West Atlantic Avenue to a company that would be allowed to build office space, housing and a hotel in exchange for restoring the course.
Six companies offered a variety of plans, but residents, golfers and preservationists protested the loss of green space and the commission, under the public pressure, rejected all the bids.
Proponents of restoring the course urged commissioners to designate the course as historic to secure grant money and consider alternatives sources of restoration funds.
The course is a unique hybrid. Although Ross designed 18 holes, only nine were built. In the 1950s, Dick Wilson, one of the preeminent designers of his generation and a former director of the course, designed what is today the front nine.
Preservationists contend that the Wilson nine is worthy of historic designation. He designed courses around the country. One of his most notable local designs is the Pine Tree golf course in suburban Boynton Beach.
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Miami-based Ocean Bank plans to open its first Palm Beach County branch at 799 Federal Highway, Boca Raton, after a proposed modifying of the current retail zoning to office.
The building is owned by 799 Federal Investments, and the bank would replace a former 2,917-square-foot Boston Market.
The bank’s president, CEO and chairman, Agostinho Alfonso Macedo, noted that the new bank is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The new branch in Boca Raton is a logical extension of our history of lending in Palm Beach County and of our continued expansion plans,” he said in an email. “Boca Raton and Palm Beach County offer strong potential for business growth, and we want to be where our customers are. We continue to look at locations for additional branches in South Florida and other parts of the state to add to our network of 23 branches.”
A large commercial bank chartered and headquartered in Florida, Ocean Bank was founded in December 1982 in a double-wide trailer on Northwest 42nd Avenue in Miami. The site is now the bank’s headquarters.
Ocean Bank has 20 branches in Miami-Dade, two in Broward County and one in Orlando. The bank’s commercial mortgage originations in 2022 were $1.59 billion, and it has total assets of $5.9 billion.
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The 18th annual ranking of “The Thousand” and “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals,” prepared by Real Trends and Tom Ferry America’s Best Real Estate Professionals and promoted in a Wall Street Journal special advertising section, were released in June. Included are agents and teams from south Palm Beach County who made the lists.
Ranking by sales volume
Local agents: Ralph Harvey, Boynton Beach ListWithFreedom.com, with $998.841 million (#3 nationally, #2 in Florida); David Roberts, Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, with $235.47 million (#52 nationally and #12 in Florida); Marcy F. Javor, Signature One Luxury Estates, Boca Raton, with $201 million (#76 nationally and #18 in Florida); and Rochelle LeCavalier, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, with $171.3 million (#23 in Florida).
Local small teams: Candace Friis Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, with $246.4 million (#35 nationally, #4 in Florida); Pascal Liguori Estate Group, Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, $165.28 million (#14 in Florida); D’Angelo/Liguori, Premier Estate Properties, Boca Raton, $115.15 million (#24 in Florida).
Local medium teams: Jonathan Postma Group, Coldwell Banker, Boca Raton, with $206.7 million (#61 nationally, #8 in Florida); Senada Adzem Team, Douglas Elliman, Boca Raton, $184.1 million (#12 in Florida); Kilpatrick Team, Corcoran, Delray Beach, $132.7 million (#21 in Florida); Alicia Gold, Compass, Boca Raton, $122.97 million (#25 in Florida); Randy & Nick Team, Douglas Elliman, Delray Beach, $102.76 million (#32 in Florida); Buchbinder Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $94.9 million (#36 in Florida); Julian Soffer Team, Keller Williams, Boca Raton, $91.16 million (#39 in Florida).
Local large teams: Platt Group, Compass, Boca Raton, $151.49 million (#15 in Florida); Atlas Team, Compass, Boca Raton, $131.56 million (#21 in Florida); Rucco Group, RE/MAX Direct, Delray Beach, $100.4 million (#33 in Florida).
The rankings were open to real estate professionals who chose to participate in the project, based on their reported sales volume and other criteria over 2022. To be considered for a ranking, an agent must have closed at least 50 transaction “sides” or recorded $20 million in closed sales volume for 2022, according to Real Trends.
Teams must have closed 75 residential transactions or $30 million in closed sales volume.
Under the rules of the survey, agents and brokers who handled both sides of a transaction — representing the buyer and the seller — were allowed to double the final dollar figure when they calculated their total volume for the sale. For this article, agents and teams were noted up to the top 100 in “The Thousand” and up to the top 50 in Florida of “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals.”
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As of the first of this year, four new technology startups joined the Global Ventures at FAU incubator program at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University. They are: Biobeat Medical, an Israel-based company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for insights into patient care; Ecosign Technologies, a spinoff of Contech Brazil, offering technology that helps control contaminants in the pulp and paper, textile, agribusiness and poultry industries; Isolab USA, a company launched in Germany with manufacturing operations in Turkey that provides products and services used for research activities; and Triangulate Labs, a South Florida-based startup that created Skinmap, a technology that detects changes in the skin that could be early signs of cancer.
Two companies, after graduating from the incubator program, have moved to new spaces in Boca Raton: FloSpine and Gustie Creative. FloSpine makes 3D-printed spinal fusion implants. Gustie Creative is a retail specialist that provides solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses.
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Shadow Chord, by artist Louise Nevelson, has been restored by the Boca Raton Museum of Art through a grant from Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project. Photo provided
The Boca Raton Museum of Art has completed the restoration of the 1969 sculpture Shadow Chord, by renowned artist Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), thanks to a grant from Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project.
This year, the bank selected projects from 23 museums globally, with 13 in the United States and only one in Florida. Shadow Chord is on view on the second floor at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real.
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Brothers of the Lambda Alpha Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. initiated a “Curb Appeal” project in 2020 to ease the burden on caretakers who care for loved ones. On the morning of June 10, they painted a senior’s house and enhanced the landscaping at 1016 NW Fourth St., Boynton Beach.
The fraternity brothers have committed to paint and landscape 10 properties in 2023, and this is their sixth project. Other Boynton Beach properties that they’ve worked on include: 413 NW Fifth Ave., 607 NW Fourth St., 130 NE Eighth Ave., 1020 S. Seacrest Blvd., and 114 N. Seacrest Court.
For more information, or to have a home considered, contact Dwayne Randolph at 561-441-1186.
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Marita A. Butzbach is now executive vice president of Lang Management’s property management operations. In her 30 years with Lang Management, her roles have included customer service representative, property supervisor and, most recently, supervisor for the company’s 42 property managers.
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The NonProfit Times partnering with Best Companies Group named The Lord’s Place as one of the 2023 Best Nonprofits to Work For for the seventh consecutive year, noting that it has excelled in creating a quality workplace.
“We are proud of this recognition. Our employees are our greatest resource. We attract and retain a diverse staff who are innovative, compassionate, talented, and share our common passion to help others to end local homelessness for good,” said The Lord’s Place chief executive officer, Diana Stanley.
The Lord’s Place offers services to Palm Beach County’s homeless men, women and children.
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The Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter and Solar United Neighbors will host a Zoom meeting, “Solar 101,” covering the benefits of solar energy for both homes and businesses.
This free online meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7:30 to 9 p.m. July 27. Special guest speaker Laura Tellez, Solar United Neighbors’ South Florida program associate, will discuss solar technology and economics, answer questions and share resources. Zoom attendees will also learn about solar co-ops.
For more information, visit https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000001QZIPAA4&mapLinkHref=
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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