News

By Betty Wells
    
Luxury movie theaters and hotels are included in four development proposals for the old library property on Southeast Fourth Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.
    Details about the proposals submitted to the Community Redevelopment Agency are not public until they are scrutinized, then presented to the CRA board, said CRA Assistant Director Jeff Costello.
    Costello said, though, that three of the plans offer hotels and two include movie theaters.
    “One has a boutique hotel, and the other two are larger,” he said of the proposals.
    The CRA owns the 1.57 acres where the old library building still stands. The entire development site is within the East Atlantic Avenue Central Business District. The site is about 170 feet south of Atlantic Avenue and is bordered by Southeast Fourth Avenue on the west and Southeast Fifth Avenue on the east.
    A representative of IPic Theaters confirmed that it submitted a proposal. The company opened a high-end theater last year in Mizner Park in Boca Raton.
    Kevin Warner, a Delray Beach resident who said he keeps an eye on what the city spends and does, said his only concern about potential developers would be whether parking would be adequate for what’s built.
    “I would love to have a movie theater that I could walk to downtown,” said the public schoolteacher. “As long as the project that goes into that location has adequate parking, I’m all for it. And I would certainly hope the project is 100 percent financed by the private sector.”
    The deadline for the proposals was June 21.
    Costello said that the projects will be assessed for financial feasibility. He said the planned schedule for action would be presenting the proposals to the CRA board on July 25.