News

By Margie Plunkett

    The new beach pavilion in Delray Beach is $23,700 closer to completion.
City Commission received a check in that amount as a community donation to build the replacement pavilion — a contribution that now totals $59,165 for the structure that will mark the start of beach master plan implementation, according to the Beach Property Owners Association.
    The BPOA presented the check to support the pavilion in April, raised from its second fundraiser, Delray’s Got Talent: The Encore. The first donation — for $35,465 — was made by the BPOA about a year earlier.
    “Thanks to everyone who helped out — residents and businesses who have helped from the beginning on the beach pavilion and master plan,” said Mary Renaud, BPOA president, when presenting a giant check at the April 17 commission meeting.
    The thank-you list was long, including architect Bob Currie of Currie, Sowers, who donated the designs for the pavilion. Renaud also noted that an unnamed builder is willing to contribute part of the work.
    The design of the pavilion is much the same as when it was first presented to the BPOA as part of the beach master plan, Currie said. There have been changes, such as the planned canvas roof has been replaced with an aluminum roof to better withstand the elements, he said. Stripes will still grace the roof, he said.
    The pavilion is hoped to be completed by the start of the tourist season. “We hope to get started in the next six months,” said Linda Karch, Parks and Recreation director. “The goal is to have it done by November.”
    Before the city can get under way, however, the state has to sign off on the project and Delray Beach will bid it out. The city is awaiting word from the state. While Karch estimated the pavilion at a cost of roughly $150,000, the BPOA’s website lists it as $240,000 in total.
    “The final cost will actually be lower since we have also received offers from local contractors and businesses to contribute landscaping, labor and other materials,” the BPOA said.