boca raton resort & club - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T01:48:54Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/boca+raton+resort+%26+clubBoca Raton: Council quickly accepts ‘most generous’ gift of golf coursehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-quickly-accepts-most-generous-gift-of-golf-c-12020-10-28T14:41:27.000Z2020-10-28T14:41:27.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Wasting no time, the City Council formally accepted the donation of the 167-acre Boca Golf and Tennis Country Club just eight days after the gift was announced.<br />In casting their unanimous vote on Oct. 14, council members brushed aside pleas from nearby property owners to postpone the decision.<br />Members of the Boca Golf and Tennis Property Owners Association complained they were never consulted or even told that the new owners of the Boca Raton Resort & Club were offering the country club to the city.<br />They voiced concerns about the loss of privacy and safety when the private club becomes public, increased traffic and whether the city had completed adequate due diligence.<br />“What’s the rush?” several property owners asked.<br />“We were surprised and shocked as to the clandestine and seemingly surreptitious agreements … we were not aware of,” said one resident.<br />But council members said the donation offer was too good to pass up.<br />It gives the city a golf course to replace the municipal course that is in the process of being sold to GL Homes for $65 million.<br />Golfers also won’t have to wait for the Boca National golf course to be built by the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District after a contentious battle with the city over control of the project.<br />“I think it is a slam dunk for the city,” said council member Andy Thomson.<br />Other cities would be “salivating” over such a gift, said Mayor Scott Singer, who described it as “the most generous donation” ever made to Boca Raton.<br />Responding to objections to the quick vote, City Manager Leif Ahnell said, “The donation is available now. … I am not under the impression it is available at a later date. This would be a fantastic opportunity.”<br />Thomson, who has taken an active role on golf course matters, said he did not consider the vote rushed. The city will assume control of the country club on Oct. 1, 2021, giving the city plenty of time to address concerns.<br />Ahnell said he expects Boca Raton will break even on operating the golf course, or possibly make a small profit.<br />The golf course, which Ahnell described as “first class,” was completely renovated in 2018, he said.<br />“It is our intent to operate it as a premier public facility,” he said.<br />The country club, located outside the city limits on Congress Avenue north of Clint Moore Road, includes an 18-hole championship golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse and pool. Deputy City Manager Mike Woika said it is debt-free.<br />The new owners of the Boca Raton Resort & Club — MSD Partners, formed by billionaire Michael S. Dell’s private investment firm, and Northview Hotel Group — acquired the country club as part of their purchase of the resort for $875 million in 2019.<br />The resort is now in the midst of a $150 million renovation. In announcing the donation, the owners said they want to concentrate on completing that project. They also said the country club had been underutilized for over a decade.<br />Under the deal, which is expected to close soon, the city will get title to the property and then lease it to the resort, which will continue to operate and maintain it as a private club until the city takes over.<br />Over the next 11 months, the city will meet with residents, create a budget for management and operations and develop user fee schedules.<br />Once it becomes a public facility, all city residents and visitors will be able to use it, as will members of the resort and the country club.<br />Those living in the country club’s residential areas, who are not city residents, will be able to purchase golf passes at the same rate as city residents. Premier members of the resort also will pay city resident rates.<br />Still to be resolved is what impact the donation will have on the Beach and Park District’s plans to build Boca National.<br />Ahnell said city and district officials will discuss this. Thomson expects that land to become a “first-class” park instead.<br />Beach and Parks Commissioner Craig Ehrnst, who attended the meeting, urged council members to accept the gift. “Donations like this don’t come around very often,” he said. “This really makes a lot of sense for the entire community.” Ú</p></div>A Princely Affair: Boca Raton Resort & Club – Nov. 1https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/a-princely-affair-boca-raton-resort-club-nov-12015-12-29T21:01:32.000Z2015-12-29T21:01:32.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="504" alt="7960616474?profile=original" /></a><em>Boca Ballet Theatre’s fundraising luncheon welcomed more than 450 guests, the largest audience</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>in event history, raising awareness and community support for the nonprofit. The festivities began with a mimosa social hour,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>raffle and silent auction, followed by dance performances. <strong>ABOVE:</strong> Executive Director Dan Guin,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Honorary Chairwoman Aubrey Heathcott, Andrea Doyle, Event Chairs Jim and Susan Fedele,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Co-Artistic Director Jane Tyree, Forrest Heathcott, mistress of ceremonies Cindy Surman</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>and Honorary Chairwoman Chris Heathcott.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided by Silvia Pangaro</strong></p></div>Obituary: R. Scott Morrisonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/obituary-r-scott-morrison2015-12-02T19:55:12.000Z2015-12-02T19:55:12.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Ron Hayes</strong><br /><br /> DELRAY BEACH — As chairman of the Boca Raton Resort & Club and director of Discover Palm Beach County, R. Scott Morrison helped pass a penny bed tax to benefit local cultural organizations.<br /> In 1982, its first year, $1,251,000 was collected.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616698,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960616698,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="112" alt="7960616698?profile=original" /></a> This past year the tax, now at 5 cents, raised $42,700,000 to support the arts, sports and tourism in the county.<br /> Mr. Morrison, a South County resident since 1980, died Nov. 16 in Boca Raton, surrounded by his family and friends. He was 76.<br />“Though it’s been a while since his association with the Palm Beach County destination marketing organization, those who knew him only had words of praise as a very good man who contributed greatly to our destination’s tourism development,” said Jorge Pesquera, Discover The Palm Beaches’ current president and CEO.<br /> Mr. Morrison’s involvement with the fabled Boca Raton resort and the county’s tourism development were only part of his work to promote the area.<br /> During 35 years as a resident of Boca Raton, Gulf Stream and Delray Beach, he served as a director of the Florida Hotel and Motel Association, chairman of the American Hotel and Motel Association and president of the Palm Beach County Hotel-Motel Association.<br /> He also served as an adviser and board member with the Junior League of Boca Raton, the St. Andrew’s School, the former Caldwell Theatre and former College of Boca Raton.<br /> Born Sept. 15, 1939, Mr. Morrison was a fifth-generation San Franciscan.<br /> A graduate of Michigan State University’s Hotel, Restaurant and Management School, he began his career with the ITT Sheraton Corporation.<br /> As an assistant manager at the New Orleans Sheraton, Mr. Morrison met his future wife, Norma.<br /> “It was a blind date and we were married nine months later at the Catholic church on Tulane Avenue,” Mrs. Morrison recalled. “It’s lasted 52 years.”<br /> As the wife of a hotel manager, she learned to move — from New Orleans to Boston, back to New Orleans, then Key Biscayne, the Ozarks, South Carolina and in 1980 to Boca Raton.<br /> After leaving the Boca Raton Resort & Club in 1986, Mr. Morrison built three hotels in Japan, Europe and the United States.<br /> He was also a founding stockholder of Extended Stay America and a frequent lecturer at Florida Atlantic University and Palm Beach State College.<br /> Locally, he was a member of the Boca Raton Resort & Club, the Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis Club and the Seagate Club in Delray Beach.<br /> In his leisure hours, Mr. Morrison was an avid sport fisherman and hunter at his second home in Santa Fe, N.M.<br /> “He could play golf, but he preferred to fish and hunt,” Mrs. Morrison said. “He was a gentleman, a sportsman, a family man, and everyone would say he had a booming laugh. Everyone mentions his laugh.” <br /> A Mass of the Christian Burial was held Nov. 21 at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach.<br /> “At the reception after the service we had 187 people who just came,” Mrs. Morrison said. “We didn’t send out invitations, but the church was packed.”<br /> In addition to his wife, Mr. Morrison is survived by a son, Robert Morrison III, three daughters, Kelly Husack, Kim Lessard and Kristin Guttroff, and seven grandchildren.<br /> Donations in Mr. Morrison’s memory may be made to Covenant House, St. Vincent Ferrer Care Ministries or New Hope Charities.</p></div>Boca Raton: Golfers walk away from resort course, lamenting conditionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-golfers-walk-away-from-resort-course-lamenting-conditi2015-09-02T19:00:00.000Z2015-09-02T19:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tao Woolfe</strong><br /> <br /> A massive kapok tree dominates the walking path behind the Boca Raton Resort and Club. Its raised gray roots, covered with thorns, stretch toward the walkway like a dragon in the sun.<br /> Longtime golfers and members of the club say the golf course and the tree have much in common — they are beautiful and old, but if you look closely, you won’t want to play on them.<br /> The tree’s spikes are a natural defense mechanism, but the run-down state of the club’s fairways and greens is simply a case of neglect, golfers say. Many of the club members have quit and others are hanging on, hoping new owners will buy the seaside resort and restore the golf course to championship status.<br /> The resort, a historic landmark built by Addison Mizner in 1926, has been for sale for more than two years. Rumors swirled this summer about an imminent sale, but current owner Blackstone Group and administrator Hilton Worldwide will not comment on the sale.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960592859,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960592859,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="538" alt="7960592859?profile=original" /></a><em>Dying grass and tall grass make the greens hard to play. <strong>Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><br /> Meanwhile, the 18-hole course has deteriorated. The greens, which were smooth, flat and fast, have not been maintained, the players say. The greens’ grass is as tall as shag carpet, making play sluggish. The ponds and waterways sometimes smell like rotting vegetation. Weeds, dead leaves<br /> and brown patches can be seen all over the par-71 course bordered by East Camino Real on its south and Federal Highway on its west. <br /> “It’s really unfortunate,” says Michael Wohl, a longtime member who quit recently to join a club on the west side of town. “It’s a great group of members and I still have friends there, but life is short and part of South Florida living is having a great course to play.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960592879,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960592879,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="480" alt="7960592879?profile=original" /></a><em>During a round in early August many issues were observed on the course. <strong>ABOVE:</strong> Soggy spots like this one frequently are a sign of cracked water pipes in the sprinkler system.</em></p>
<p><br /> Wohl says he finds it ironic that the ads for the resort still tout the championship golf course as a reason the resort enjoys a top-destination ranking.<br /> “Immerse yourself in the rich history and tradition of one of the finest golf resorts in Florida,” the resort’s website says. “Dating back to the times when PGA professionals Sam Snead and Tommy Amour held positions on staff, this exclusive golf resort has always sought to offer a unique, exclusive and exceptional year-round golf experience.”<br /> “It’s a flat-out lie,” Wohl says. “Boca’s municipal course is 10 times better.”<br /> Neither Blackstone Group nor Waldorf Astoria/Hilton Hotels group, which runs the resort, would discuss the players’ specific complaints on the phone. A spokeswoman for Hilton, however, did send an email addressing the resort’s general policy on golf course maintenance.<br /> “The maintenance and conditions of our golf courses and our hotel is of the utmost importance and is always a focal point of our operations in order to continue to provide our guests and members with an exceptional experience at Boca Raton Resort,” wrote Lisa Cole, southeast director of corporate communications for Hilton Worldwide.<br /> “Regular maintenance of our golf course is done on a daily basis, 365 days of the year, by our well trained staff including a superintendent who is a standing member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, to ensure the optimal playing conditions,” Cole said. <br /> “In fact, the resort course received a fleet of new equipment one month ago and has increased its annual maintenance budget including a committed investment in the seasonal over-seeding of the course to occur in November.”<br /> Jimmy Gascoigne, head golf pro at the resort, said he had no comment on whether course refurbishment is planned and referred questions to Cole.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960593479,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960593479,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="239" alt="7960593479?profile=original" /></a><em>At least three holes had limited amounts of recently laid sod in problem places in the rough.</em></p>
<p><br /> But players say the hotel management makes only minimal improvements and seems indifferent to their requests for a real restoration of the course. This is particularly galling to those who paid $50,000 to join the club and about $12,000 a year to keep up their membership, members say.<br /> “It’s a deliberate attitude of not caring and willful neglect,” says Sandeep Sharma, who recently resigned from the club. “They will say the golf course does not get enough use to justify the expense, but that doesn’t make sense. If you don’t have a good course, you won’t get the guests you need to maintain the rest of the resort.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960593498,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960593498,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="239" alt="7960593498?profile=original" /></a><em>Long brown strips like this one appeared on a green that had been scalped by a mower.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> Players say they are especially steamed that the owners have spent millions sprucing up the hotel itself, the spa, the gardens and the restaurant while allowing the fairways to languish.<br /> While the sale price of the resort has not been disclosed, Blackstone has spent more than $200 million renovating the beach club and rooms in the landmark pink Cloisters tower. Blackstone purchased the Boca Resort and two other well-known Fort Lauderdale hotels from investor H. Wayne Huizenga in 2004 for $1.25 billion, according to published reports.<br /> Sharma and Wohl say they were embarrassed to bring friends to the course. They did not want their friends to smell the stinky waterways or see weed-choked grass and bald patches. Both men, however, said they would rejoin the club if the golf course is improved.<br /> “It’s like having a pet and not taking care of it,” Sharma says. “If you have a pet, basic grooming and maintenance are necessities. That’s really all we were asking — basic maintenance and grooming, not a re-do of the whole course.”</p></div>Along the Coast: ‘Driving Experience’ makes for a moving morning for select fewhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-driving-experience-makes-for-a-moving-morning-for2014-12-04T16:05:14.000Z2014-12-04T16:05:14.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960539874,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960539874,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960539874?profile=original" /></a><em>Coastal Star writer Rich Pollack test-drove a Porsche 911 Turbo.</em> <strong><em>BELOW:</em></strong> <em>Drivers take to the road</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>in the Waldorf Astoria Driving Experience in a McLaren MP4-12C (front),</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>a Ferarri 458 Italia (center) and a Porsche 911 Turbo.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><strong>Photos by Joe Skipper/The Coastal Star<br /><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960540259,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960540259,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960540259?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Rich Pollack<br /></strong><br /> There are cars that speak to you, that tell you when your door is open, where to turn as you navigate unfamiliar terrain and when a call is coming in on your cell phone. <br /> Then there are the cars that roar, letting their motors do all the talking — or, given the opportunity, the screaming. <br /> These are cars only a few ever get to drive and they include exotics like a McLaren MP4-12C, a Ferrari 458 Italia and a Porsche 911 Turbo.<br /> Now, the circle of those lucky enough to get a taste of what it feels like to be behind the wheel of three powerful vehicles — including a couple priced beyond that of an average three-bedroom home with a two-car garage — is expanding ever so slightly, thanks to the Waldorf Astoria Driving Experiences.<br /> Brought to you by the people who own the iconic Boca Raton Resort & Club, the driving experience provided 35 hotel guests — who each plunked down a cool grand last month — a chance to take a tour of South Palm Beach County while driving cars that can hit top speeds of over 200 miles per hour and when properly punched can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds. <br /> Also getting a chance to take these fast cars for a three-hour spin were a handful of journalists, including yours truly, who — after signing a series of waivers and learning that we would be on the hook for the $7,500 deductible should the unimaginable happen — got to take turns driving each of the vehicles.<br /> Guiding us on our journey — which took us from State Road A1A to U.S. Highway 441 and from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach — was retired race car driver Didier Theys.<br /> Surprisingly patient for a man who has won twice at Daytona, stood on the podium at Le Mans and won the 12 Hours of Sebring, Theys gave each of us a one-on-one overview of the vehicles we were about to drive. For most of the folks in our group, this was the first chance we had to drive cars that most can only dream of taking out on the open road.<br /> First up was the McLaren, a car many of those who posed for photos with the vehicles outside the Boca Resort & Club had never seen before. With its butterfly — or vertical — doors open and its sleek look, the McLaren has the sportiest appearance of the cars we drove. <br /> It may also have been the most powerful. Pulling out of the hotel’s parking lot, the McLaren kept wanting to go, creeping forward the second the brake was released.<br /> As we headed out on Palmetto Park Road to 441, our co-pilot for the first leg of the drive — Stuart Foster, marketing vice president for Waldorf Astoria — kept encouraging us to “punch it” to feel the real power of the McLaren. Fearing flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror and ever mindful of the $7,500 deductible, we kept our need for speed in check. <br /> We did, however, manage to get the McLaren into sixth gear. Although we were in the mid-90s speed range, it felt as though we were only traveling at half that speed. <br /> Later, Foster would get behind the wheel of the McLaren and give it that 0 to 60 “punch” as he whipped past a slow-moving truck. <br /> It quickly became obvious that he wasn’t as worried about the deductible as we were.<br /> As he drove, Foster explained that the Waldorf Astoria Driving Experiences, a pilot program being held this year at six of the company’s premier resorts, were designed to emphasize the heart and soul of the Waldorf Astoria brand — that it is an unforgettable experience. <br /> “What we’re doing is creating a memory that is unforgettable and that will bring guests back,” he said, adding that the program is likely to expand next year.<br /> Certainly for us, the experience truly was unforgettable.<br /> Of the three cars we test drove, each had its own strengths and appeal. The McLaren had the power, the Ferrari had the sound and the feel of a true race car while the Porsche 911 Turbo had the ride and the comfort of a car you could easily drive on your commute to work or on a weekend drive. <br /> While none of these cars will talk to you, they are all cars you will talk about once you’ve had the opportunity to put them through their paces.</p></div>Boca Raton: Historic Resort & Club up for salehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-historic-resort-club-up-for-sale2014-12-03T18:44:49.000Z2014-12-03T18:44:49.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960548267,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960548267,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960548267?profile=original" /></a><em>Back on the market after 10 years with the Blackstone Group,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>the Resort & Club was founded in 1926 by Addison Mizner.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Christine Davis<br /><br /> </strong> The Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria resort, is on the market, but without a price. <br /> “As with any asset of this stature and size, we need to spend time getting investors educated on the opportunity; we are in the preliminary marketing phase,” said Greg Rumpel, managing director of JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle, Hotels & Hospitality), the agent representing the transaction.<br /> “The property has a specific target audience and it will be the largest single transaction in Florida from the hotel perspective,” Rumpel said. “We are identifying and talking with a number of investors. This is not a property on the corner of I-95. <br /> “The resort is steeped in history, 1,047 rooms, a massive club program and two golf courses. It’s an extensive undertaking for everyone.”<br /> The Boca Raton Resort & Club has been owned by the Blackstone Group for 10 years, which has invested time, effort and money in repositioning the club, he said. “It’s performing well, and it’s the right time to execute its stated goal (which is) to return capital to its investors.” <br /> The Blackstone group had invested more than $250 million in the resort, in addition to its latest $30 million renovation of the Cloister building recently completed.<br /> “We are seeing some large transactions in Florida, and that’s a testament to the strength of the market,” Rumpel said. “We are in a strong cycle right now.”<br /> In 2004, H. Wayne Huizenga’s Boca Resorts Inc. sold the Boca Resort, along with other properties that included Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel and Marina and the Radisson Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center, to the private investment group Blackstone in a $1.25 billion deal.<br /> The Boca Raton Resort & Club was founded by Palm Beach society architect Addison Mizner in 1926 as the Cloister Inn. But when Florida’s boom went bust in the mid- to late 1920s, Clarence Geist, a wealthy Philadelphia utilities company owner, took over Mizner’s bankrupt Cloister Inn and reopened the hotel in 1930 as the Boca Raton Club.<br /><strong><br /></strong></p></div>Boca Raton: Mizner and other architects gave Boca its distinctive lookhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-mizner-and-other-architects-gave-boca-its-distinctive-2014-12-03T18:38:46.000Z2014-12-03T18:38:46.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960543694,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960543694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960543694?profile=original" /></a><em>Marcel Breuer was one of the architects who created the ‘Brutalist’ design of IBM’s Boca Raton campus,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>now called Boca Corporate Center and Campus.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960543485,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960543485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960543485?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Addison Mizner’s design for the Cloister Inn, now the Boca Raton Resort & Club,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>relied on his signature Mediterranean Revival style.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960544291,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960544291,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960544291?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>Philip Johnson’s postmodern building at Camino Real and South Federal Highway serves as office space.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><strong>INSET BELOW:</strong> Bonnie Dearborn; Marcel Breuer<br /></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-4" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><strong>More Boca history: City had</strong> <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-during-wwii-boca-was-home-to-the-swankiest-barracks-in/edit">swankiest barracks</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley<br /></strong> <br /> Barrel tile roofs, stucco walls, wrought iron accents, colonnades and vaulted ceilings are some of the architectural details that characterize architect Addison Mizner’s work in Boca Raton, said Bonnie Dearborn, a historic preservation consultant who <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545063,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545063,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960545063?profile=original" /></a>volunteers with the Boca Raton Historical Society. <br /> You can still see Mizner’s signature Mediterranean Revival style at The Boca Raton Resort & Club, where the southeastern section was originally his Cloister Inn, which opened in 1926. <br /> “But over the years, the area has been influenced by many other nationally and internationally recognized architects, too,” Dearborn said.<br /> Consider Leonard Schultz and S. Fullerton Weaver, best known for designing luxury hotels such as The Breakers in Palm Beach.<br /> In 1927, they were charged with creating a 300-room addition to Mizner’s original 100-room inn. Today both sections are still visible at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. <br /> Marion S. Wyeth, who designed Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, also was known for his Mediterranean Revival style, worked on the resort, too. He was commissioned to build the cloister at The Palm Court that connected older and newer parts of what was then The Boca Raton Club. <br /> Maurice Fatio, who had opened an office in Palm Beach, also did work at the resort. He replaced the original indoor saltwater pool designed by Schultz and Weaver with the Valencia Room theater, which is still in use today. <br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960544697,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960544697,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960544697?profile=original" /></a> “With the pool below it, the room has great acoustics,” Dearborn said.<br /> Another famous name to design his way into the city was Marcel Breuer, a Modernist who also created New York’s Whitney Museum of Art. <br /> He was brought to Boca Raton in the mid-1960s to design the headquarters for IBM. Here, he used his signature Brutalism architecture that appears in the building as repeated geometric shapes and raw concrete, often bearing the marks of the wood used in the forms that shaped it.<br /> “It is a massive building on tree-like piers,” Dearborn said. A newspaper headline from the times described the offices as “exclamation points of concrete” set around a manmade lake.<br /> Although IBM left town, the building has been repositioned as the Boca Corporate Center and Campus and is still in use today. <br /> More recently, Philip Johnson, known for his “Chippendale” and “Lipstick” buildings in Manhattan and his Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., made a “pronounced architectural statement” in Boca Raton. His postmodern wedge-shaped facade gave interest to the building that still serves as office space at the corner of Camino Real and South Federal Highway.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545474,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="350" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960545474?profile=original" /></a><em>Society architect Addison Mizner</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> And in case you are wondering, the first architects in Boca Raton were the Seminoles, explains Dearborn. They used the Wood Frame Vernacular style to turn local materials into comfortable dwellings called chickees. Cruise just about any waterway today and you are bound to see one of these nicely fitted out in a Boca back yard.<strong><br /> <br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">About this series</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><br /></strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545682,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960545682,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960545682?profile=original" /></a> From its pre-Columbian inhabitants to the ‘city with an attitude’ it has become, Boca Raton’s history is rich and compelling. Much of it was revealed during a four-part series, Boca History 101, last month at FAU under the auspices of the Lifelong Learning Society. <br /> Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum, and historic preservationist Bonnie Dearborn were the instructors.<br /> Coastal Star reporter Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley attended each session and shares her observations. Her reports on the first two classes — about how a farming town became a vacationers mecca and the hardships of early settlers — appeared in November. The final two installments — about architecture and life during World War II — appear in this issue.<strong><br /><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><em>Susan Gillis<br /></em></p></div>Toasts, Tastes & Trolleys: Boca Raton Resort & Club – Sept. 27https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/toasts-tastes-trolleys-boca-raton-resort-club-sept-272013-10-30T14:23:15.000Z2013-10-30T14:23:15.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473261,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="566" alt="7960473261?profile=original" /></a><em>The third annual Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum benefit turned out to be another extraordinary success that took guests on a tour of downtown’s eclectic establishments to sample dinner by the bite and sip specialty drinks. A total of $27,000 was raised.</em> <br /><em>ABOVE: Rick and Kathy Qualman and Ralph and Terri Williams with Don and Patty Krebs.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960472688,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960472688,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="566" alt="7960472688?profile=original" /></a><em>Morgan and Dawn Zook, Lindy Harvey and Joyce and Thom DeVita.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473485,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960473485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="566" alt="7960473485?profile=original" /></a> <em>Kristen Ross, Jacqueline Reeves, Nic DeSiato and Kimberly Rosemurgy.</em> <br /><strong><em>Photos by Barbara McCormick</em></strong><br /><br /></p></div>Fashion Shoot: Boca Raton Resort & Club –Aug. 23https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/fashion-shoot-boca-raton-resort-club-aug-232013-09-04T15:19:51.000Z2013-09-04T15:19:51.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960459659,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960459659,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="240" class="align-center" alt="7960459659?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Stella Page, 7, poses for photographer Oona Cruger at Boca Raton Resort & Club</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>on Aug. 23. Stella is a Boca resident and a student at St. Andrew’s School.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>French designer Laure Nell used the resort as background location for the shooting</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>of her Spring/Summer 2014 Children¹s Wear Look Book.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><b>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</b></p></div>Around Town: Venus Williams has designs on One Thousand Oceanhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/around-town-venus-williams-has-designs-on-one-thousand-ocean2012-04-04T17:30:00.000Z2012-04-04T17:30:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960371688,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960371688,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960371688?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Serena and Venus Williams contend with the breezes on the</em><br /> <em>patio of Apt. 401, the $6.5 million condo Venus decorated at</em> <br /> <em>One Thousand Ocean in Boca Raton. <b>Thom Smith/The Coastal Star</b></em></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><b><br /></b></div>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Thom Smith</strong></p>
<p>When her tennis game is on, few players want to be across the net from <b>Venus Williams.</b> Just ask last year’s Wimbledon champ <b>Petra Kvitova</b> after her loss at Key Biscayne on March 23, or <b>Aleksandra Wozniak</b>, who had match point two days later and couldn’t convert, and then Ana Ivanovic, who took the first set and then could win only four more games. </p>
<p>Not bad for someone who was diagnosed last year with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder similar to lupus that causes fatigue and joint pain. Everyone knows Venus is a fighter. </p>
<p>She took time off from tennis, adopted a vegan diet and began a drug regimen to determine which are effective. She has her sights set on qualifying for the Olympics in London. She’ll turn 32 in June and she knows her competitive days are numbered, so Venus is focusing more and more on her life away from tennis.</p>
<p>Just as she and sister <b>Serena</b> demolished barriers on the court, she aims to break artistic barriers with <b>V Starr</b>, her design firm in Jupiter. She’s done work for pro athletes who live in South Florida; model homes residences in Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens; a Miami hotel; the athletic center at Howard University in Washington and even the set for <b>Tavis Smiley</b>’s PBS show. Nevertheless, it was all been relatively low key, until last month’s grand slam introduction at <b>One Thousand Ocean</b>, luxury 52-unit condo on <b>Boca Raton Resort & Club</b> property on the north side of Boca Inlet.</p>
<p>To push the 12 unsold units, LXR President of Development <b>Jamie Telchin</b> threw a twilight party where residents and prospective tenants could mingle in an unfinished penthouse and also check out Unit 401, Venus’ contribution to the seascape: 4,971 interior square feet, another 1,289 on the terrace, four bedrooms, 4½ baths and $6.45 million with Venus’ furnishings, $5.95 million without. </p>
<p>For Venus, who studied at the <b>Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale</b>, design is organic and a matter of trust. “V Starr is me, and nothing happens that isn’t my style,” she said. “And my style is that you can’t do something just because you want to. You have to have reason; it has to be functional; it has to be beautiful.”</p>
<p>While she had to start at the bottom, just as she did in tennis, Williams concedes she had some advantages in the design game because of her name. But when it comes to signing contracts, customers want to see something concrete. </p>
<p>“Because of my high profile, people say OK we’ll talk to her, but that doesn’t mean they’ll let me do the job,” Williams said. “But once they meet me and my team and really see the picture, they realize this is really serious design, that we can do the job.” </p>
<p> <span> ***</span></p>
<p> The Boca party never stops; it just moves. Head to Monument Piazza at <b>Royal Palm Place</b> from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on April 18 for the <b>3rd Annual Fine Wines and Canines</b>. </p>
<p> Dogs are welcome to compete or to chill and for $25 their owners can sample wines and the fare from restaurants including <b>Anatolia</b>, <b>Biergarten</b>, <b>Café Auribeau</b>, <b>Caruso’s</b>, <b>Chops</b>, <b>Estia Greek Taverna</b>, <b>The Funky Biscuit</b>, <b>Fusionarie</b>, <b>Jake’s Stone Crab</b>, <b>Kin Noodle Bar</b>, <b>Lemongrass</b>, <b>Raffaele</b>, <b>Spicy Ginger</b>, <b>Super Dave’s Diner</b>, <b>The Spaniard</b>, <b>Tucci’s</b> and <b>Yakitori</b>. Proceeds go to <b>PROPEL</b> (People Reaching Out to Provide Education and Leadership), which provides educational and vocational assistance for underprivileged communities. </p>
<p>The party will move back to <b>Mizner Park</b> in early June with the opening of a <b>Yard House</b> restaurant in the space vacated by the cartoon museum and the <b>iPic Theatres</b> just across the alley. A California concept that’s already found its way to Palm Beach Gardens, the Yard House takes its name from the British-born “yard of beer” glasses, and offers yards of draft taps, a lively American fusion menu and lots of rock ’n’ roll on the jukebox, lots of TV screens, crazy artwork and an extensive community support program.</p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>Across the promenade, the space once occupied by <b>Robb & Stucky</b> will become <b>Lord & Taylor</b>, but not until sometime next year. Out west, just east of <b>Town Center</b>, it’s <b>John Belleme</b>’s turn to work a miracle. On the Glades Road site previously occupied by the <b>Rascal House</b> and more recently <b>Copper Canyon</b>, Belleme will work his kitchen magic with <b>Stephane’s</b>, a Euro-style brasserie offering, including eight mussel recipes. </p>
<p>Stephane’s marks a homecoming of sorts for the peripatetic Belleme, who worked his magic at <b>Maxaluna</b> in the late ’80s, then moved to <b>Wilt Chamberlain’s</b>, <b>Zemi</b>, <b>Henry’s</b> and, most recently, <b>Umi Fish Bar and Grill</b> in Palm Beach Gardens.</p>
<p>Helping in the cellar will be <b>Virginia Philip</b>, of <b>Virginia Philip Wine Shop & Academy</b> in West Palm Beach, who has been master sommelier at <b>The Breakers</b> for a decade and was a semifinalist this year for the <b>James Beard Award</b> in the “outstanding wine and spirits professional” category.</p>
<p>Stephane is <b>Stephane Lang-Willar</b>, a Frenchman who ran <b>Leon de Bruxelles</b>, a chain of restaurants in France and Belgium. So with the mussels — shades of <b>La Grand-Place</b> — he’ll offer a large menu, with diverse prices and food choices, a raw bar and prix-fixe lunch. </p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>Meanwhile, at the north end of Boca, the party continues at <b>Caldwell Theatre Company</b>, even as Artistic Director <b>Clive Cholerton</b> and his brain trust work on a salvation. The Caldwell owes Legacy Bank nearly $6 million on two mortgages. The bank filed for foreclosure, and now the theater’s finances will be controlled by a court-appointed receiver, Scott Brenner of Fort Lauderdale-based Brenner Real Estate Group. Brenner specializes in turning around troubled businesses, and as long as he remains in charge, Legacy will not close it down. Both sides want it to work, so Caldwell can continue and the bank can recover its investment. </p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>Curiouser and curiouser. Of course, Alice has nothing on <b>David Manero</b>, whose restaurant wonderland in Delray Beach has turned into a nightmare. Oh sure, the restaurants he ran — <b>Vic & Angelo’s</b>, <b>The Office</b> and <b>Burger Fi</b> — seem to be doing fine, but David is nowhere in sight. The Atlantic Avenue rumor mill has been working overtime with claims that his partners had him banned from the premises and that the FBI wanted him for illegalities — not so, said spokespeople in the West Palm and Miami offices.</p>
<p>Manero did acknowledge an “ugly” split in published reports that said his partner <b>John Rosatti</b> was running the restaurants. Nevertheless, he told <b>Bill Citara</b> of <i>Boca Raton</i> magazine that he’s working on several new concepts, including a Neapolitan pizzeria.</p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>Boca’s in the middle of its food festivals — food for thought, body and soul.</p>
<p>First came the boffo <b>Festival of the Arts</b> with Gershwin by <b>Patti Austin</b> and <b>Tony DeSare</b>, Rachmaninoff by <b>Valentina Lisitsa</b>, insight on presidents past, present and future from <b>Doris Kearns Goodwin.</b> Then the <b>Boca Bacchanal</b> offered three days of wine and food with vintner dinners, the <b>Bacchus Bash</b> at the Boca Raton Resort & Club and finally the <b>Grand Tasting</b> at Mizner Park, all to benefit the <b>Boca Raton Historical Society</b>. </p>
<p>It was a party that would have tickled <b>Addison Mizner</b>. Eight chefs and vintners teamed for the soirees — all sold out at $300 per — in private homes scattered throughout Boca. Typical of the evening, <b>Debbie</b> and <b>Al Benjamin</b> welcomed two dozen guests to their oceanside home in Highland Beach, where <b>Kevin Garcia</b> of <b>Cesca</b> in New York teamed with <b>Masi</b> from <b>Veneto</b> for some dolce vita. After cocktails beside the infinity pool, guests dined to music from a jazz band at rose-bedecked tables while Masi’s <b>Tony Apolstolakis</b> told charming stories about each new pour. </p>
<p>Next night, the chefs and vintners assembled for the Bash ($250) at the Boca Resort to provide tastings, after which the estimated 250 guests dove into silent and live auctions for luxury cruises, trips to Italy, France and Argentina, wine lots including rare “big bottles” and coveted collector items. Resort Chef <b>Andrew Roenbeck</b> and his staff then presented the feast de resistance, followed by dancing into the wee hours.</p>
<p>Those still standing on Sunday mingled under the tent at Mizner Park with hoi polloi, about 1,400 total ($85), for the Grand Tasting — 26 chefs, 140 different wines, a marketplace, a DJ and lots of smiles.</p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>Even though Boca’s <b>Yvonne Boice</b> is chairman of the <b>Palm Beach International Film Festival</b>, don’t look for much action down here. The festival opens April 12 at <b>Muvico Parisian</b> in CityPlace with a screening of <i>Robot & Frank</i>, a Sundance entry starring <b>Frank Langella</b>. It wraps April 19 at <b>Cobb Theatres</b> in <b>Downtown at the Gardens</b> with a screening of <i>Sassy Pants</i> (<b>Haley Joel Osment</b> and <b>Anna Gunn</b>). </p>
<p>A lifetime achievement award will be presented to actress <b>June Lockhart</b> at Silver Screen Bash at <b>The Lake Pavilion</b> on the Waterfront in West Palm Beach on April 15. Lockhart, who became a cult figure as Maureen Robinson in <i>Lost in Space</i>, is 86 and still acting. She co-stars in the comedy <i>Zombie Hamlet</i>, which will premiere at PBIFF. </p>
<p>Short films will be screened at the <b>Lake Worth Playhouse’s Stonzek Theatre</b> on April 13, 14 and 15, and at Delray’s <b>Debilzan Gallery</b> on April 15. Several documentaries are set for <b>Mizner Park’s Cultural Arts Center</b>: <i>Money and Medicine</i> and <i>Genius on Hold</i> (April 13); <i>Lunch Hour</i>, <i>Free China: The Courage To Believe</i>, <i>True Gods Have Bones</i> (<i>Los Dioses De Verdad Tienen Huesos</i>), <i>Crocodile in the Yangtze</i> and <i>Happy You’re Alive</i> (April 14); <i>My Mother’s Idea</i>, a student film showcase, <i>John Portman: A Life of Building</i>, <i>Violins in Wartime</i>, <i>Follow Me</i> and a local film showcase (April 15). Tickets are $10, $60 for the opening night party, $40 for the closer. </p>
<p><span> ***</span></p>
<p>At the corner of Linton Boulevard and Federal Highway in southern Delray something new — and fresh — may be on the horizon. According to merchants in the mall now anchored by <b>Carrabbas</b>, <b>Las Vegas Cuban Restaurant</b>, <b>Panera Bread</b> and <b>SeaView Optical</b>, a complete revamp is planned with the addition of a 20,000-square-foot <b>Fresh Market</b>. Merchants say they’ve been notified of the plans, but mall management referred our call to the owners in Alabama, and neither would comment or confirm. </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Showcase of Homes: Royal Palm Yacht & County Club, Boca Raton</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960371883,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960371883,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="360" alt="7960371883?profile=original" /></a></span><em>Eileen Callan, Cliff Mays, Valerie Newman and Tom Callan <br /> check out one of the dozens of homes presented by Royal Palm <br /> Properties during the Showcase of Homes event in Boca Raton in early March.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><b>Kurtis Boggs/Coastal Star</b></em></p>
<p><i>Thom Smith is a freelance writer. Write him at thomsmith@ymail.com.</i></p></div>Meet the Pros: Camaraderie is key to this golf pro’s love of the gamehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/golf-camaraderie-is-key-to-this-golf-pro-s-love-of-the-game2012-01-04T17:00:00.000Z2012-01-04T17:00:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><span><b><br /></b></span></p>
<p><span><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960361669,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960361669,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="240" alt="7960361669?profile=original" /></a></b></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Mike Trinley, head golf pro at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. </em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><b>Photo provided</b></em></p>
<p><span><b><br /></b></span></p>
<p><span><b>By Steve Pike</b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p>Mike Trinley is one of those guys average golfers shake their fists at. Sure, Trinley is personable and accommodating, but consider the first time he played nine holes of golf: He shot 45. And that wasn’t until he was a sophomore at Florida State University.</p>
<p>If there is any consolation, “It went south after that — 55 and 65,” said Trinley, the head golf professional at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. </p>
<p>That was sort of Trinley’s mantra throughout high school as an all-around athlete, who despite growing up in Boca Raton (although he was born near Pittsburgh), never gave golf a second thought until he met his two college roommates at FSU.</p>
<p>“They always encouraged me to play, so we played at Hilaman Golf Course in Tallahassee on a sunny fall afternoon,” said Trinley, now 44. “I knew golf had rules, but I didn’t know what they were. I told them if I did something wrong to tell me.</p>
<p>“After that I played every chance I got. I dived in headfirst when I knew this was something I wanted to do as career. I read everything I could and talked to everybody I could.”</p>
<p>The 45 indicates that Trinley didn’t do much wrong. But it was more than just battling Old Man Par that attracted him to golf.</p>
<p>“I really liked the camaraderie,” said Trinley, who has been the resort’s head professional for nearly six years. “There’s a lot to talk about the game, but it also affords you a chance to talk about other things. Playing basketball, for example, you’re concentrating only on the game. Playing golf lets you talk about golf or politics or something else.”</p>
<p>Golf, however, is still among Trinley’s favorite subjects — golf instruction, in particular. </p>
<p>Trinley, along with Boca Raton Resort & Club Director of Instruction Chris Kaufman, are regarded as two of the top swing teachers in South Florida. In fact, Trinley still make an almost weekly visit to the practice range to have Kauffman watch him hit balls.</p>
<p>“Just to have somebody look at my swing,” Trinley said.</p>
<p>And Trinley does the same for the 450 golf members and guests who play the resort’s two courses.</p>
<p>“I like to teach,” said Trinley, who began his career at the resort in 1993. “Different students learn differently, of course, but I especially like to work with people who are feel players — kind of visual learners. I’m a visual learner, so I think I get the best results out of folks who are visual.”</p>
<p>Such as trying to visualize a score of 45 the first time you ever played nine holes. <span>Ú</span></p></div>Around Town: Mayor’s dancing-champ son has tips for Boca Ballroom Battlershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/around-town-mayor-s-dancing-ch2011-08-03T16:35:52.000Z2011-08-03T16:35:52.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960345296,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" width="360" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960345296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960345296?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>Jay Whelchel and Mariya-Khristina Shurupova practice for last year’s <br />Boca’s Ballroom Battle at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.</span> <span><b>Photo by Jerry Lower</b></span></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span><b><br /></b></span></div>
<p> </p>
<p>By Thom Smith</p>
<p>“I’ve got a book deal in the works. We’re talking about a made-for-TV movie,” <b>Jay Whelchel</b> says.</p>
<p>This time last year, the Boca Raton commercial real estate specialist was the toe-tapping, fast-moving, high-kicking king of the dance floor at the Third Annual <b>Boca’s Ballroom Battle</b> and he has the disco ball trophy to prove it. </p>
<p>Volunteer and philanthropist <b>Laura Stoltz</b> took the women’s title.</p>
<p>The year has passed so quickly: The fourth annual dance-off, which raises money for the <b>George Snow Scholarship Fund</b>, is set for Aug. 19 at the <b>Boca Raton Resort & Club</b>; Whelchel admits his attention has not been on the dance floor:</p>
<p>“Actually, dancing the baby to sleep is about it,” he said, confirming that 6-month-old daughter Vivian has replaced professional partner <b>Mariya-Khristina Shurupova</b>. She and brother <b>Jack</b>, 2½, couldn’t care less how nimble the old man is. </p>
<p>“Children just don’t respect the accomplishment at all,” Jay Whelchel lamented. “They don’t understand the significance of it.”</p>
<p>Kidding aside, Whelchel took last year’s event quite seriously, practicing for several months before the competition. Plus, he felt added pressure: His mother, Boca Mayor <b>Susan Whelchel</b>, had won the inaugural. So Jay prepared for his hustle routine as he had approached game days as a high school and college athlete.</p>
<p>“The week before I was about 50 percent ready, but it got closer, I started to visualize the routine, got my game face on,” he said. “You start to focus and it all comes together. I got up for it at the right time.”</p>
<p>This year’s contestants include businesswoman and philanthropist <b>Yvonne Boice</b>, plastic surgeon Dr. <b>Rafael Cabrera,</b> Boca West Country Club General Manager <b>Jay DiPietro</b>, Coldwell Banker Executive Vice President <b>Ingrid Fulmer</b>, Mercedes Benz of Delray Executive Manager <b>Ralph Mesa</b>, Bell Rock Capital Managing Director <b>Jacqueline Reeves</b>, philanthropist and volunteer extraordinaire <b>Pat Thomas</b> and Waste Management’s South Florida Director of Disposal Operations <b>Bryan Tindell</b>.</p>
<p>Welchel has some tips. “I wasn’t nervous,” he said, “No, I was excited. You’re up for it. Don’t know what’s gonna happen, so it all comes down to preparation. </p>
<p>“It seems so abstract when you’re practicing, but it will click. For some it’ll click in a month or maybe a week. When I first heard the song, it seemed so fast that I couldn’t even feel the beat, but eventually you learn your routine so well that the speed slows down. That’s what happened to me.”</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Ballroom Battle is a highlight of <b>Boca Festival Days</b>, a monthlong celebration of the city, its institutions and its people. Sponsored by the <b>Boca Chamber of Commerce</b>, Boca Festival Days gives the city’s for-profit Chamber members an opportunity to raise support and money for its nonprofit members. </p>
<p>Following a July 27 kickoff party at <b>Carrabba’s</b> on Southwest 18 Street, the first fundraiser was the inaugural <b>White Coats 4 Care</b> reception, sponsored by <b>Kaye Communications</b> Aug. 1 at <b>Carmen’s Restaurant</b> <b>at the Top of the Bridge Hotel</b>. Donations of $100 or more will buy lab coats and other important equipment for students at <b>FAU</b>’s brand-new <b>Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine</b>, which opens for class the same day. </p>
<p>With its Blue Hawaii theme, the Festival Days’ “Summer in the City” bash at <b>Mizner Park Amphitheater</b> should be heaven for Elvis lovers with a Vegas-style stage tribute to the king of rock ’n’ roll. Show begins at 7 and doesn’t cost a cent to get in. For details about all the events, which continue through Aug. 29, go to bocachamber.com.</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p>Speaking of tribute shows, <b>Neil Zirconia</b>, who bills himself as “the ultimate faux Diamond,” brings his version of <i>Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show</i> to Boca’s <b>Pavilion Grille</b> Aug. 13. Despite its location in the ultramodern glass-enclosed atrium of Boca’s <b>Stonegate Bank Building</b>, the Pavilion is a throwback to a time when people went dancing. </p>
<p>It features a 2,000-square-foot dance floor. Dance lessons are offered Tuesday and Wednesday nights and live music puts transforms that training into action just about every other night, usually for a $10 cover charge that includes one drink. Those who prefer dinner with their dancing can opt for hors d’oeuvres, soups and salads ($3-$17), sandwiches or burgers ($10-$16) or entrees ($17-$32). Occasionally, the dining room is taken over by private parties, so reservations (912-0000) are a must, unless you’re prepared to dance in the parking lot. </p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p>Since 2004, the <b>Boca Raton Singers</b> have staged modest concerts and performed in local nursing and retirement homes, often for no charge. But then the economy played a sour note, as various public agencies, including city governments and the <b>Palm Beach County Cultural Council</b>, cut funding to several small cultural organizations. To many, $10,000 is a paltry sum; to the singers, it meant everything.</p>
<p>Enter <b>Henrietta de Hoernle</b>, better known as the countess. She likes their music. More important, she admires the fact that every member is a volunteer, even Music Director <b>Gerald Luongo</b>. So when board president <b>Connie Paladino</b> called to plead her case, the countess agreed to help out. </p>
<p>The chorus will still have to raise money on its own, but with the countess’ help, it plans to expand in size and stage larger, more ambitious shows. And it’s changed its name … to the <b>de Hoernle Singers</b>. </p>
<p>Open auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 at the group’s rehearsal site, <b>Grace Community Church</b>, 600 W. Camino Real. Notify Paladino in advance by email at cmpaladino@aol.com.</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now that the women’s <b>World Cup</b> is over, soccer fans are turning their attention to Boca Raton for a few games, at least. <b>magicJack</b>, Boca’s surprise, last-minute franchise in <b>Women’s Professional Soccer</b>, features seven members of the women’s national team play including player and newly named head coach <b>Abby Wambach</b> and goalkeeper <b>Hope Solo</b> (no relation to Han Solo).</p>
<p>magicJack’s new owner is as controversial as his players are talented. Palm Beacher <b>Dan Borislow</b> bought the <b>Washington Freedom</b>, moved to Boca and renamed it magicJack for the internet telephone device that made him millions. He’s often seen tooling around Palm Beach on his $30,000 <b>Can-Am Spyder RT</b>, a three-wheeled motorcycle. He’s also a fan, and even played the game.</p>
<p>Only three regular season home games remain, all of which will be played at FAU’s soccer stadium.</p>
<p>New Jersey’s <b>Sky Blue Soccer</b> comes to town Aug. 6, led by U.S. National Team player <b>Heather O’Reilly</b> and Swedish player of the year <b>Therese Sjögran</b>. Four days later, it’s the Western New York Flash with four-time world player of the year <b>Marta</b> and Satellite Beach’s own <b>Ashlyn Harris</b>. Expect the largest crowd ever to watch a soccer game in Palm Beach County. </p>
<p>magicJack will close out the regular season Aug. 14 against league-leading <b>Philadelphia Independence</b>. For ticket info, go <a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com">www.ticketmaster.com</a>.</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>While the opening of a medical school is a big story, the big questions around FAU concern football.</p>
<p>No. 1: How will the <b>Owls</b> do this year? A: Could be dicey. Head coach and Ocean Ridge resident <b>Howard Schnellenberger</b> says the quarterback is key and hopes to pick one no later than 10 days before the opener at <b>University of Florida</b>. If he survives the Swamp, he gets <b>Michigan State</b> a week later and <b>Auburn</b> two weeks after that.</p>
<p>No. 1: Asked if he had the energy for his 11th season at age 77, Schnellenberger, FAU’s first and only head coach, said, “If I didn’t, I’d already be gone.” Athletic Director <b>Craig Angelos</b> says he won’t make a decision until the season is over. </p>
<p>No. 1: How’s the stadium doing? Still ahead of schedule and under budget, school officials boast. </p>
<p>As for specs, it seats 30,000 in the grandstand, 24 suites, 26 loge boxes, more than 1,000 open-air premier club seats and more than 4,000 priority club seats. Suite, loge and premier club seat holders can relax in an air-conditioned, 8,000-square-foot premier club or a covered, 16,000-square-foot outdoor priority club. By the way, premium seats (not just for fat-cat boosters) are wider. </p>
<p>The student-and-band-only section is in the south end zone. Student tickets are free.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, most season tickets are $135 and $150. That covers the entire east stands, north end zone and the west stands to the 5-yard-line at the north end. A seat on the 50 can be had for $385.A seat in Section 205 Row Z will set a die-hard Owl fan back $1,480 while one in Loge 306 C will go for $9,560. </p>
<p>But then, this is Boca.</p>
<p>First home game is Oct. 15 against <b>Western Kentucky</b>. The stadium also will play a big role in FAU’s 50th anniversary celebration Oct. 29. Meanwhile, <b>Fanfest</b> on Aug. 20 should offer more answers.</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here and there: It’s called the <b>English Tap & Beer Garden Restaurant</b>, but the new spot in <b>Boca Center</b> is German-inspired — a Biergärten concept with open-air dining and lots of international beers and other libations and live entertainment. It’s actually the offspring of <b>Wild Olives</b>, which was moved into the old <b>Cucina D’Angelo</b> space next door by owner <b>John Watson</b>. Wild Olives Exec Chef <b>Ken Stevens</b> stays on, so look for an eclectic pub menu with emphasis on locally grown and fresh.</p>
<p> <span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Morfogen the merrier. Since <b>Nick Morfogen</b> arrived 15 years ago, <b>32 East</b> has ranked as one of the best restaurants in the Southeast. This month brother Stratis, a veteran of the New York and more recently Miami restaurant scene with partner <b>Philippe Chow</b>, will open Philippe in Boca Raton. The casual version of Chow’s Manhattan showcase will take over the former <b>III Forks</b> site on East Palmetto Park Road. </p>
<p>The opening, planned for mid-August, should be star-studded, as Morfogen has some big investors — literally: <b>Alonzo Mourning</b>, ex-Miami Heat, <b>Jerome Bettis</b>, ex-Pittsburgh Steelers and still-active hoop stars <b>Chauncey Billups</b>, <b>New York Knicks</b>, and <b>Al Harrington</b>, <b>Denver Nuggets</b>. </p>
<p>Chow is one of two dozen chefs from Boca to Palm Beach participating in the <b>March of Dimes’ Sixth Annual Signature Chefs Auction</b>, Sept. 9 at the <b>Boca Raton Resort & Club</b>. Exquisite wines and spirits, sumptuous samplings from the chefs and an auction of dining packages. Call (561) 684-0102. </p>
<p>Heading north. As we reported earlier, <b>Angelo Elia</b>, owner of <b>Casas d’Angelo</b> in Fort Lauderdale, Nassau and Boca, (but no link to <b>Cucina d’Angelo</b>) had been looking for months for the right spot to bring the Angelo name to Delray. He finally found it just south of Atlantic on Seventh Avenue — the old <b>Carolina’s Coal Fired Pizza</b> space. He hopes to have <b>D’Angelo Trattoria</b> open by summer’s end, with a gelato shop to follow soon after. <span><i>Thom Smith is a freelance writer. Contact him at ThomSmith@ymail.com.</i></span></p>
<p> </p></div>The Boca Resort & Club 85th Anniversaryhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/the-boca-resort-amp-club-85th2011-02-06T12:27:37.000Z2011-02-06T12:27:37.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960321901,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960321901,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960321901?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">The Boca Raton Resort & Club as it stand today.<br />The original Cloister built by Addison Mizner is at right.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Resort & Club</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/five-things-you-didnt-know">Five things</a> you maybe didn't know about Addison Mizner | Resort <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=2331112:Album:23089">timeline</a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=2331112:Album:23089">Photos</a><br /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><span><b>By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</b></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This year, the <a href="http://http//thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blog/list" target="_blank">Boca Raton Resort & Club</a> turns 85 years old. Looking back, the important role the hotel has played in the community is clear. It’s safe to say that if the iconic hotel never existed, Boca Raton would be a very different place from today.</p>
<p>“This landmark is part of our past and present,” says Susan Gillis, curator for the Boca Raton Historical Society. “The hotel is still a very important part of Boca Raton.”</p>
<p>In fact, people in Boca think of it as “their” hotel, Gillis says. And until World War II, the hotel and agriculture were the mainstays of the area’s economy. </p>
<p>Natalie Warren, a BRHS docent who gives tours of the historic hotel, knows how important the property is to the community. She virtually grew up there. </p>
<p>Her mother was a real estate agent with offices just off what was the hotel’s original lobby. </p>
<p>Warren spent afternoons sitting on Addison Mizner’s grand staircase reading books. </p>
<p>As a young woman, she held jobs at the resort, including working at the lobby chocolate shop and the hotel flower shop as well as waitressing at the golf course restaurant.</p>
<p>“I loved coming here. It was like being part of history,” she says. </p>
<p>Over the years, the hotel and its owners have done a lot to foster the community. Today, the city is home to about 85,000 residents. But in 1903, it was a farming village with about 18 residents.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>The Dream City</b></span></p>
<p>Here’s an account of those times from an early settler Harley Gates, who built a house in Boca Raton in 1914: </p>
<p>“Farming was the principal means of making a living during my early years at Boca Raton. Most of the farms were small and usually from five to 20 acres. The main crops grown were green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers.”</p>
<p>Even in 1923, if you arrived on the Miami-bound train, you might think you were in the middle of nowhere, according to papers in the archives of the BRHS.</p>
<p>And that’s what <a href="http://timelinehttp//http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/five-things-you-didnt-know/edit" target="_blank">Addison Mizner</a>confronted when he was commissioned by the Town Council to plan a world-class resort community on the banks of Lake Boca Raton.</p>
<p>In 1925, he acquired three-quarters of a mile of beachfront property and set about building what he claimed would be “The Dream City of the Western World” offering a mixture of “snob appeal and greed appeal.”</p>
<p>By January 1926, nearly 3,500 men were working in Boca Raton to build Mizner’s dream. The payroll was in excess of $1 million a month. And that year, his Cloister Inn opened its doors. That building still forms the eastern wing of the Boca Raton Resort & Club.</p>
<p>“It must have been amazing to see this beautiful, swanky place grow from the ground up. In those days, there was hardly anything here so it must have seemed very impressive,” Gillis says. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>From boom to bust</b></span></p>
<p>Mizner’s plans for the young community ended when the land boom went bust in 1926. But Mizner still accomplished much by opening his original 100-room hotel.</p>
<p>That was the beginning of today’s resort, which has grown and changed over the years.</p>
<p>“Each of its owners has repurposed the hotel for their times,” Gillis says.</p>
<p>In the 1920s when it was built, the inn was where people stayed while they looked to buy a piece of Boca Raton. </p>
<p>Clarence Geist, a Philadelphia utilities magnate, bought the property in 1927 and turned it into an exclusive club. “His impact on the community either directly or indirectly was of paramount importance,” Gillis says.</p>
<p>During his tenure, he added 400 rooms to the club. He also gave land for a train station that could handle his private rail car, and he created a waterworks that served the city until 1956. Boca Raton had the finest water plant in the state, Gillis says. </p>
<p>He also helped the town weather the Great Depression. “Everyone, black and white, had at least a part-time job at the hotel,” Gillis says.</p>
<p><span><b>Foxholes <br />on the golf course?</b></span></p>
<p>In 1942, during World War II, the hotel was taken over by the Army Air Corps until the Boca Raton Army Airfield could be built where FAU now stands. Here they established the only wartime radar training school.</p>
<p>“During that time, there wasn’t enough water pressure at the hotel so things got kind of yucky with all those men quartered here,” Gillis says. There were even rumors they built foxholes on the golf course.</p>
<p>But the hotel survived and, in 1944, it was bought by J. Myer Schine, who owned a number of hotels across the country. He not only painted the hotel a dusty shade of pink, but also, in 1945, opened the club as a year-round resort and welcomed the public. </p>
<p>This was a boon to the town that now had employment opportunities for more than just three months a year. </p>
<p>It also meant the hotel could become more involved with the community. Here’s an account written by his wife Hildegarde:</p>
<p>“Before we bought the hotel it was a private club. As we moved in, the townspeople came to us saying the hotel was the only major industry in Boca, and many townspeople worked there. But no Boca Raton-ites had ever set foot in the front door. I thought that was awful because there were many lovely people here. So I gave a party and invited everyone in town.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>A community<br />with history</b></span></p>
<p>Arthur Vining Davis took over the resort in 1956. He created Arvida, an acronym for his name, and it was a “big force” in Boca Raton until the 1990s. In addition to the hotel, his developments included five high-rise condos and the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club.</p>
<p>He put his mark on Boca Raton by “creating modern gated communities from farmland,” Gillis says. That’s the Boca Raton we know today. </p>
<p>Docent Warren has memories of that time. Her mother sold real estate for Arvida, and she would go along when her mother showed prospects properties. “I remember her telling them, ‘When you buy here, you don’t just buy a house, you buy into a community with a history,’ ” Warren says. </p>
<p>Davis put his mark on the hotel by adding a 27-story tower of rooms and the Great Hall that contained meeting space.</p>
<p>That meant this vacation hotel could tap into the convention business. “That was Mr. Davis’ real gift to Boca Raton,” Gillis says. </p>
<p>Another famous owner was H. Wayne Huizenga, who took over the property in 1997 and saw the opening of the Mizner Center, a large convention facility, in 1998. </p>
<p>Currently, the resort is owned by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, a private investment banking firm. </p>
<p>It includes the original Cloister, the Yacht Club, the Tower, Boca Beach Club, the Bungalows, the Boca Country Club, conference facilities, two 18-hole championship golf courses, 30 tennis courts, Spa Palazzo, a golf clubhouse, seven pools, a 32-slip marina and a half-mile of private beach.</p>
<p>“Eighty five years after its illustrious opening, the Boca Raton Resort & Club maintains its legacy of style and elegance,” says Stephen Ast, president of the Boca Raton Resort & Club. “And, as one of the largest employers in Palm Beach County, the resort is committed … to the community, providing services, partnership and support.” </p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960322483,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960322483,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="7960322483?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Anniversary Events</strong></span></p>
<p><span><b>Boca Raton Resort & Club Tour:</b></span> The Boca Raton Historical Society offers walking tours of the Boca Raton Resort & Club on the first and third Tuesdays of each month through May. The tours run 2 to 3:30 p.m. Cost: $15 plus $10 hotel valet fee. Reservations required (561) 395-6766, Ext. 100. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>Boca Raton Resort & Club Package:</b></span> Feb. 11 through 13, the resort will offer a package that includes a second night for $85 in the historic Cloister building. For information, call (888) 543-1277. The hotel is at 501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton.</p>
<p><span><b> </b></span></p>
<p><span><b>Mizner Industries:</b></span> The exhibition at the BRHS in Town Hall, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It includes products made by Mizner Industries and items from Addison Mizner’s Palm Beach apartment. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>Boca Raton Army Airfield:</b></span> “Secrets Revealed” is a lecture by Sally Ling, author of a history of the Army Air Corps radar-training base during World War II and the long-term impact it had on Boca Raton. From 2 to 3:45 p.m. March 9, The event costs $25 and is sponsored by FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society. Freiberg Auditorium, FAU Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Information: 297-3171 or 297-3185 or <a href="http://www.fau.edu/lls">www.fau.edu/lls</a> and link to “LLS Boca Raton Home.” </p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<p><i>— Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</i></p>
<div><i><br /></i></div>
<p> </p></div>Boca Raton Resort & Club Timelinehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-resort-amp-club2011-02-06T12:24:48.000Z2011-02-06T12:24:48.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960322655,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960322655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="240" alt="7960322655?profile=original" /></a>In 1967, Arvida tears down part of the original<br />Cloister to build the tower. It is the tallest structure<br />between Tallahassee and Miami at the time.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Resort & Club</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><b>1925:</b></span> Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner arrives in Boca Raton. He and his Development Corp. hope to build Mediterranean-style structures for commercial and residential use on a 1,600-acre tract of land. Their plans include a never-built Ritz-Carlton on the beach.</p>
<p><span><b>1926:</b></span> In a hurry to bring customers for his development to Boca Raton, Mizner opens a smaller hotel, the Cloister Inn. It’s under Ritz-Carlton management on the shore of Lake Boca Raton. The opening sparks a promotional buildup that ultimately changes Boca Raton from a sleepy village into a resort community.</p>
<p>The inn has Spanish-Mediterranean, Moorish and Gothic influences. It is characterized by hidden gardens, barrel-tile roofs, archways, ornate columns, finials, intricate mosaics, fountains and beamed ceilings of ornate pecky cypress. The per room building cost was $10,000. </p>
<p><span><b>1927:</b></span> <span>The land boom ends in Florida leaving Mizner’s</span> <span>Development Corp. in financial difficulty.</span> <span>Philadelphia utilities magnate Clarence Geist buys the Cloister Inn for $71,000, assuming $7 million of the Mizner Development Corp.’s debt.</span></p>
<p><span><b>1928-1930:</b></span> Geist enlarges the Cloister Inn and creates the private Boca Raton Club, a golf club. He builds the Cabana Club, south of the inlet, offering 200 private beach cabanas, informal dining rooms and card lounges. Famed architects Schultze & Weaver, who also designed the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and The Breakers in Palm Beach, were the architects for the project that opened in January1930.</p>
<p><span><b>1942:</b></span> The U.S. enters WWII. Boca Raton’s airport and coastal locale make it ideal for an Army airbase. The U.S. government acquires 5,860 acres from more than 100 property owners to construct it. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Army takes over the Boca Raton Club for offices, classrooms and officers’ barracks while it builds the air station, the country’s only radar training school. </p>
<p><span><b>1944:</b></span> J. Myer Schine buys the Boca Raton Club and the Spanish River Land Co. from Geist’s estate. The hotel costs $3 million.</p>
<p><span><b>1945:</b></span> The property reopens as the Boca Raton Hotel & Club. </p>
<p><span><b>About 1950:</b></span> The hotel is painted pink for the first time. In Mizner’s time, the club appears to have been white and cream-colored. It apparently was Schine’s wife, Hildegarde, who liked the deep dusty rose color. The current color is much pinker than the 1950s color. </p>
<p><span><b>1956:</b></span> Arthur Vining Davis, founder of the Aluminum Co. of America, purchases the Boca Raton Hotel & Club. He creates Arvida Development Corp., an acronym of his name.</p>
<p><span><b>1967:</b></span> Arvida tears down the southeastern wing of the original Cloister Inn to build the 27-floor tower that holds 257 rooms and a restaurant on top. When built, it is the tallest structure between Tallahassee and Miami.</p>
<p><span><b>1968:</b></span> Arvida opens the Great Hall, a convention center, which incorporates the structure of the Schultze & Weaver-designed outdoor swimming pool with its four corner towers. </p>
<p><span><b>1980:</b></span> <span>The Boca Beach Club on the beach replaces the old Cabana Club, which is demolished. The new club costs $20 million and features a half-mile of private beach, two swimming pools, 214 rooms (including eight suites) and two restaurants.</span></p>
<p><span><b>1983:</b></span> The Boca Raton Hotel & Club is sold to Boca Raton Hotel and Club Limited Partnership with VMS Realty Corp., a Chicago-based real estate developer, installed as the general partner for the limited partnership. </p>
<p><span><b>1986:</b></span> The property becomes known as the Boca Raton Resort & Club, and acquires the Boca Country Club about seven miles away. </p>
<p><span><b>1991:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club undergoes an $11 million renovation.</p>
<p><span><b>1993:</b></span> The Boca Raton Management Co. replaces VMS Realty Corp. as general partner for the Boca Raton Resort & Club Limited Partnership. In October, BRMC successfully completes the refinancing of $150 million of indebtedness.</p>
<p><span><b>1996:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club completes a $165 million recapitalization. The resort renovates guest rooms and suites in the Cloister and Tower. Construction begins on the Mizner Center, a $40 million meeting and catering facility.</p>
<p><span><b>1997:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club is purchased by H. Wayne Huizenga and Florida Panthers Holdings, Inc. (now Boca Resorts Inc., or BRI) for $325 million. The Resort & Club completes a $6.5 million redesign of the resort golf course done by Gene Bates. The $10 million tennis and fitness center opens.</p>
<p><span><b>1998:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club opens the Mizner Center, a meeting and conference facility designed to resemble the original Mizner design. </p>
<p><span><b>2001:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club celebrates its 75th anniversary and unveils Spa Palazzo, modeled on the Alhambra Palace, a two-story golf clubhouse and the Grand Piazza, including the Tuscan restaurant Lucca (run by Drew Nieporent of New York’s Nobu and Tribecca Grill), Bar Luna, the renovated Malone’s Magic Bar and more. </p>
<p><span><b>2004:</b></span> An affiliate of the Blackstone Group, a private investment banking firm, purchases BRI in December for $1.25 billion. </p>
<p><span><b>2005:</b></span> The name of BRI is changed to LXR Luxury Resorts.</p>
<p><span><b>2005-2006:</b></span> Refurbishment of the resort begins, including renovation of the main lobby, redesign of guest rooms and the addition of the Old Homestead Steak House (well known to New Yorkers). The new décor includes a light beige and white ceiling in the lobby, slate and stone floors and white leather furniture. </p>
<p><span><b>2007-2008:</b></span> The opening of Cielo Restaurant at the top of the Tower, the debut of the Palm Court, the addition of Morimoto’s Sushi Bar by chef Masaharu Morimoto of <i>Iron Chef</i> fame, Serendipity Restaurant and the redesign of the Family Room.</p>
<p><span><b>2009:</b></span> The 212-room Boca Beach Club reopens following a $120 million renovation that coincides with the completion of a total of more than $220 million in renovations at the Resort & Club.</p>
<p><span><b>2011:</b></span> The Boca Raton Resort & Club celebrates its 85th anniversary.</p>
<p><i>Sources: the Boca Raton Resort & Club website;</i> The Boca Raton Resort & Club — Mizner’s Inn, <i>(The History Press, 2008) by Donald Curl; Boca Raton Historical Society curator Susan Gillis; BRHS docent Natalie Warren. </i></p>
<p><i>— Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</i> <span> </span></p>
<div><span><br /></span></div></div>Thanksgiving food, with gratitudehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/thanksgiving-food-with2010-11-03T20:26:47.000Z2010-11-03T20:26:47.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960309883,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br />By Jan Norris<br /><br />Up against the turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce again? Even some of the chefs have a hard time facing the centuries-old traditional Thanksgiving dinner every year.<br />“It’s what people what,” said chef Dudley Bell Rich, who will be preparing the dinner for guests and his own family at Carmen’s at the Top of the Bridge restaurant in Boca Raton on Thanksgiving Day. “They don’t want foods they don’t understand at that dinner. It’s all about tradition.” <br />At Carmen’s, he’ll serve a buffet with carved turkey, prime rib, stuffing, yams, creamed pearl onions, Brussels sprouts with bacon, root vegetables – parsnips and turnips. For dessert, “Homemade pies, of course – apple, pumpkin, blueberry. For me, I’d have a chestnut pie, but in reality, people don’t want that.”<br />Even if the chefs at area hotels and restaurants provide unusual dishes, they also will have the traditional menu much like Rich’s as the focal point.<br />Chestnuts may not make it onto Carmen’s menu, but they are on others. Chef Darryl Moiles at the Four Seasons Palm Beach will feature a few turkey-alternative dishes, including a chestnut beignet cooked to order at one of the stations in the buffet dinner. <br />His alternative menu has an Asian flair: Peking duck, a dim sum selection, Karabuto pork tenderloin with a rum-raisin glaze, and Florida snapper are among the non-traditional menu items. Sweetened goat cheese stuffed pears are on the dessert menu, along with a white chocolate bread pudding and a dark chocolate praline mousse torte. But here, too, are carved turkey, dressing, cranberry chutney and pumpkin pie.<br />At The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, Chef Ryan Artim is giving the hotel Thanksgiving guests “Plymouth Rock Cuisine.” It’s a chance to have the dinner served family-style in one of the cabanas beachside. Guests can start with a smooth Pumpkin martini — see the recipe at <a href="http://www.thecoastalstar.com">www.thecoastalstar.com</a> — created by mixologists at the Lobby Bar. The menu lists an array of seafood, including a signature Lobster Cognac Bisque with Chestnut Marshmallow. <br />Along with numerous appetizers and salads, the main dinner includes brined, free-range turkey, a Meyer Lemon-crusted cod, and wood-grilled beef tenderloin medallions. All the trimmings — vegetables and desserts — are part of the meal.<br />At the Boca Raton Resort and Club, the Tuscan restaurant Lucca will serve an unusual menu with a Mediterranean twist. <br />Hen egg ravioli with a pumpkin ricotta, “conserva” of organic duck, sage fennel sausage, cranberry mustard and brown butter toasted cornbread is on the menu. Traditional roast turkey and accompaniments are part of this spread.<br />Chef Chris Schaeffer will offer guests at the Seagate Club in Delray Beach a choice of items on his three-course menu. Along with traditional turkey, he’ll have available a grilled pork chop with bacon, marinated sea bass, and a duck leg confit with cranberry pudding, One of his unusual vegetable dishes is pureed leeks with prunes, a sweet-tart dish.<br />As for Thanksgiving dinner at home, many chefs don’t bother, or leave the cooking to someone else the day after. Chef Dudley Bell puts it best: “No chef I know eats at home — we all are cooking on the holiday. By then, I’ve seen enough food and frankly, am over turkey by the time the Thursday rolls around. I have my family in for dinner at the restaurant — the last thing I want to do is go home and cook another Thanksgiving dinner.”<br /><br /><font size="4"><span style="font-weight:bold;">IF YOU GO</span></font><br /><br />Carmen’s <br />at the Top of the Bridge<br />999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton (in the Bridge Hotel)<br />Buffet dinner served noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Adults, $54; children, $20, Thanksgiving Day. <br />Reservations required; call 368-9500.<br /><br />Four Seasons<br />Palm Beach<br />2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach<br />Buffet dinner served 3-9 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.<br />Adults, $100, children ages 5-12 are $35. Tax, tip and beverages are extra. Dress slacks with closed-toe shoes required for men.<br />Reservations required; call 533-3742.<br /><br />Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach<br />100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan<br />Plymouth Rock dinners served in beach cabanas for parties of 4 to 8 people; first seating 4 p.m.<br />Adults, $150; children 12 and older, $50; under 12 are free. Complimentary bottle of Ritz-Carlton red or white wine included; tax, tip and gratuity are extra.<br />Reservations required; call 540-4924.<br />Boca Raton Resort and Club<br />501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton<br />Adults, $75, children $32. Tuscan buffet served 4-9 p.m. Reservations required. Open to guests and members of the Resort; Lucca, 447-5822; the Resort, 447-3000.<br />Seagate Club<br />401 S. Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach<br />Three-course dinner served 2-9 p.m. <br />Adults, $40; children under 12, $20 ; tax, tip and gratuity are extra.<br />Reservations required. Open to club members and hotel guests; call 330-3775.<br /><br /><font size="4"><span style="font-weight:bold;">RECIPES</span></font><br /><br />To get some of the ingredients listed, visit your favorite gourmet market, or call them ahead to make sure they have them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lucca’s Thanksgiving Day Ravioli</span><br />2 pasta sheets – see note<br />¼ cup ricotta cheese<br />¼ cup pumpkin pie filling<br />1 tablespoon honey<br />salt and white pepper to taste<br />3 large eggs, separated<br />1 small link sweet Italian sausage, casing removed<br />4 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />¼ bunch sage leaves, picked<br />1 lemon, cut in half<br />2 tablespoons cranberry mostarda – see note<br />1 small piece of cornbread, small diced and baked dry (or 1/3 cup cornbread crumbs)<br />2 tablespoons duck confit, warmed – see note<br />Parmesan cheese<br /><br />Thaw pasta sheets. Place them on a clean, lightly floured work surface. Cut into four 3-inch-by-3-inch squares.<br />In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, pumpkin pie filling and honey; season to taste with salt and white pepper. Put about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of half the pasta squares. Use a spoon to press a well-like indentation in the filling. Separate the yolks from the whites (reserve the whites), and place a yolk in the center of each well. Whip the egg whites with the remaining yolk, and using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash around the filling and the egg yolk; this will seal the pasta sheets. Gently place the remaining pasta sheets over the filling. Press around the filling and the yolk to seal the pasta sheets. Use a fork and work around the edges of the ravioli to crimp the edge.<br />Have a large pot of gently boiling water on the stove. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook until they begin to float. Remove from water.<br />While you are cooking ravioli, make the sauce. On medium heat in a sauté pan, crumble and brown the sausage; drain fat from pan. <br />In another pan on medium heat, add butter and sage leaves. Cook until it begins to brown and emit a hazelnut aroma. <br />At this point, squeeze the juice of the lemon into the butter to stop the browning. Add cranberry mostarda and sausage; season to taste with salt and pepper.<br />Plate the ravioli: Place ravioli in a shallow soup plate. Spoon brown butter sauce with mostarda, sausage and sage leaves around the plate. <br />Place warm duck confit on top and grate good quality Parmesan over all.<br />Makes 2 servings.<br /><br />Note: Pasta sheets, cranberry mostarda (mustard) and duck confit can be purchased at gourmet markets such as Whole Foods, in Boca Raton, C’est Si Bon in Palm Beach, and the Boy’s Market in Delray Beach.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pumpkin Crème Brûlée</span> <br />2 cups heavy cream<br />3-1/4 cup sugar, plus 4 teaspoons<br />8 large egg yolks<br />1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg<br />1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin <br />Gingersnap cookie, for garnish<br />Candied orange peel, for garnish, optional<br />Directions:<br />Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. <br />Arrange 8 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups in a large metal baking pan (or use 8 individual oven-safe bowls). <br />In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.<br />In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy and lemon-colored. Slowly add 3/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking briskly. Add the egg mixture to the remaining hot cream, and whisk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin, and whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Divide among the prepared custard cups. <br />Add enough hot water to the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custards are set in the center but not stiff, approximately 50 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight. <br />Dust each custard cup with 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining sugar. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar. (Alternately, preheat the broiler, and broil until the sugar caramelizes, watching closely to avoid burning, rotating the cups, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Place on small dessert plates, Garnish plate with gingersnap and candied orange peel if desired.<br />Makes 8 servings.<br /><p style="text-align:left;"><br /></p>
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pumpkin Le Poire Martini</span> <br />6 ounces Grey Goose pear vodka <br />2 ounces Liquor 43 <br />2 ounces Pumpkin syrup — see note<br />4 ounces cream <br />1 teaspoon equal parts ground allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg — or pumpkin pe spice mix<br />4 teaspoons hand-whipped cream <br />Orange zest for garnish<br /><br />Pour vodka, Liquor 43, pumpkin syrup and cream into martini shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, strain and pour into martini glass. Garnish each with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, a teaspoon of hand-whipped cream and orange zest. Add caramelized pear to side of glass if desired (recipe follows).<br />Makes 4 servings.<br />Note: Pumpkin syrup is sold as a coffee flavoring, and is available at some gourmet markets and online. Brand names for this product are Torani, Monin and DaVinci.<br /><br />Caramelized pear (for garnish, optional) <br />4 slices thinly sliced pear (longways) <br />2 tablespoons unmelted butter <br />2 tablespoons sugar <br />1 tablespoon brandy <br />1 teaspoon lemon juice <br />Pinch of pumpkin pie spice <br />In a sauté pan on medium heat, melt the butter then stir in the sugar. Simmer, stir occasionally until the mixture begins to turn golden brown and caramelizes. Add brandy and lemon juice to the pan and simmer to incorporate. Add pear slices and cook each side slowly to tenderize and caramelize. Sprinkle with pumpkin spice and let cool. Add to side of martini glass.<br /><br /><br /></div>Boca goes Hollywood for Caridad galahttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-goes-hollywood-for2010-11-03T20:09:40.000Z2010-11-03T20:09:40.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="width:416px;height:277px;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960308881,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br /><br />By Scott Simmons <br /><br />It’s the classic immigrant story. <br />A young man comes to New York from India to gain an education. He prospers, but never forgets his homeland, and never forgets what it’s like to be a stranger in a new land.<br />It also is the story of Sanjiv Sharma, who will co-host this year’s Caridad Center gala with his other half, Nadine Allen.<br />“Caridad in particular is close to my heart because I am a first-generation immigrant and I know how difficult it is for a first-generation family to come in here,” says Sharma, who lives in Highland Beach.<br />The 10th annual gala, which is Nov. 19 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, has as its theme “Golden Age of Hollywood.”<br />“Mark your calendars for an exceptional, elegant evening,” Allen said in a statement. “But you may have to watch out for the paparazzi.”<br />Fun aside, the Caridad Center operates free medical and dental clinics west of Boynton Beach that provide health services to the uninsured, working poor families of Palm Beach County. The center literally has treated thousands of people since its founding in a trailer 17 years ago.<br />“In this economy, the social cost of unemployment is huge,” Sharma said. “A safety net like this benefits the whole community. It’s been an easy charity to get involved with.”<br />Sharma came to the United States from India about 30 years ago to study at Columbia University. <br />He took a year off from school because of finances, and found a position with a Wall Street firm. He now is a partner in AVM, which manages a hedge fund. He also has been involved with fund-raising for the Community Foundation.<br />Allen, who was born in Argentina, had a clothing boutique on Worth Avenue for many years, Sharma said, but now devotes herself to raising her 16-year-old daughter. Allen also has been involved with the charity Share Our Strength, which has a goal of ending childhood hunger.<br />How will Sharma and Allen dress for a Hollywood-themed ball?<br />“Nadine is very stylish,” Sharma says. “I may go with<br />a Bollywood theme.”<br /><br />The Caridad Center’s gala, “Golden Age of Hollywood,” starts at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. There will be silent and live auctions. Tickets: $250. Phone: 853-1622. <br /></div>