house - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-19T02:43:22Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/houseBoca Raton/Highland Beach: State District 91 race leads to 2 vacant seatshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-highland-beach-state-district-91-race-leads-to-2-vacan2022-11-02T15:07:49.000Z2022-11-02T15:07:49.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10861027267,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10861027267,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="208" alt="10861027267?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky and Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>Boca Raton City Council member Andy Thomson and Highland Beach Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who are running against each other to serve in the Florida House of Representatives, will step down from their seats this month because of the state’s resign-to-run law.<br />With time running short, Thomson’s council colleagues have not addressed whether they will appoint someone to temporarily replace him or leave the seat open until the March 14 municipal election.<br />When Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke broached the matter at the end of a very long Oct. 25 meeting, other council members said they wanted to wait until their meeting on Nov. 8 to discuss it.<br />Meanwhile, Highland Beach commissioners are seeking applications from residents interested in filling the seat being vacated by Gossett-Seidman, who has resigned effective Nov. 9, the day after the election. <br />Residents wishing to fill the seat for four months until the town holds its March election will have until noon Nov. 15 to submit an application and background check waiver, available on the town’s website. <br />Commissioners will receive the applications during their meeting later on Nov. 15 and will hold a special commission meeting on Nov. 22 to interview candidates and vote on an appointment.<br />Highland Beach’s candidate qualifying period for the March election is Nov. 8 to Nov. 22. In addition to the year left on Gossett-Seidman’s term, town voters may select a mayor and another commissioner.<br />The Boca Raton candidate qualifying period is Nov. 1 to Nov. 9. The mayor’s seat and two council seats are up for election.<br />Democrat Thomson, who resigned effective Nov. 7, was elected in 2018 and re-elected without opposition in 2020.<br />Republican Gossett-Seidman has been a Highland Beach town commissioner since 2018.<br />They are seeking to replace Emily Slosberg-King, a Democrat, in a redrawn House District 91. <br />A Boca Raton council seat last became vacant in 2020 when then-Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers, a Navy Reservist, was called to active duty and no longer could participate in city meetings. Council members appointed Yvette Drucker to replace him until his term ended. She then won election to a three-year term. </p></div>Elections: Gossett-Seidman, Caruso, Byers advance to November ballothttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/elections-gossett-seidman-caruso-byers-advance-to-november-ballot2022-08-25T15:29:58.000Z2022-08-25T15:29:58.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Joel Engelhardt</strong></p>
<p> The Aug. 23 primary whittled the field in three races critical to residents of coastal South County.</p>
<p> In the closest race, Highland Beach Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman defeated newcomer Christina DuCasse with 52.6% of the vote, per unofficial results posted on Aug. 24. Gossett-Seidman, a Republican, will face Boca Raton City Council member Andy Thomson, a Democrat, for the House District 91 seat in November. </p>
<p> State Rep. Mike Caruso, moving into new House District 87, took 67.5% of the vote in defeating Republican Party activist Jane Justice. Caruso, who has spent more than half of the $208,000 he raised through Aug. 18, will face Democrat Sienna Osta, who has raised $4,900.</p>
<p> In Senate District 26, Republican Steve Byers took 58.8% of the vote to defeat William Wheelen. Byers will face incumbent Democrat Lori Berman on Nov. 8.</p>
<p> Gossett-Seidman, who won by about 500 votes from about 9,500 cast, spent nearly $194,000 in her race. DuCasse, a Russian-born American adoptee married to a Boca firefighter, spent less than $10,000 but had the support of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1560 of Boca Raton. </p>
<p> Gossett-Seidman, 69, raised nearly $290,000, including a $200,000 loan from herself. She credited her victory to hard work, going door-to-door and her success in getting Tallahassee financial support for local projects. </p>
<p> Thomson, who had no primary challenger, has raised $225,000 but spent just $30,000. The district includes all of Boca Raton, most of Highland Beach and much of west Boca.</p>
<p> After four years representing the Delray Beach area and most of the South County barrier islands, Caruso moved into a new coastal district that starts at the Boynton Inlet and covers Hypoluxo, Lantana, Manalapan and South Palm Beach, as well as large swaths of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.</p>
<p> He decried the split in the party that turned many local party members against him over his primary endorsement of Democrat Katherine Waldron, a Port of Palm Beach commissioner. He said he spent money fighting “untruths” that should have been saved for his Democratic rival. </p>
<p> Caruso, 63, said he took calls every day from voters concerned by allegations made by his opponent and his campaign knocked on 14,000 doors. </p>
<p> “We need to come together as a party,” he said. “We’ve got to keep Florida red, keep Florida conservative and keep Florida free.”</p>
<p> Byers, 54, parlayed success in Amway sales into a consulting business that he said online did projects for IBM and the CIA. Among businesses he started since then is one as a beekeeper. </p>
<p> Byers sent out campaign mailers promoting himself and DuCasse. The mailers stated they were paid for by the Byers campaign but did not contain a similar disclosure on behalf of DuCasse, prompting criticism that they violated Florida election law. </p>
<p> He lent his campaign $54,800 and raised an additional $1,665, while spending nearly $33,000 (including $5,000 to repay loans to himself).</p>
<p> Wheelen had been a party volunteer since 2015 and was honored with the local party’s Jean Pipes Award for Volunteer Service in March at a Mar-a-Lago dinner headlined by Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.</p>
<p> Neither Wheelen nor Byers returned phone calls seeking comment. </p>
<p> Byers will face Berman, who served eight years in the state House and has been a state senator since 2018. Through Aug. 18, she raised $130,000 and spent $35,000. </p>
<p> Senate District 26 extends along the beach from Boca Raton’s Red Reef Park to the Boynton Inlet and stretches west to Belle Glade.</p></div>Boca Raton: Developer reapplies to build on the beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-developer-reapplies-to-build-on-the-beach2022-05-04T15:06:15.000Z2022-05-04T15:06:15.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10463427260,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10463427260,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10463427260?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><em>Even after it was reduced from a four-story duplex to this three-story single-family home, the plan for 2600 N. Ocean has met with resistance from city planners. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>The developer that set off a firestorm of angry opposition in 2019 with plans for a four-story duplex on the beach is back with a more modest proposal: this time for a three-story, single-family home with 59% less window and door glass facing the ocean. <br /> But when Boca Raton’s Environmental Advisory Board convened a hearing April 28 to consider the revised project, a representative for Azure Development LLC, which owns the undeveloped lot at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., asked for a postponement.<br /> “At 3:45 on Friday [April 22] we received from the city a staff report that contains more than 100 pages, including reports from experts that have not been used previously. And we did not have an opportunity to meet with our experts to prepare to discuss it,” Robert Sweetapple, the developer’s lawyer, said once the meeting was underway.<br /> The audience of 80 or more citizens who packed the auditorium of the city’s 6500 Municipal Building let out a collective groan. Erica Allen, vice chair of the EAB, felt their pain.<br /> “I would like to deny the postponement. I think it’s difficult for a lot of people to come out, and he’s had this plan for days now,” Allen said.<br /> But board Chairman Rick Newman and member Margaret Horty voted yes, and the hearing was over. Members Lyn Forster and Ben Kolstad were absent.<br /> No date was set for the rescheduled session.<br /> To proceed, the project needs a variance from the City Council to build seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line. A recommendation from the EAB to approve or deny the variance is the last step before council action.<br /> In their report to the advisory board, city planners raised mostly the same objections they had three years ago.<br /> “Staff … concludes that while the new proposal to build a single-family home rather than the previously proposed duplex is less impactful in regards to the massing of the structure, the criteria for granting a CCCL variance still have not been satisfied by the application,” the report said. It added that the proposal “would have excessive, deleterious environmental impacts, and is not sensitive to its environmental context.”<br /> The city planners were not satisfied with the 59% reduction in glass facing the ocean, which is accompanied by reductions of 82% and 87% on the sides of the home. The concern is that light from the home will discourage sea turtles trying to nest and disorient hatchlings trying to find the ocean.<br /> “The Applicant can derive reasonable use of the Property by proposing a structure with far less mass and glass (particularly on the east facing elevation) that has fewer impacts to nesting sea turtles associated with development lighting and fewer impacts to dune vegetation,” the report said.<br /> City staff also had a number of questions that it said Azure had not answered yet. The information sought includes details on a rooftop terrace and terrace safety barrier, a sidewalk plan, a landscape plan that shows specific plant locations, and structural details for the house.<br /> Besides the terrace, the rooftop will feature a pool and summer kitchen. The house will also have four bedrooms, six and one-half baths and a wine cellar. The garage will hold two vehicles; the driveway can provide parking for three or four more vehicles.<br /> Sweetapple felt cheered when he saw a page in the report labeled “Conditions for Approval” followed by 30 items.<br /> “For the first time, we’ve received some positive indication from the city regarding what could be done to encourage staff to approve the application. We’ve been working since 2016 on this application,” he said.<br /> But Brandon Schaad, the city’s director of development services, quickly turned on his microphone to say that the page’s label was incorrect.<br /> “The words there at the top are in error, and I apologize for that,” Schaad said, repeating that staff’s recommendation was to deny the variance.<br /> Once the application reaches the City Council, Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke and council member Monica Mayotte will have to sit out the discussion and not vote on the variance. After the council denied a variance for the duplex plan in 2019, Azure obtained a court ruling that emails O’Rourke and Mayotte sent residents showed they had a prejudicial bias against the project.</p></div>House of the Month: Elegant retreat in Ocean Ridgehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/house-of-the-month-elegant-retreat-in-ocean-ridge2020-03-03T20:03:56.000Z2020-03-03T20:03:56.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960920691,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960920691,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960920691?profile=original" /></a><em>A wall of sliders is a focal point of the Great Room, allowing inside and outdoor activities to casually coexist. The room has a 10-foot fireplace.</em></p>
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<p>Florida custom home builders Bertino & Associates designed and developed this new construction with thoughtful attention to detail, inside and out, to present Florida seaside living at its finest. White oak floors, walls of sliders, soaring ceilings and calming color schemes combine to make the home an open concept prepared for formal entertaining or simple family gatherings.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960919497,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960919497,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960919497?profile=original" /></a><em>A formal dining room is a first-floor feature near the gourmet kitchen, pantry and wine center.</em></p>
<p><br />This two-story home with 7,537 total square feet has five bedrooms, five and a half baths, a separate guest house, an oversized three-car garage and pool and spa on the grounds, all within steps of the Intracoastal and the beach. The open kitchen has a porcelain waterfall island and state- of-the-art amenities with Thermador appliances.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921459,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921459,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960921459?profile=original" /></a><em>19 Hudson Street, Ocean Ridge, is just a few steps from the beach and Intracoastal waterway.</em></p>
<p><br />The main level continues with an executive office, VIP guest suite, full laundry room and a family entrance complete with lockers. The first-floor master suite has an extraordinary bath with Grohe fixtures, separate vanities, a spa tub and steam rain shower. Full-size slabs of porcelain and natural stone create a true spa-style retreat.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921476,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921476,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960921476?profile=original" /></a><em>First-floor master suite is an oasis of luxury with French doors to pool and garden.</em></p>
<p><br />Upstairs are two spacious en-suite bedrooms and a huge game room/TV room with a bar. An expansive veranda overlooks the pool and can be used as another space for entertaining.</p>
<p><br />Outdoors are covered patios encompassing the pool and spa and a well-designed summer kitchen. The garage is separate from the main house and has a spacious storage room. Above it is a guest house complete with all the necessities.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960921672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-full" alt="7960921672?profile=original" /></a><em>Clean lines and timeless, classic style are the design hallmarks of the property.</em></p>
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<p>Offered at $3,800,000. Call Val Coz, Douglas Elliman, 900 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33483, 561-386-8011, valeriecoz@gmail.com</p>
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<p><em>Each month, The Coastal Star features a house for sale in our community. The House of the Month is presented as a service to our advertisers and provides readers with a peek inside one of our houses.</em></p></div>House of the Month: Point estate graces Intracoastal in Gulf Streamhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/house-of-the-month-point-estate-graces-intracoastal-in-gulf-strea2020-01-28T19:30:00.000Z2020-01-28T19:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960931491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960931491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960931491?profile=original" /></a><em>Enjoy sunsets from two vantage points of the entertainment loggia, complete with outdoor kitchen.</em></p>
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<p>This home, a waterfront estate designed by Randall Stofft on a one-acre-plus lot, has more than 470 feet of Intracoastal frontage and a dock with room for a 100-foot-plus yacht.</p>
<p>The home is comfortably spacious with more than 12,567 total square feet. A private, detached one-bedroom, one-bath house is situated on the property for staff or guests.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960931694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960931694,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960931694?profile=original" /></a><em>This home occupies a south point lot, has a gracious layout and panoramic views of the water.</em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932078,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932078,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960932078?profile=original" /></a><em>Top-of-the-line details and marble tile flooring fill the formal living room overlooking the waterway.</em></p>
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<p>The main home has a total of six en suite bedrooms and seven baths.</p>
<p>It features a spacious first-floor master, epicurean kitchen; informal dining room; formal dining room; sun-filled family room; state-of-the art home theater; dual offices; exercise room; massage room; loft area, and three-bay garage.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932101,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932101,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960932101?profile=original" /></a><em>The home’s design incorporates charming elements such as this cozy spot in a bay window.</em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960932474,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960932474?profile=original" /></a><em>A five-star resort pool and spa are main components of the loggia.</em></p>
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<p><em>Offered at $13,495,000. Contact the Friis team at the Corcoran Group, 901 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach, FL 33483. Office phone is 561-278-0433. Contact Candace Friis at candacefriis.com or 561-573-9966; Phil Friis at 561-706-1922.</em></p>
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<p>Each month, The Coastal Star features a house for sale in our community. The House of the Month is presented as a service to our advertisers and provides readers with a peek inside one of our houses.</p></div>House of the Month: Private waterfront compound in Highland Beachhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/house-of-the-month-private-waterfront-compound-in-highland-beach2019-12-31T15:33:20.000Z2019-12-31T15:33:20.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960923059?profile=original" /></a><em>A heated, scenic saltwater pool with spa is perfectly framed by the spacious terrace overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and grounds.</em></p>
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<p>The residence offers five bedrooms, five full and two half baths with more than 11,000 total square feet. Meticulously maintained to include special upgrades and improvements by the owner, this property has impact windows and doors, whole house generator, Control4 technology, elevator, six air-conditioning zones, central vacuum, two large hot water heaters, two gas fireplaces, storage and four-car air-conditioned garage.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923082,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923082,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960923082?profile=original" /></a><em>The covered loggia overlooks the pool and waterway and has a summer kitchen with dining area.</em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923666,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923666,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960923666?profile=original" /></a><em>A custom 40,000-pound boat lift made by No Profile is part of the 99 feet of water frontage. The lift measures 20 by 60 feet.</em></p>
<p><br />The home has a paneled library with a fireplace, a paneled billiards room, a chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry, wine cellar, ground floor laundry and substantial storage.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923689,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960923689,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960923689?profile=original" /></a><em>A home theater has a 120-inch screen and hidden projector, stadium seating, custom lights and controls.</em></p>
<p><br />All en suite bedrooms are accessed via the grand staircase or elevator. The master wing is a luxurious retreat with sitting room, a morning bar, a private balcony and dual master baths. Upstairs has its own laundry facilities as well.</p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960924262,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960924262,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960924262?profile=original" /></a><em>A soaring gold-leaf ceiling, Biltmore Estate-inspired chandelier and stone fireplace are interior custom touches in the formal living room. A solid wall of windows overlooks the waterway.</em></p>
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<p>Offered at $6,995,000. Contact Nick Malinosky, Douglas Elliman, 900 E. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1, Delray Beach, 561-306-4597, nicholas.malinosky@elliman.com</p></div>Finding Faith: A sisterhood of artful ladieshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/a-sisterhood-of-artful-ladies2019-10-01T20:30:00.000Z2019-10-01T20:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960892860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960892860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960892860?profile=original" /></a><em>Linda Prior, Marie Buss and BJ Mays (l-r) wear crocheted baby blankets they created for Holly House at First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach. Buss is 93 and Mays is 91. On this occasion they gathered at Buss’ house. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;">Crafters at First Presbyterian of Delray Beach, including some dynamic nonagenarians, keep Holly House hopping as it marks its 50th year</span></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>By Janis Fontaine</strong></span></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">During the past 50 years, the ladies of Holly House have been praised for giving more than $250,000 to their church, First Presbyterian of Delray Beach, and local charities.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> People laud them for the longevity of both their annual rummage sale and Holiday Gift Shoppe, which have raised most of that money. Others speak of their admiration for the women’s creativity and craftsmanship, while bargain hunters marvel at the deals they get on a cornucopia of handmade items the women make and sell.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> But more than the money, more than the history and more than the joy of stretching their creative muscles, it’s the relationships that sustain these women. When they lose someone, it’s still a shock. But in the same way many hands make light work, the ladies of Holly House provide many shoulders to lean on.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893082,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893082,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960893082?profile=original" /></a></span><em>The women of Holly House gather to make crafts for their Holiday Gift Shoppe, which will be open in October, November and December. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Helen Antal, 92, one of the oldest ladies of Holly House, died in August. She was a “Table Lady,” part of a team of versatile crafters who could easily learn new projects. Helen took her place beside Marie Buss, 93, and BJ Mays, 91, every Tuesday, where they brought almost three centuries of handcrafting experience to the table.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> And Helen was a top recruiter; she told anyone who would listen how much fun Holly House was. She said, “It’s a way to make new friends and contribute your time and talent to raise money for church improvements.”</span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960893655?profile=original" /></a></span><em>Holly House member BJ Mays dresses angels for the Holiday Gift Shoppe at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> It was easy to get BJ involved. She and her husband visited quite a few churches before they found First Presbyterian, and it wasn’t long before BJ found the ladies of Holly House.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Marie was different. She needed coaxing. “I’m not a go-getter,” Marie said, “but Helen welcomed me and got me involved. She made me laugh.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Their friendship blossomed and they even vacationed together with their husbands, so Helen’s death hit Marie especially hard. But there, right beside her, were her Holly House friends, ready to support her.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Now at home with a back injury, Marie keeps her fingers dancing with a crochet hook, turning yarn to baby blankets and lap robes.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> “There are eight ladies who are in their 90s,” said BJ, the youngest-looking 91-year-old ever.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> But attrition isn’t an issue. New members, in search of a diversion or friends or to give back to the community, continue to join. <br /> “That’s how God works in our lives,” BJ said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> About 30 women meet for a couple of hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Some come every week, others when they can. It’s a relaxed setting, like the quilting bees of the mid-1800s when women would gather to work on one another’s quilts. Bees were also social events where women counseled and encouraged each other. And maybe they exchanged a bit of gossip.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893481,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893481,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960893481?profile=original" /></a></span><em>Jewelry items, some of them with coastal themes, are common projects for Holly House crafters.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> The ladies of Holly House make more than quilts. They craft one-of-a-kind items, from jewelry to tableware. They have made wreaths from recycled corks and trees from seashells. Knitted, crocheted, painted, sewed, quilted, embellished, repaired or decorated, the results all show the ladies’ magic.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Some women have their own passion projects: Tina Pinto likes to make teddy bears. Animal lover Nancy Crell makes dog treats and toys. The florists have an array of wreaths and trees, coastal decorations highlighting mermaids and plenty of poinsettias and holly berries.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> But many items are coastal products intended to be perfect in our homes by the sea all year long, like the all-season lighthouse trees, driftwood crosses, oyster shell wreaths and sandscapes in glass containers.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> And that money they raised? It paid to restore the church’s Fellowship Hall and the memorial garden; it purchased custom-made cushions for the pews; it bought a golf cart and new refrigerator; it replaced the steeple blown down during a hurricane; and it upgraded the AV system, bringing better sound to the sanctuary.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> Outside the church, the ladies of Holly House have supported Goodwill, Family Promise, Habitat for Humanity, the Haitian Foundation, Dress for Success and Ginger’s Closet. But the group’s grandest achievement came in 2013 when the ladies built their own space to hold Holly House in perpetuity.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893678,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960893678,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960893678?profile=original" /></a></span><em>Ocean Ridge resident Gina Logan (right) laughs with Delray Beach resident Jane Amme during work on last year’s Holiday Gift Shoppe. The holiday bazaar and the winter rummage sale are Holly House’s main fundraisers. <strong>Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> If it were a real business, the Gift Shoppe would have failed long ago. “We always charge the lowest price we possibly can,” BJ said.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> But it’s not a business.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> “The ladies are a sisterhood and the work is a mission,” said member Linda Prior, 76.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> And it’s a mission the ladies plan to continue.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> There is one thing they won’t do: Ask anyone in the group to analyze her productivity. Those crocheted pumpkins they’re going to sell for $3? It might take the ladies three hours to make one, which seems like a lot.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> “How long it takes to make something depends on how much we talk,” BJ explains.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><br /> They could work faster if they didn’t talk so much. But the talking? It’s the most enjoyable part.<br /></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> <strong>If You Go...</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">What: Holiday Gift Shoppe, handcrafted decorations, décor, jewelry, baby blankets and decorations.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Where: Holly House at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, 33 Gleason St.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">When: 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays in October and November, beginning Oct. 8, except Thanksgiving Day, and 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 30, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. In December, the shoppe also will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Info: 276-6338 or <a href="http://www.firstdelray.com/grow/women">www.firstdelray.com/grow/women</a></p></div>House of the Month: Magnificent Italian-style estate in Point Manalapanhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/house-of-the-month-magnificent-italian-style-estate-in-point-mana2019-10-01T19:30:00.000Z2019-10-01T19:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960901655?profile=original" /></a><em>The Tuscan-style estate boasts a grand scale (more than 1.5 acres), complete privacy and 383 feet of waterfront.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>This palatial estate with 72,934 square feet of lot, known as Serena Magi, commands a breathtaking vantage point on a tranquil lagoon leading onto the Intracoastal Waterway. It is a stately villa with 16,301 +/- total square feet and six bedrooms, eight and one-half baths, a three-car garage and state-of-the-art amenities throughout.</p>
<p><br /> Inside, the dining room’s chandelier and the library’s hand-carved mahogany mantel are among the mansion’s treasures curated from around the world. The dining room has a 2,500-bottle, climate-controlled wine cellar and butler’s pantry. A chef’s kitchen features a pecky cypress coffered ceiling, custom cabinetry, granite counters, butcher block island and professional grade appliances.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901079,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901079,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960901079?profile=original" /></a><em>Hand-carved mahogany doors open into the impressive foyer with a 35-foot frescoed ceiling, mosaic inlaid floors and a butterfly staircase.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901856,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901856,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960901856?profile=original" /></a><em>The two-story living room stands beyond the reception hall and features a baronial styled fireplace and a window wall overlooking the Intracoastal.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p>Served by an elevator, the master suite has a large bedroom and sitting room with a fireplace, built-in bar and armoire, a private waterfront balcony and lavish his-and-hers baths. Separate staff quarters have their own living room, kitchenette, bedroom, bath and double balconies.</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901695,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960901695,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960901695?profile=original" /></a><em>Particular details outside include a summer kitchen and cabana bath, well-appointed poolside loggia, gazebo bar and infinity-edge pool with spa and tiered fountains.</em></p>
<p><br /> The property overlooks the lagoon. An elegant garden terrace surrounds the pool and grounds, which are privately walled and gated. The palm-lined entry is served by a Chicago brick circular drive and elaborate fountain. A private dock on the Intracoastal completes this extraordinary waterfront estate.</p>
<p><br /> Offered at $7,999,000 by Pascal Liguori, Premier Estate Properties, 561-278-0100, premierestateproperties.com</p></div>Delray Beach: House prepared for movehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-house-prepared-for-move2019-07-31T16:38:11.000Z2019-07-31T16:38:11.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960884261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960884261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="550" alt="7960884261?profile=original" /></a><em>This classic Samuel Ogren Sr.-designed house on Northeast Seventh Avenue was destined for demolition to make room for three townhouses when architect and preservationist Roger Cope stepped in. The owner, Azure Development, told Cope, of Delray Beach, that if he could move the house off the property, he could have it. Cope eventually persuaded the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to preserve the 1937 house, which will be moved in mid-August to the CRA property on North Swinton Avenue to be repurposed for CRA offices. The effort drew support from CRA staffers and Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who serves as chairwoman of the CRA. The house now is raised from its foundation and ready to move. <strong>Photo provided</strong></em></p></div>The Plate: Shrimp & Grits — They’re what’s for brunchhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/dining-shrimp-grits-they-re-what-s-for-brunch2019-07-02T18:30:00.000Z2019-07-02T18:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960883862,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960883862,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960883862?profile=original" /></a>The Plate: Shrimp & Grits<br /> The Place: The Old Key Lime House, 300 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana; 582-1889 or <a href="http://www.oldkeylimehouse.com">www.oldkeylimehouse.com</a>.<br /> The Price: $11.99<br /> The Skinny: The view is so pretty at Lantana’s Old Key Lime House that the food could be beside the point at the waterfront restaurant.<br /> But the team does one better than that, serving up fresh seafood that’s decent regardless of the view.<br /> This order of shrimp and grits, served at brunch on Sundays, had five large shrimp served in a savory sauce atop creamy grits. <br /> The five shrimp were plump and tender and the bits of bacon lent a decadent crunch to the savory sauce.<br /> The Maryland-style crab cake was a hit with my companion, who said the patty was loaded with large lumps of sweet crab meat.<br /> <em>— Scott Simmons</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Environmental board rejects variance for coastal projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-environmental-board-rejects-variance-for-coastal-proje2019-05-01T14:52:53.000Z2019-05-01T14:52:53.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">The owner of the vacant beachfront lot at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. had a different lawyer and different experts from those representing a vacant lot two parcels north but got the same result — a recommendation to deny permission to build anything seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.</p>
<p class="p3">Attorney Neil Schiller, representing property owner Natural Lands LLC, told Boca Raton’s Environmental Advisory Board at its April 10 meeting that the evidence he would show was more “competent and substantial” than what the city had prepared. Natural Lands wants to build a 48-foot-tall, 8,666-square-foot single-family home.</p>
<p class="p3">But after a three-hour meeting that included 14 members of the public condemning the proposal, advisory board members voted 5-0 to urge the City Council to deny a variance. City staff also recommended denial.</p>
<p class="p3">The neighbors’ comments did not please Schiller.</p>
<p class="p3">“Multiple times during the public testimony they said, ‘This is our beach. Our beach — I walked on that property, I took those pictures.’ Ladies and gentlemen, for everybody in the room, this is private property. You may not like it, but it’s private property,” Schiller said.</p>
<p class="p3">The environmental board in January similarly voted to recommend denying a CCCL variance for a duplex proposed at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd.</p>
<p class="p3">But 2500 has something 2600 doesn’t — approvals from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and its Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.</p>
<p class="p3">Jane Herndon, a former division deputy director at the DEP, explained what the approvals mean.</p>
<p class="p3">“This document is stating the department’s conclusion that this project would have no significant adverse impacts to the beach dune areas or to the adjacent properties and that the work is not expected to adversely impact nesting sea turtles, their hatchlings or their habitat,” Herndon said.</p>
<p class="p3">The Natural Lands proposal went through 16 reviews at her agency before it was issued a notice to proceed, she said, “a very significant level of review.”</p>
<p class="p3">The approval, originally set to expire in October, was recently extended to 2022.</p>
<p class="p3">Schiller said the state’s OK raised no red flags.</p>
<p class="p3">“After that approval, no one filed an appeal — the city didn’t file an appeal, the neighbors didn’t file an appeal, the U.S. Department of the Interior did not file an appeal here,” Schiller said.</p>
<p class="p3">He also showed an aerial photo of the affected stretch of State Road A1A.</p>
<p class="p3">“It’s interesting to note that just down here there are two single-family homes built at 2330 N. Ocean Blvd. with no reported environmental impacts,” Schiller said.</p>
<p class="p3">He said Boca Raton’s experts, consultant Mike Jenkins of Applied Technology & Management Inc. and city marine conservationist Kirt Rusenko, produced reports that were “flawed” and that neither was a true expert, assertions that both men disputed.</p>
<p class="p3">“Of the projects that I have personally been involved with that have involved beaches in the state of Florida, 100 percent of them have had some relation to turtles and nesting,” said Jenkins, who has 20 years’ experience in coastal construction.</p>
<p class="p3">Rusenko said his reports, one made for the developer and another for the city, did not contradict each other.</p>
<p class="p3">“If you look at the report I at no point say that this project should go ahead. I would never agree with anything like that,” Rusenko said.</p>
<p class="p3">He also said simple physics explains the effect of lights near the ocean.</p>
<p class="p3">“The closer you are to the beach, the brighter it’s going to be,” Rusenko said.</p>
<p class="p3">Natural Lands’ application next goes to the City Council, which in February denied a CCCL variance to build a four-story duplex at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. That applicant has asked the Palm Beach County Circuit Court to review the EAB and City Council decisions for irregularities.</p>
<p class="p3">A court review is a prerequisite to filing a Bert Harris Act lawsuit for damages resulting from a government taking of private property.</p>
<p class="p3">The City Council caused a public outcry in late 2015 when it approved a zoning variance at 2500 N. Ocean to allow something to be built on the 85-foot-wide lot. City rules normally require lots at least 100 feet wide. </p></div>Boca Raton: Environmental board will review second beachfront proposalhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-environmental-board-will-review-second-beachfront-prop2019-04-03T14:34:24.000Z2019-04-03T14:34:24.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960850274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960850274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960850274?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p3">Hot on the heels of its January recommendation not to grant permission to build a duplex on the beach, the city’s Environmental Advisory Board this month will consider an application to build an equally controversial mini-mansion two lots south.</p>
<p class="p3">The City Council caused a public outcry in late 2015 when it approved a zoning variance for the proposed four-story home at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice to proceed, certifying that the project would not “weaken, damage or destroy the integrity of the beach and dune system.”</p>
<p class="p3">The EAB review is the last step before a final council vote. The environmental board will meet at 5:30 p.m. April 10 in the council chambers at City Hall. Plans call for a single-family structure with 10,432 square feet of habitable space.</p>
<p class="p3">The EAB recommended Jan. 10 that a variance to build a four-story duplex east of the Coastal Construction Control Line at 2600 N. Ocean be denied.</p>
<p class="p3">“Environmentally the Coastal Control Line is there for a reason, and it was put there for a good reason,” advisory board Chairman Stephen Alley said then.</p>
<p class="p3">Robert Sweetapple, the attorney for the applicant at 2600, asked the Palm Beach County Circuit Court on March 28 to grant a “writ of certiorari” and review the EAB and City Council’s decision and proceedings and determine whether any irregularities occurred.</p>
<p class="p3">Seeking such a writ is a prelude to filing a Bert Harris Act lawsuit for damages resulting from a government taking of private property. Sweetapple said a recent appraisal indirectly requested by Boca Raton valued 2600 N. Ocean at $7.2 million when developed. </p>
<p class="p3">Separately, Sweetapple asked a judge March 15 to order Boca Raton to turn over social media postings, cellphone texts and emails from and to City Council members and EAB members he said the city has unlawfully withheld. <span class="s2">Ú</span></p></div>Boca Raton: Beach duplex plan endures setback after heated debatehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-beach-duplex-plan-endures-setback-after-heated-debate2019-01-30T14:00:00.000Z2019-01-30T14:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1" style="text-align:center;"><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960847090,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960847090,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960847090?profile=original" /></a><em>ABOVE:</em></b> <em>The beachside (left) and west facades of the proposed duplex. The developer says the glass is a turtle-friendly design. </em></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">After hearing more than four hours of competing testimony about a proposed duplex on the beach, the city’s Environmental Advisory Board spent little time reaching a decision.</p>
<p class="p3">“Environmentally the Coastal [Construction] Control Line is there for a reason, and it was put there for a good reason,” board Chairman Stephen Alley said just before the panel voted 4-0 to recommend that the City Council deny the project a zoning variance.</p>
<p class="p3">Boca Raton city staff had urged the board not to approve building the duplex at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd., east of the coastal line that runs along the west side of State Road A1A at the property. Plans call for the structure to be four stories, approximately 49 feet tall, with 14,270 square feet of habitable space.</p>
<p class="p3">“The proposed duplex would have substantial negative environmental impacts, including negative impacts on endangered sea turtles and destruction of native vegetation, dune ecosystem and critical habitat,” said Brandon Schaad, Boca Raton’s director of development services.</p>
<p class="p3">Those in the overflow crowd Jan. 10 at City Hall made their own recommendations.</p>
<p class="p3">“If you take [the dune] away, it will be so heartbreaking. Really it’s heartbreaking,” said Tricia Krefetz, calling the duplex a “monstrosity” and breaking into tears while at the podium.</p>
<p class="p3">Another speaker directed her comments toward the property owner.</p>
<p class="p3">“When you bought your property, you knew what the rules were.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> … You’re asking to change the rules,” said Lillian Vineberg, whose family developed the Ocean Club condominium tower at 2401 N. Ocean, across A1A.</p>
<p class="p3">“Hopefully the developer will see that the best, highest use of this land is to donate it [to the city] to reap a healthy tax deduction,” seasonal visitor Mike Lee said.</p>
<p class="p3">Robert Sweetapple, attorney for the developer, dismissed Schaad’s analysis as being based on “junk science” and brought a gaggle of experts to rebut it. Boca Raton has a clear choice, he said: Either approve the duplex plan or buy the parcel for its recently appraised value of $7.1 million.</p>
<p class="p3">“The CCCL was passed after this property was made a buildable site and after taxes had been paid year after year after year,” Sweetapple said. “We’re not taking your beach and your property. The city’s messing with us and trying to take ours.”</p>
<p class="p3">The environmental board’s review was the next-to-the-last step for 2600 N Ocean LLC, which has a contract to purchase the property from New Jersey-based Grand Bank NA. The City Council will consider the request in February.</p>
<p class="p3">Council members caused a popular uproar in late 2015 when they gave a zoning variance for a four-story beachfront home two parcels south, at 2500 N. Ocean Blvd. That project has not yet come before the EAB.</p>
<p class="p3">The city staff’s recommendation against 2600 N. Ocean was based in large part on a coastal engineering and environmental review by consultant Mike Jenkins of Applied Technology & Management Inc. Jenkins in turn relied heavily on the city’s marine conservationist, Kirt Rusenko.</p>
<p class="p3"></p>
<p class="p3" style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960847288,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960847288,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960847288?profile=original" /></a><em>The property for the duplex (between red lines and west of the yellow beach line) lies in one of the heaviest turtle nesting areas of Boca Raton. <b>Renderings provided by the City of Boca Raton</b></em></p>
<p class="p3"></p>
<p class="p3">Rusenko’s report on the property showed that from 2008 to 2017 green sea turtles made three nests, loggerheads two nests and leatherbacks one nest, all on the beach in front of the dune system. They made a collective 17 “false crawls,” coming up on the sand but not digging a nest, 12 of them in the foredune closest to the water.</p>
<p class="p3">“The glass surfaces of the proposed structure would certainly reflect light possibly enough to deter nesting turtles and disorient their hatchlings,” wrote Rusenko, who did not attend the advisory board meeting.</p>
<p class="p3">But Tom Tomasello, onetime general counsel for the state’s Department of Natural Resources and an expert witness for the developer, said the proposal fully complies with Florida law and rules regarding dunes, lighting and sea turtles.</p>
<p class="p3">“The idea is to minimize the impact, and we’ve minimized the impact to the dune system as much as we possibly can,” said Tomasello, who also represented Boca Raton when the city obtained state approval to trim sea grapes on A1A. “There is no criteria in any state rule or law that deals with reflection. It has never been an issue.”</p>
<p class="p3">John Fletemeyer, who supervised sea turtle conservation in Delray Beach for 31 years, presented a study that showed turtles nested less frequently behind undeveloped Atlantic Dunes Park on A1A than behind the condos north and south.</p>
<p class="p3">“I don’t have a reason for this, but it certainly is the case,” Fletemeyer said. “You would expect … that Atlantic Dunes Park, being least developed, would have the highest nesting densities. In fact, just the opposite is true.”</p>
<p class="p3">Each side of the duplex proposed by partners Richard Caster and Brian Grossberg would have a roof level with a pool, spa, fire pit and outdoor kitchen. Sweetwater said the “cutting edge” building would have special glass facing the ocean that would transmit only 10 percent of interior light, below the city’s request for 15 percent, and have only 8 percent reflectivity.</p>
<p class="p3">“And all the glass has been recessed. So this is the most turtle-friendly building that has ever been presented in this county,” Sweetapple said. “This building will actually reduce sky glow, which is the main concern with regard to nesting turtles.”</p>
<p class="p3">Before the vote, advisory board vice chairman Ben Kolstad said the panel would not offer advice on property rights.</p>
<p class="p3">“I respect property rights; I have property rights; I intend to enforce them as rigorously as I can on my own property. And I don’t fault the petitioner for doing the same,” Kolstad said. “I do think there’s a pressing public interest here that is being perhaps ignored by the petitioner.” </p></div>Gulf Stream: Residents getting restless over lack of progress on new househttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-residents-getting-restless-over-lack-of-progress-on-n2018-08-29T05:32:03.000Z2018-08-29T05:32:03.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1" style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960804295,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960804295,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960804295?profile=original" /></a><em>After nearly three years of construction, there has been a recent increase in the number of workers parking their vehicles outside this home on Polo Drive. <b>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</b></em></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p3">Town Commissioner Paul Lyons already knows what he’ll be asked when Gulf Stream’s seasonal residents start to return next month.</p>
<p class="p3">“The first question’s going to be underground, the second’s going to be: What’s going on with that house?” Lyons said, referring to almost three years of construction at 3140 Polo Drive.</p>
<p class="p3">People who were hoping the end is near will not be happy with either answer.</p>
<p class="p3">James and Jennifer Cacioppo bought three lots on Polo Drive, had them replatted as two lots and won commission approval to demolish an existing house in July 2015. Seaside Builders LLC filed its notice of commencement of construction on Nov. 10, 2015.</p>
<p class="p3">Work has now taken so long the owners will have to repaint the outside of the 8,560-square-foot structure and clean the roof to get approval to move in, Town Manager Greg Dunham said at the commission’s Aug. 10 meeting.</p>
<p class="p3">Lyons said he fields “a lot of complaints” about the house and Commissioner Joan Orthwein said she does too.</p>
<p class="p3">“They keep saying, ‘Isn’t there something you can do?’ ” Orthwein said. “It’s unfortunate that they won’t get it done. … The people that own the house — they keep changing their minds, from what I gather, or something along those lines.”</p>
<p class="p3">Neighbor Bob Burns, who walks by regularly with his dog, gave an update from the audience.</p>
<p class="p3">“It seems like there’s three or four cars there where there used to be maybe one. So in the last 10 days or so I would say that there’s been — I won’t say significant but there’s been a slight improvement at least in the number of people that are there trying to do something,” Burns said. “I haven’t seen much, except it now has shutters, it now has outside lights, but as far as anything else … it doesn’t look like there’s any more work been done in the last week than there’s been in the last two months.”</p>
<p class="p3">Vice Mayor Thomas Stanley said the rule of thumb is 24 months for a 10,000-square-foot house. “They’re probably a little over that,” he said.</p>
<p class="p3">Staff attorney Trey Nazzaro said even if the town adopted an ordinance like Palm Beach’s spelling out time constraints for builders, it would not affect this project. “Based on the square foot calculations, this house is about within the time it would normally take,” Nazzaro said.</p>
<p class="p3">Meanwhile, the town was installing underground piping in an easement on the southern edge of the Cacioppos’ property to drain often-flooded Polo Drive into the Intracoastal. Dunham expected that project to end before Labor Day.</p>
<p class="p3">Commissioners asked him to contact the Cacioppos when the project was finished to see if they would put in landscaping and take down the chain-link fence while work on their house continues.</p>
<p class="p3">On the underground project, Wilco Electric still had a few homes to convert from overhead power, Dunham told commissioners. Comcast has already begun to connect its fiber-optic lines, then AT&T will come to put telephone lines into the underground conduit.</p>
<p class="p3">If they work one after the other, “it would probably be a year” before they finish, Dunham said. He said he would meet with the companies in hopes of getting them to work simultaneously on different streets.</p>
<p class="p3">“We’ll continue to move forward on it, and it will be done at some point,” Mayor Scott Morgan said.</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><b>In other business</b>, commissioners on first reading approved an ordinance eliminating references to items in the town’s building design rules categorized as “discouraged” and declaring them “prohibited.” A proposal to paint the garage doors on a white house black prompted the change.</p>
<p class="p3">Also, Dunham withdrew his suggestion that Gulf Stream pay part of the health insurance premiums for the families of town employees. He said he would investigate compensation packages and bring the idea back next summer. </p></div>Along the Coast: Caruso, Bonfiglio ready to face off in November electionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-caruso-bonfiglio-ready-to-face-off-in-november-el2018-08-29T05:16:25.000Z2018-08-29T05:16:25.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Steve Plunkett</b></span></p>
<p class="p3">Experience beat youth in the primary contests for District 89, with Mike Caruso and Jim Bonfiglio a big step closer to taking a seat in the Florida Legislature.</p>
<p class="p3"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960803095,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960803095,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="97" class="align-left" alt="7960803095?profile=original" /></a>Caruso, 59, a barrier island resident and Delray Beach accountant, beat Matt Spritz, 35, a Boca Raton lawyer, to become the Republican standard-bearer. Caruso had 6,691 votes for a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.<a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960803468,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960803468,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="99" class="align-right" alt="7960803468?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p class="p3">Bonfiglio, 64, a lawyer and Ocean Ridge’s mayor, overcame Ryan Rossi, 33, a former high school teacher, to claim the Democratic nomination. Bonfiglio secured 7,025 votes, a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent.</p>
<p class="p3">In the November general election Bonfiglio and Caruso will also face Delray Beach business owner Deborah Wesson Gibson, who is not affiliated with a party.</p>
<p class="p3">District 89, which leans Republican, stretches along the coast from Boca Raton north to Singer Island.</p>
<p class="p3">Bonfiglio, who campaigned on a promise to make life “easier, safer and better,” has been on the Ocean Ridge Town Commission since 2014 after 14 years on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He resigned effective Nov. 6, Election Day, to run for the legislature.</p>
<p class="p3">Caruso, who qualified to run for the state House by collecting 1,241 petition signatures, says he will bring “real, experienced, community-based leadership” to Tallahassee. He has been a member of the Delray Beach Police Advisory Board and the West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition Board and also president of the Villas of Ocean Crest homeowners association and Atlantic Grove condominium association.</p>
<p class="p3">State Rep. Bill Hager, who won the District 89 seat in 2012, could not run again because of term limits. </p></div>Boca Raton: City OKs historic home’s use as restauranthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-oks2016-11-30T16:00:00.000Z2016-11-30T16:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960678867,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960678867,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960678867?profile=original" /></a><em>A bungalow built in the ‘20s will become Luff’s Fish House Restaurant,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>which is expected to open in about a year.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Sallie James<br /> <br /></strong> A historic 1920s bungalow tucked in the heart of downtown Boca Raton will be transformed into a rustic fish restaurant under a plan approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency.<br /> Luff’s Fish House Restaurant, at 390 E. Palmetto Park Road, is expected to open in about a year, said architect Derek Vander Ploeg. The structure, which has a coral rock chimney, will need to be remodeled and updated to accommodate the eatery, he said.<br /> “In its day it was a very significant house, given it was built around 1927,” Vander Ploeg said. “In order to preserve the character, we will preserve the outside skin. It will get new windows and new doors. It needs some tender loving care.”<br /> The CRA unanimously voted to change the 2,717-square-foot structure’s designated use from retail to restaurant during its Oct. 24 meeting. Members said they weren’t concerned that the bungalow did not fully meet existing parking requirements, driveway design, and parking aisle width, saying it was more important to preserve the historic building. <br /> “I wasn’t concerned about any of the building’s shortcomings,” said CRA member Mike Mullaugh. “We could have fewer parking spaces here because of the unique circumstances of this restaurant.”<br /> Said Vander Ploeg: “The code really says you need to be able to prove you tried to conform as much as possible.”<br /> Boca Raton pioneers Theodore and Harriet Luff, who moved to the city in the 1920s from East Orange, N.J., built the house, said Mary Csar, executive director of the Boca Raton Historical Society. <br /> In its day, the house was quite a standout, she noted. The bungalow style, with coral rock on the porches and chimney, was once very common, but no more. The house is considered an “exceedingly rare survivor” and is unique in Boca Raton, Csar told the CRA members. <br /> She called the restaurant use a “perfect adaptation” for a building that will be a “wonderful asset” for the downtown. “We believe having a restaurant in the Luff house is a wonderful use of this historic treasure — a truly unique setting on much-developed Palmetto Park Road,” Csar said. “It also is a great way to tell Boca Raton’s story to our new residents.”<br /> Over the years, the structure housed many retail businesses, and was the first office of the Historical Society, Csar noted. <br /> Investments Ltd. restaurateur Arturo Gismondi owns the property. He also is the owner of Trattoria Romana at 499 E. Palmetto Park Road and La Nouvelle Maison at 455 E. Palmetto Park Road. He entered into a long-term lease to operate Luff’s Fish House, Vander Ploeg said.</p></div>Lake Worth: Renovation plan for historic Gulfstream Hotel approvedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lake-worth-renovation-plan-for-historic-gulfstream-hotel-approved2016-03-02T20:30:00.000Z2016-03-02T20:30:00.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960637453,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960637453,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960637453?profile=original" /></a><em>Renderings show the Gulfstream in perspective, above,</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>and in a Lake Avenue streetscape.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Courtesy of JRA Architects, Louisville, Ky.</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960637080,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960637080,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="421" alt="7960637080?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /> <br /> One of the owners of the historic Sundy House in Delray Beach recently received approval to renovate the historic Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth. <br /> The combined planning and historic preservation meeting, held Feb. 17, means the Gulfstream project won’t have to be reviewed by the Lake Worth City Commission. <br /> The city’s Historic Resources Preservation Board was able to review only three of the seven issues in a session that lasted nearly six hours. The remaining four issues will be heard at the March 9 meeting. <br /> They include: razing two rundown historic homes to make way for the new hotel annex; adding a 6,500-square-foot, one-story building on the southeast side of the Gulfstream Hotel; and building the five-story hotel annex that will be 65 feet tall and a two-story parking garage with rooftop parking on the hotel’s west side. The garage can accommodate 145 cars.<br /> Board Vice Chairman Darrin Engel stepped down from the dais because his employer, REG Architects, recently was hired by the development team to be a consulting architect.<br /> The project will be done in phases, with the Gulfstream Hotel finished first. Amenities will include a champagne room and a rooftop bar. <br /> Restoring the hotel to its 1925 grandeur will result in 18 fewer rooms for a total of 87 rooms. The still-to-be-approved addition will provide kitchen facilities and have a rooftop pool, deck and pedestrian walkway to the hotel annex. <br /> Most of the 24 people who commented want to see the Gulfstream reopened. It’s been closed for more than 10 years. <br /> Some residents who live in nearby condos were concerned about the noise level of the rooftop deck and wanted to know the hours it would operate. <br /> Others were concerned about the parking, especially when the Gulfstream hosted a wedding or other big event. Bonnie Miskel, the land-use attorney for the project, said the owners would agree to do a parking study six months after receiving the last permit for the hotel annex. <br /> Rick Gonzalez of REG Architects said another floor could be added easily to the parking garage. <br /> Gonzalez also praised his employer, Hudson Holdings. “Florida is so lucky to have Hudson Holdings here from Chicago. They will bring back economic vitality to Lake Worth,” he said.<br /> In May 2014, Hudson Holdings teamed with Carl DeSantis, founder of Rexall Sundown vitamins, to buy the Gulfstream Hotel for $7.22 million. The hotel was placed on the National Register in 1983.<br /> In Delray Beach, Hudson Holdings partnered with Marshall Florida Holdings in July 2014 to pay $17.5 million for land on South Swinton Avenue that includes the historic Sundy House. <br /> For the property, now known as Swinton Commons, the development team is seeking Delray Beach approval to move eight historic homes and demolish eight others. Gonzalez also is the consulting architect for that project.</p></div>Along the Coast: Simple tips to create better backyard photographshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-simple-tips-to-create-better-backyard-photographs2013-01-30T17:00:00.000Z2013-01-30T17:00:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421264,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421264,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="509" alt="7960421264?profile=original" /></a><em><b>Patsy Randolph</b> used the pillars of a gazebo to frame her subject to create a</em> <br /> <em>photo that provides nice sense of the gardens.</em></p>
<p><span><b>By Jerry Lower</b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p>I have been a photographer and picture editor for most of my career and a teacher for a small part of it. I had the chance recently to bring these skills together in a photography workshop for about 40 members and guests of The Grass River Garden Club. We wanted a location with great photo potential for this class, so we choose the Taru Gardens of the Sundy House in Delray Beach. </p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421281,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421281,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="480" alt="7960421281?profile=original" /></a><em><b>Cody Jones</b> took full advantage of the scene-setting ability of<br /> a wide-angle lens to show the scale of the pools, <br /> while the shaded foreground leads the eye to the seating in the backgr</em><em>ound.</em></p>
<p>The class’s photographic skills ranged from beginner to advanced amateur. The equipment ranged from smartphones, simple point-and-shoot cameras, to advanced digital SLRs with interchangeable lenses.</p>
<p>After 35 minutes of viewing some quality photo examples and listening to a few helpful hints on how to create “better backyard photos,” members of the group took the next 30 minutes to shoot their assignment.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421094,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421094,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="509" alt="7960421094?profile=original" /></a>Tina Smith,</b> looked for an interesting angle and let the diffused backlight</em><br /> <em>illuminate the bloom of this angel’s trumpet. </em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p>On this page you’ll find the photos the Grass River Garden Club students created in January — published here with only limited image processing to make sure they reproduced well on newsprint. </p>
<p>Most of the basic instruction during the class dealt with camera angle, lens choice and quality of light. You will find these related tips in each photo caption on this page.</p>
<p>When asked, “What’s the best camera?” I always respond, “the one you have with you.” You can have thousands of dollars of camera equipment, but if you don’t take it with you because of weight or bulk, it’s no better than that smartphone in your pocket. <span><br /></span></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421461,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421461,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="334" alt="7960421461?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421661,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960421661,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="334" alt="7960421661?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Two photos, both from less than six inches away: <b>Christina Benisch</b> used a macro lens <br /> to isolate the lip of the blooms above from the green background, while<br /> <b>Laura Evans</b> used a wide-angle lens held very close to the bloom of this red ginger plant <br /> to show both the bloom and the character of the leaves of the plant and its surroundings.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Jerry Lower is the publisher of The Coastal Star and an award-winning photographer and designer. </em></p>
<p><i> </i></p></div>Real Estate: New owners plan to reside in former Pope estatehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/real-estate-new-owners-plan-to-reside-in-former-pope-estate2013-01-30T16:00:00.000Z2013-01-30T16:00:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960426491,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960426491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="405" class="align-center" alt="7960426491?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>The 32,000-square-foot Manalapan home once owned by Lois Pope<br /> has sold yet again, this time for $15.63 million. <b>Photo provided</b></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><b> </b></p>
<p><span><b>By Christine Davis</b></span></p>
<p></p>
<p>The former Manalapan home of the late Generoso Pope, founder and publisher of the <i>National</i> <i>Enquirer</i>, has sold yet again — this time for $15,630,000 — down from its high sale of $27.5 million in 2000. </p>
<p>The new owner of the three-acre, 32,000-square-foot oceanfront estate at 1370 S. Ocean Blvd. is Blue Water EJ LLC, according to the warranty deed filed on Dec. 28, 2012. </p>
<p>That would be Ed and Jené Brown, who plan on doing a complete renovation, said Jack Elkins, a Realtor with Fite Shavell, who represented both the buyer and the seller, MGM Designs, LCC.</p>
<p>“The Browns have already selected Lands End Development,” Elkins said. “They are ready to move forward as soon as they go through zoning.”</p>
<p>The Browns are “end users,” he said. “People are seeing the appeal of Manalapan, which I find refreshing.”</p>
<p>Brown is CEO and co-owner of Patron Spirits, a maker of tequila, rum and vodka.</p>
<p>If the Browns go through with their plans, they’ll be the first to occupy the estate since motivational speakers Peter S. and Tamara A. Lowe owned it from 2004 to 2009.</p>
<p>Here’s a rundown of the transactions — a total of more than $123 million — since 1999.</p>
<p>• In 1999, Delray Beach developer Frank McKinney purchased the property from Lois Pope for $15 million.</p>
<p>• Following an extensive remodel, McKinney sold it in November 2000 to the Binky Revocable Trust for $27.5 million, to software entrepreneur Daniel Gittleman.</p>
<p>• July 2004, McKinney’s company, Venture Concepts International Inc., took back the property’s title for $19 million. </p>
<p>• Two months later, another sale of the property was recorded. This time, McKinney’s company sold the estate for $22.4 million to the Lowes.</p>
<p>• June 2009, there was a recorded sale for $22,458,456 to Germantown-Seneca Joint Venture; it was an amount almost equal to the existing Bank America liens on the property. According to SEC filings, Germantown-Seneca’s general partners were two wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America: Ritchie Court M and Harper Farm M., both Maryland-based corporations.</p>
<p>• MGM Designs, LCC. bought the estate on Feb. 25, 2010, for $12 million.</p>
<p>• And finally, the latest sale to the Browns for $15,630,000. Elkins had listed the home for $18.5 in early summer of 2012.</p>
<p>When McKinney bought the estate from Pope, he undertook an 18-month renovation, which included adding a guest house and tennis courts, and reconfiguring the house for a 2,200-square-foot master suite and a large catering kitchen. “Here was a single lady living in a 29,000-square-foot house,” McKinney said. “It’s one of the best-built homes I’ve ever seen, but the floor plan was lacking for what we thought buyers wanted at that time. </p>
<p>“Downstairs, there was a basement with a 15-car garage and hair salon. We got rid of that and put in a spa.”</p>
<p>The Gittlemans were starting a family at the time, and decided they wanted to live in a more family-oriented community, McKinney said, so he bought it back. “I wasn’t looking to buy, but the price was right, and we were going to remake it again. Then the Lowes showed up and wanted it just the way it was.”</p>
<p>He was working on putting a deal together to buy it back in 2010, but MGM Designs beat him to it, he said.</p>
<p>“To rebuild that house today, it would cost $15 [million] to $18 million, and that doesn’t cover the cost of the land. It was a steal. MGM got the house for free, or vice versa.</p>
<p>“The house could be knocked down and two houses built there,” he added.</p>
<p>Which was what Ralph Gesualdo of MGM recognized when he and his wife, Mary, bought the property.</p>
<p>“We are happy to stay in our home on the Intracoastal,” he said. “1370 S. Ocean is a magnificent piece of property. Those kinds of lots are few and far between. But as we got into it, we realized it would take a considerable investment, and we didn’t want to put in the time and effort. It’s such a beautiful house and has good bones that we didn’t want to tear it down. And we found buyers who will give it tender loving care.” <span>Ú</span></p></div>Delray Beach: 1939 house movinghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-1939-house-moving2012-10-03T21:29:18.000Z2012-10-03T21:29:18.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960410297,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960410297,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="576" alt="7960410297?profile=original" /></a><em>A 1939 home slated for demolition was recently rescued and moved from its original location on Northeast Second Street, just west of the Intracoastal Waterway, to 170 Marine Way, at the corner of Southeast Second Street. The two-story, three-bedroom home with an outdoor balcony was purchased by Mark and Lou Gambill of Richmond, Va., and Delray Beach, after they learned the house was scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new home on the Northeast Second Street location. The move, on Sept. 16, took about eight hours, according to architect Roger Cope, who helped the Gambills coordinate the project. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p></div>Boca Raton: Historic bungalow may face bulldozerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-historic-bungalow2010-12-01T23:30:00.000Z2010-12-01T23:30:00.000ZScott Simmonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ScottSimmons<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960312458,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong><br /> <br /> Quiet, for a moment, please. Listen carefully and you can hear an SOS coming from the Boca Raton Historical Society. The wrecking ball looms and it’s threatening to take away a slice of the city’s history.<br /> In this case, it’s the Luff House, a unique Boca Raton example of the Florida coral rock-bungalow style. The two-story home at 390 Palmetto Park Road was built in the 1920s by pioneer residents Theodore and Harriet Luff. <br /> The current owners want to sell the property, says Mary Csar, the Boca Raton Historical Society’s executive director. They have offered the house to the Historical Society, but the organization lacks the money to buy it, move it and restore it. <br /> Although it would be eligible for grant funds like those provided in the past by the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation, those are limited and cannot be counted on, Csar says. <br /> The society is hoping a sensitive buyer will come forward — soon.<br /> <br /> <strong>House with a history</strong><br /> In the 1920s, the Luffs had the house built in a Florida interpretation of the bungalow style, using coral rock on the porches and chimneys. This type of bungalow, once fairly common, is now exceedingly rare in the state and is unique in Boca Raton. <br /> As Palmetto Park Road grew more commercial, the structure was occupied by a several businesses, including Front Porch Antiques, the Boca Watch Shoppe and Carousel Jewelers. <br /> The bungalow was home to community agencies like the Junior Service League and was the first home of the Boca Raton Historical Society. <br /> Arlene Owens, a Boca native born in 1945, says the Luffs were family friends and she recalls visiting the house as a child when they were quite old.<br /> “Everybody knew everybody back then,” Owens says. “There about 600 people living in the town then, although it swelled during the season with northerners would come to stay in the hotel.”<br /> Owens says the Luff’s décor was decidedly manly, “more him than her.” Owens particularly remembers a huge snooker table that took up a whole room.<br /> Theodore Luff, she recalls, was a bright, eccentric man who made his money investing and once gave her dad a stock tip.<br /> “He was a sharp old fellow,” she says. “You never knew what would come out of his mouth.”<br /> <br /> <strong>If the walls could talk</strong><br /> Pioneer Diane Benedetto, born Imogene Alice Gates in 1916, has memories that go back further. She remembers visiting the house when she was a child and being fascinated by the Luffs.<br /> “They were health food people and naturists, and I always liked to ask to use the restroom to look at all the magazines with nude people in them,” Benedetto says. <br /> “They were spiritualists,” she adds. “She (Mrs. Luff) would tell me about all the blue light around me and the spirits. When their dog died they had him stuffed and put him on the mantle.”<br /> Benedetto, who is 94 and lives with her daughter in Miami, also recalls a secret hiding spot in the house.<br /> “If you lifted up a section of the floor in a closet in the back bedroom, you could see a place where they kept valuables,” she says. <br /> <br /> <strong>Steps taken</strong> <br /> In an effort to save the structures, the Historical Society met with public officials and private and civic organizations to discuss the relocation, restoration and possible future uses of the house and researched costs for its relocation. <br /> “This is a community treasure; once gone, it will be gone forever,” says Csar. <br /> To contact the Boca Raton Historical Society regarding the Luff house, call 395-6766, Ext. 106. <br /> Help would be greatly appreciated, Csar says, in preserving this rare historic link with Boca’s past. <br /> <br /> <em>Mary Thurwachter is a West Palm Beach freelance writer and founder/producer of INNsideFlorida.com (<a href="http://www.innsideflorida.com">www.innsideflorida.com</a>).</em></p></div>Gulf Stream: Historic early home demolishedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-historic-early2010-12-01T22:11:04.000Z2010-12-01T22:11:04.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960311097,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-style:italic;">A 1940 home on Gulf Stream Road was demolished to make way for a new 6,605-square-foot home.</span> Photos by Jerry Lower<br /></div>
<br />By Steve Plunkett<br />A gray two-story, wood-sided house that’s a piece of Gulf Stream history had a date with the wrecking crew in mid-November.<br />County property records say the residence at 3288 Gulfstream Road was built in 1940, one of the first in the town’s so-called core area, outside the original polo grounds. People who have called it home include a town commissioner, a doctor of internal medicine and a member of Russia’s onetime nobility. <br />“I hate to see it torn down. It was one of the first cottages they built here, kind of opened up the area down there,’’ Mayor William F. Koch Jr. said.<br />The house’s new owners, Howard and Bonita Erbstein, razed the 3,131-square-foot home and plan to build a 6,605-square-foot Bermuda Style dwelling. It too will have a detached garage, guest house and swimming pool.<br />Bob Ganger, who chairs the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board, regretted not asking to look for artifacts at 3288 when the board approved the demolition permit.<br />“Gulf Stream still prides itself on quiet, understated elegance — all those things we try to preserve. That’s part of the story’’ the house might have helped explain, Ganger said.<br />Koch remembered the place being rented for a time to a descendent of the Russian Romanovs who everyone called “Ogi.’’<br />Town Commissioner Fred B. Devitt III, who owned the property from 1992 to 1999, said he and his family enjoyed living there but that even two decades ago the house was ‘‘worn.’’<br />“It wasn’t set up for the amenities a modern family needs,’’ he said.<br />Devitt said he thought about doing some renovations until an empty lot came onto the market just seven or eight houses away. “I got to build fresh down the street,’’ he said.<br />The wood-frame house was built by the town’s founding Phipps family, either for guests or staff, Devitt said, and sold to Winthrop and Agnes Winslow in 1943. Other owners of the home were Josephine Keyes, Lynn Williams and Dr. Andrew Ladner.<br />Ganger said Winslow was a direct descendent of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts and had an insurance business in Rhode Island.<br />“His pedigree takes him to John Winslow, brother of Edward Winslow, the first governor of New Plymouth,’’ Ganger said. “On the maternal side, it is believed that a direct line goes to John Winthrop, governor of the Bay Colony. All three arrived on the Mayflower.’’<br />The Winslows have another link to the nation’s past. Their home on Harkney Hill Road in Coventry, R.I., is on the National Register of Historic Places.<br />Ganger, who has written a history of his own home, said he was curious why Winslow bought a house in Gulf Stream during World War II. <br />“He was in his 50s at the time, and Gulf Stream was really a barracks for Sea Bee and Coast Guard personnel,’’ Ganger said.<br />Ladner sold the house in June for $1.5 million and moved to a home just off the fairways in the Village of Golf.<br />Howard Erbstein, the current owner, is the chief investment officer at Kolter Group in West Palm <br />Beach. <br /><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960311463,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p></div>Participating Storybook House Contest Designershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/participating-storybook-house2010-12-01T19:47:57.000Z2010-12-01T19:47:57.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310255,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Designers presented options for how a potential buyer could spend $10,000 to make the Storybook House a more functional space.</span><br /><br /></div>
<span style="font-weight:bold;">The Beached Boat</span><br />Lisa Cornell ASID, owner of Images Everything Interiors. LLC.<br />206 NE Second St.<br />(Pineapple Grove)<br />Delray Beach<br />471-9363<br /><a href="http://www.beachedboat.com">www.beachedboat.com</a><br /><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310458,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sea Laurel Construction</span><br />Ed Paez, General Contractor<br />Diane Paez, Design Coordinator<br />702-5546<br /><a href="http://www.SeaLaurel.com">www.SeaLaurel.com</a><br /><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310268,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Robb & Stucky Interiors</span><br />Taryn Blankenship, <br />Allied Member, ASID<br />3801 Design Center Drive<br />Palm Beach Gardens<br />561-904-7200<br /><a href="http://www.robbstucky.com">www.robbstucky.com</a><br /><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310281,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Michelesmith Design</span><br />Michele Smith, <br />Designer<br />954-805-8120 MLWSMITH@aol.com<br /><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310678,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<br /></div>Designer's three approaches: Refresh, redesign or redecoratehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/designers-three-approaches2010-12-01T19:39:32.000Z2010-12-01T19:39:32.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div>Here’s a look at the three plans that designer Michele Smith of Michelesmith Design created for the Storybook House competition. Each has a budget of $10,000.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Plan 1: Refresh</span> <br />She begins refreshing the house by brightening the interior with white or off-white walls. <br />The house has five different types of flooring, she says. But the den boasts original hardwood floors. Smith would try to refurbish the original wood floors she hopes exist throughout the house. But if that can’t be done, she’d replace them with dark or medium laminated wood. “I like the contrast,” she says.<br />And she’d add nautical lighting fixtures such as old bronze ship lanterns throughout the home.<br />Finally, outdoors, she’d give the house Key West flair by whitewashing it and adding new pale aqua shutters with pineapple cutouts as well as an aqua-and-green-striped awning over the front door. “I love these colors and their soft hues,” she says. “They reflect the water.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Plan 2: Redesign</span><br />The first thing Smith noticed was that the house had a small living room at the front with a tiny den behind it. “The living room was dark and had no real purpose. The house had obviously been chopped and added onto,” she says. <br />She suggests removing the wall between the front and back rooms to open them up. <br />In the kitchen, she’d go for “light, bright, clean and uncluttered” by installing new white cabinets and wooden countertops. The upper cabinets would have glass doors. “That makes the room look cottage-y,” she says. <br />Then she’d “snazzy up” the kitchen with stainless steel handles on the cabinets. “I love to mix and match a cottage design with contemporary pieces,” she says.<br />In this plan, she’d also update the guest bathroom by adding a white pedestal sink with chrome fixtures and 3-by-6-inch subway tiles installed in a running pattern. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Plan 3: Redecorate</span><br />This final plan features painting the interior white. “I like flat white for its velvety appearance,” she says. The trim and doors would be in semi-gloss or high-gloss white paint. <br />She’d redo the sunroom addition to resemble an enclosed porch by adding two wooden porch swings hung facing each other from the ceiling.<br /> “I love the look of them especially with the wonderful view of the Intracoastal right outside the window,” she says. “It’s the perfect place to sip a cup of tea and watch the boats.” <br />For one of the other rooms, the living room perhaps, she suggests white comfortable sofas with bright throw pillows to “give a punch of color.” <br />But no matter which of her plans you prefer, she says, “It’s a beach-y look I try to achieve.” <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">— Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley</span></div>Designing woman: Beach-lover wins Storybook House rehab competitionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/designing-woman-beachlover2010-12-01T19:30:00.000Z2010-12-01T19:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960314656,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Designer Michele Smith of Ocean Ridge won the Storybook House competition with three designs for rehabbing the Hypoluxo Island cottage.</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">Photos by Jerry Lower</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Designer's</span> <a style="font-weight:bold;" href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/designers-three-approaches">three approaches</a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">| Participating</span> <a style="font-weight:bold;" href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/participating-storybook-house">designers</a><br /><br /></div>
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley<br /><br />Like many people, Roseanne Vaughn is trying to sell her house. Known as the Storybook House for its cottage details, her home was built on Hypoluxo Island in 1946 when the only way to get there was by boat.<br />Vaughn moved into it 35 years ago. She added shingles, green shutters and a green awning over the front door. Then she built a sun room with a view of the Intracoastal Waterway and turned a number of closets into a blue-and-white tiled master bathroom. <br />The Storybook House — with its warren of rooms, picket fence, flamingo mailbox, brick walkway and towering royal poinciana in the front yard — has the feeling of a vintage home redecorated with love over the years.<br />Jennifer Spitznagel of Manatee Cove Realty in Manalapan got the listing for the house. “I like to see historic homes retained, not torn down. They have a lot of charm that’s not available in a new home,” she says. <br />Then she got an idea. <br />A self-proclaimed HGTV “junky,” she contacted The Coastal Star and set up a competition asking area designers to suggest improvements to the house. She gave them a budget of $10,000. Then homeowner Vaughn agreed to give whoever buys the house that money toward work on it.<br />Participating designers included Jimmy Deitch and Patty McWilliams of The Beached Boat Co. in Delray Beach, Michele Smith of Michelesmith Design in Ocean Ridge, Taryn Renee Blankenship of Robb and Stucky Interiors in Palm Beach Gardens and Ed Paez of Sea Laurel Construction in Delray Beach. Each entrant put together presentation boards detailing their plans.<br />People who visited the Storybook House during two open houses in November viewed the plans and voted for the one they liked best. After counting the 40 ballots, Spitznagel determined first prize goes to Michele Smith.<br />A native Floridian and self-taught decorator, Smith started her design career creating pamphlets for high-end cruise lines. But her passion was home renovation and design. <br />“I’d always look for properties that needed tough love,” she says. She began buying affordable homes that were near the beach that she loves. “I’d start from scratch and turn the homes into beautiful spaces,” she says.<br />She stopped working for the cruise industry in 1998 to take care of her son, Tanner, now 12. She’ll never forget renovating one house while she lived there with her son and her mother, who was not well. “That was certainly a challenge,” she says.<br />She also helped friends decorate their homes, and it was they who persuaded her to follow her passion. <br />“I’m lucky to have an innate sense of vision and imagination,” she says. <br />In 2010, she opened her own design firm. <br />When she heard about the Storybook House competition, she wanted to get involved. <br />“It’s always been my philosophy to save older homes by updating and refreshing them. I love their character.”<br />But she had trouble settling on just one set of ideas. <br />“People love to have choices,” she says. So she offered three different plans putting the $10,000 budget to good use in each. “That kind of money doesn’t go far, but you can refresh, update or expand a home with it,” she says.<br />Her various plans — to Refresh, Redesign or Redecorate the home — feature white-painted walls and trim, aqua shutters, redone hardwood floors, porch swings hung indoors, opened-up spaces and a kitchen redone with cottage flair. <br />Owner Vaughn is pleased. “She gave people perspective of what they could do with<br />the house,” she says. <br /></div>The ‘Storybook House’ contesthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/the-storybook-house-contest-12010-11-03T19:30:00.000Z2010-11-03T19:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960308282,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Storybook House contest</span></span></p>
<div style="text-align:left;"></div>
<span style="font-size:11pt;">To view the ‘Storybook House’ and vote for your favorite $10,000 design proposal, you are welcome to attend one of two open house events:</span><div style="text-align:left;"><br /></div>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Nov. 7 – noon-2 pm</span></p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:11pt;">or</span> <br /></div>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Nov. 14 – 2-4 pm.</span></p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><br /></div>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">The house is located at 321 S. Atlantic Drive, Lantana (Hypoluxo Island).</span></p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><br />Participating designers are:</span></div>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">The Beached Boat</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Michele Smith Design</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Robb and Stucky</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Sea Laurel Construction</span></p>
<div style="text-align:left;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style:italic;text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:11pt;">The winning design will be featured in the December edition of The Coastal Star.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-style:italic;">For more information, contact Jennifer Spitznagel at Manatee Cove Realty, (561) 582-2200.</span></span></p></div>Hypoluxo Island house has a storied pasthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/hypoluxo-island-house-has-a2010-11-03T17:30:00.000Z2010-11-03T17:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>Corrections</strong><br /> <em>An article about the Storybook House on Hypoluxo Island that appeared in the December issue misstated the date that the first bridge to the island was built. The first wooden bridge was constructed in 1925.</em><br /> <em>In a photo appearing with the same story, a caption indicated a young girl standing in front of the Storybook House was the owner’s daughter. This was incorrect. The young girl in the photograph is unknown.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt;">By Mary Thurwachter</span></strong><br /> <span style="font-size:11pt;">Roseanne Vaughn has spent 35 years — half her life — in an endearing little house backing up to the Intracoastal Waterway on Hypoluxo Island.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">When she discovered the cottage back in 1975, it was love at first sight.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“There were pots of geraniums on either side of the front door and it was so charming,” she recalled. Besides, the house had a history, having been built by one of the island’s pioneers. In no time at all, the house became her “home sweet home.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Neighbors frequently comment on how enchanting the house is, she said. One friend, a lawyer who lives down the road in Point Manalapan, told Vaughn that every time she drives by, she thinks about how much the cottage looks like it came right out of a storybook — hence the name Storybook House.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960309862,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960309862?profile=original" /></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;">Built by a King</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Lewis King Hughes — who went by his middle name “King” — built Vaughn’s Storybook House.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">His daughter, Jan Hughes of Markham, Ontario, and Boynton Beach, says her father built the house for her grandfather, Robert Hughes, in 1946 after World War II.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“The house originally was supposed to be a prefab home shipped down from Canada,” Hughes said. “That didn’t cut it with the border bunch, so instead, they used a very similar design, and just built the same little house locally.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Her grandparents lived in the house all of her young life. Her grandfather died in 1962.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310062,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960310062?profile=original" /></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“I have some pictures of my father and gramps out the front, when South Atlantic (it was then Southwest Atlantic, not just South Atlantic) was a shell road,” she remembered. “They both look terribly debonair. Gramps also owned the lot across the street, which was his orchard.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“Gramps was quite the gardener, grafting mangoes to papayas, oranges to grapefruit, and God knows what all else. He grew the most incredible roses, using fish bones and guts, so, while they were beautiful, you really couldn’t stand to get near the rose garden due to the smell.”</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“My gramps, if nothing else, loved his red brick, and bloody everything had red brick arches,” Hughes said by phone from Canada. “He was a bandy-legged little guy with a bald head, and love for everyone. He talked to absolutely anybody who passed by, and I remember he was just about the happiest old guy in the world. Unfortunately for me, he died when I was only 8.<br /></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“My best friend, Teresa, lived just to the north of him, so we were all around and about all the time,” she explained. “Back then, there were probably only 80 houses on the whole island. That was grand.”</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;">The early days</span></b></p>
<p>Lewis King Hughes died in 2002 at age 93. He first arrived on Hypoluxo Island in 1915 with his family. The island was an orange orchard then and the bridge from the <span style="font-size:11pt;">mainland had yet to be built. Residents — and there weren’t many — rowed out to the island.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“His mind,” his daughter wrote in an article for the Hypoluxo Island Property Owners Association newsletter “was a steel trap.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">His family owned an iron and aluminum foundry in Toronto and King went on to become a successful manufacturer of everything from landing craft in World War II to<br /> prefabricated homes after the war.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">Though his Canadian ventures were his main livelihood, he dabbled in some development deals locally, his daughter wrote. In 1949, he had an agreement to buy the entire north end of the island for $45,000. But when he showed up the next day to close on the property, the seller told him he had just sold it to someone else.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“I believe his competition was the man who went on to develop Singer Island,” his daughter wrote. “That year he settled for purchasing only three lots on the southern half of the island.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">In the 1940s, the island was a place of raw beauty, with an Intracoastal Waterway so clear you could look down and see the bottom, with huge schools of fish of every color, as well as crabs, and everything else that swam or crawled. <br /></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960310088,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960310088?profile=original" /></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11pt;">Remembering the ’50s-’60s</span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Jan Hughes grew up on Hypoluxo Island in the 1950s and 1960s.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“Back then,” she said, “we were considered crazy to live on this island. It was overrun with bobcats, raccoons and so many birds my father couldn’t take a nap in the afternoon because of their loud squawking.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">She remembers playing in the garden at her grandfather’s house (now called the Storybook House).</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“It had red brick pathways,” she said. “It was a magical garden.”</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">After her gramps died, his widow, Jeanette, remained in the house for several years.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><b>Withstood hurricanes</b></span></p>
<p>Over the years, Vaughn made some changes to the cottage. She put dark shingles on the front, added shutters, a canopy and a large sunroom in the back. She remodeled the kitchen and turned two</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">closets into a large master bath.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“My house is one of the oldest on the island,” she said. “I’ll miss it when I’m gone, but it’s time to move on.” She and her husband will split their time between houses in North Carolina and near Gainesville, where their children live.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house has withstood many hurricanes over the years, said Vaughn.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;">“It’s a sturdy house,” she said. “It’s a little treasure.”</span></p>
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