hurricane alley - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T05:11:21Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/hurricane+alleyBoynton Beach: Plans for Magnuson House restaurant deemed ‘in default’https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-plans-for-magnuson-house-restaurant-deemed-in-defau2024-01-31T16:40:45.000Z2024-01-31T16:40:45.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Tao Woolfe</strong></p>
<p>Boynton Beach city commissioners sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency’s governing board pulled the plug last month on a creative proposal that would have transformed the historic Magnuson House into a restaurant.</p>
<p>“This is really hard, really difficult to discuss,” said Commissioner Aimee Kelley, one of three commissioners on the dais at the CRA’s Jan. 18 board meeting. “We were really excited and wanted to see it happen.”</p>
<p>She was speaking of the proposal of restaurateur Anthony Barber, who owns Troy’s Barbeque restaurants in Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach. </p>
<p>Barber had hoped to turn the Oscar Magnuson House, 211 E. Ocean Ave., into a 3,000-square-foot, full-service American-style restaurant consisting of the historic home and five shipping containers that would have been moved onto the property.</p>
<p>The project seemed to be going well until November, when Barber told the CRA board that he and his partner, Rodney Mayo, were having trouble securing the necessary funds to make it happen.</p>
<p>The CRA board gave Barber and Mayo a 30-day extension to get the site plan application submitted, but when the board met on Jan. 11, the members said they had not heard from Barber — by phone, email, or in person — since the November meeting. </p>
<p>Commissioners unanimously agreed, 3-0, to place Barber’s proposal “in default.” </p>
<p>The board did give Barber one statutorily provided last chance to get his financing and paperwork together by the CRA’s Feb. 13 meeting or forfeit the deal. </p>
<p>“We had a very detailed discussion in November,” Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin said. “The purchaser had said, ‘Hold my feet to the fire,’ so that’s what we’re doing.”</p>
<p>In June 2023, the CRA granted the partners a six-month extension to submit a site plan application. Barber said at the time he had submitted two site plans to the city, but they were rejected for being incomplete. At the November meeting, Barber told the CRA board that he might have to ask the city to remove the property’s historic designation — and its attendant restrictions — to make the project more acceptable to lenders.</p>
<p>He said costs had been escalating and banks were generally less optimistic about funding new developments.</p>
<p>“The cost is not the cost we originally projected,” Barber said in November. “We have owner financing of $800,000, but the [construction] cost now is looking like $1.2 million.”</p>
<p>Making matters worse, Barber said, the cost of borrowing money has escalated.</p>
<p>Barber wanted to renovate the two-story Magnuson House, built in 1919, for inside dining. The shipping containers would be used for the kitchen area, walk-in food storage, restrooms, an artisan bar, and a rotisserie grilling area.</p>
<p>The CRA bought the property for $850,000 in 2007, intending to use it for CRA office space, but sold it for $255,000 in 2016 to a restaurant developer after its plans changed.</p>
<p>The CRA took back the property two years later when the restaurant project fell through after the developer realized how expensive it would be to bring the house up to code for a commercial operation. </p>
<p>Barber’s plan seemed more economically feasible. Although he would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the house, he theoretically would have been able to avoid more costly commercial upgrades by placing the kitchen and other operations in stand-alone shipping containers — a first in Boynton Beach.</p>
<p>Barber offered to pay the city $240,000 for the property, but that was offset by his intent to seek $50,000 in a CRA commercial improvement grant and another $200,000 in tax incentives. </p>
<p>Rather than make the deal more complicated, commissioners suggested just conveying the property to Barber with deed restrictions — including that it always be a restaurant — and a requirement for specific design features requested by the city. </p>
<p>The house was built around 1919, according to the city historic preservation records.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Hurricane Alley lease extended for a year</span><br />The CRA board granted a one-year extension on the lease of the building at 529 E. Ocean Ave. to allow the popular Hurricane Alley restaurant to continue doing business. </p>
<p>A new home is planned for Hurricane Alley adjacent to The Pierce, a proposed mixed-use development that has been sidelined by a lawsuit over the CRA’s street abandonments for the project. </p></div>Boynton Beach: Lawsuits sideline The Pierce development for nowhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-lawsuits-sideline-the-pierce-development-for-now2023-08-30T14:29:25.000Z2023-08-30T14:29:25.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>By Tao Woolfe</p>
<p>The Pierce, a residential/commercial project considered crucial to Boynton Beach’s downtown revitalization, could be delayed for as long as a year while two lawsuits make their way through Palm Beach County Circuit Court.</p>
<p>The lawsuits came to light at a Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency meeting on Aug. 8 when Jeff Burns, founder and CEO of Affiliated Development, asked for an extension of the Aug. 11 deadline for obtaining a building permit from the city.</p>
<p>He said Fort Lauderdale-based Affiliated has had to cease all pre-construction work because an adjacent property owner — F. Davis Camalier, of 209 N. Federal Highway — filed suit against Affiliated and the city. Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery leases space at that location.</p>
<p>Camalier is claiming that the city improperly abandoned three roads to accommodate Affiliated’s winning bid to build The Pierce, a $100 million development that will contain 300 apartments.</p>
<p>Camalier says in the complaint that the city did not conduct its own analysis before agreeing to shut down the rights of way and incorrectly concluded that the closed alleys and streets “would not adversely affect traffic.”</p>
<p>On the contrary, the complaint says, granting the application would increase traffic, impair ingress and egress and “grossly limit accessibility by customers as well as first responders.” </p>
<p>The abandonments would vacate a portion of Northeast First Avenue; a portion known as North Alley; and the full length of another alleyway known as South Alley. Camalier’s lawsuit asks the court to review the abandonments.</p>
<p>Affiliated, meanwhile, has filed a countersuit claiming that Camalier is engaging in “extortionate behavior, tortious interference and abuse of process.”</p>
<p>“This is nothing but a shakedown effort by Camalier and his entities,” to force “an inflated purchase price for his adjacent property or receive a portion of the deal/project to which he has no right,” the suit says.</p>
<p>The Affiliated suit alleges that Camalier has used similar legal tactics in the past.</p>
<p>“This is an unfortunate thing,” Burns told the city commissioners who were serving in their roles as CRA board members on Aug. 8. “It is our job to persevere and see it through — and we will. Our interests are aligned.”</p>
<p>Burns had asked the board for at least a year’s extension to pull a building permit. He said he did not want to have to start all over and resubmit the site plan for approval. </p>
<p>The CRA board agreed, although Mayor Ty Penserga asked that the matter be fine-tuned by city attorneys.</p>
<p>The Boynton Beach City Commission in February approved some site plan changes to The Pierce — originally envisioned as a $73 million downtown complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space at 115 N. Federal Highway.</p>
<p>Burns has said the project cost is now estimated at $100 million.</p>
<p>Affiliated Development received the city’s blessing on Feb. 21 to rezone the 2.3-acre complex to a new mixed-use downtown core designation; tweak the master and site plans; redesign the parking garage; and abandon some alleyways.</p>
<p>The Pierce will offer 150 units each of workforce and market-rate luxury rental apartments. It will have 17,000 square feet of commercial area that will accommodate restaurants, office space and retail stores.</p>
<p>It will feature public art projects including murals and a large, perforated metal corner treatment on the south parking garage emblazoned with nautical images and lettering that says “Welcome to Boynton Beach.”</p>
<p>The restaurants, including a freestanding new building for Hurricane Alley, and wide sidewalks will provide “an active, engaged area with day and night activity,” Burns said.</p>
<p>The new Hurricane Alley building is also now on hold.</p>
<p>The garages will offer 450 spaces, 150 of which will be for public parking.</p>
<p>The commission in February and March approved many of The Pierce’s requested changes, but asked the developer to work with merchants, especially the owner of the Ace Hardware, to ensure that if the rights of way are abandoned, delivery trucks have enough room to get in and out.</p>
<p>Burns agreed. </p></div>Boynton Beach: City allows zone, site plan changes for The Piercehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-city-allows-zone-site-plan-changes-for-the-pierce2023-03-01T15:31:02.000Z2023-03-01T15:31:02.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10978305264,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10978305264,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10978305264?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="621" /></a><em>The Pierce downtown complex with 300 rental apartments and 17,000 square feet of commercial area will be along Federal Highway between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. The Hurricane Alley restaurant — the small building at left — is relocated to the project’s northwest corner. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story: </strong><a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-commission-oks-big-new-town-square-project">Boynton Beach: Commission OKs big new Town Square project</a></p>
<p><strong>By Tao Woolfe</strong></p>
<p>The Boynton Beach City Commission last month approved some site plan changes to The Pierce — a $73 million downtown complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space at 115 N. Federal Highway.<br /> Affiliated Development received the city’s blessing on Feb. 21 to rezone the 2.3-acre complex to a new mixed-use downtown core designation; tweak the master and site plans; redesign the parking garage; and abandon some alleyways.<br /> Affiliated Development CEO Jeff Burns also showed the city several new artist’s renderings of the complex and described some of its features.<br /> “This is going to be a luxury development with world-class amenities,” Burns said.<br /> The Pierce will offer 150 units each of workforce and market-rate luxury rental apartments. It will have 17,000 square feet of commercial area that will accommodate restaurants, office space and retail stores.<br /> It will feature public art projects including murals and a huge, perforated metal corner treatment on the south parking garage emblazoned with nautical images and lettering that says “Welcome to Boynton Beach.”<br /> “It will look like a postcard,” Burns said, adding that Brightline train passengers will be able to see it and know what city they are passing through.<br /> The restaurants, including a freestanding new building for Hurricane Alley, and wide sidewalks will provide “an active, engaged area with day and night activity,”Burns said.<br /> The lush landscaping, game lawn and redesigned setbacks will provide “a nice level of connectivity.” Even the parking garages will be buffered by trees and shrubs, including “pops of color” from bougainvillea on the upper levels, Burns said.<br /> The garages will offer 450 spaces, 150 of which will be for public parking.<br /> The commission approved most of the changes, but asked the developer to work with merchants, especially the owner of the Ace Hardware, to ensure that if the rights of way are abandoned, delivery trucks have enough room to get in and out.<br /> Burns agreed.<br /> Commissioner Thomas Turkin, who often says he would like to see less density in downtown projects, said he admires the way Affiliated has worked with the community to create The Pierce.<br /> “I think every developer should take the same approach and maximize community involvement,” Turkin said.<br /> Vice Mayor Angela Cruz agreed.<br /> “It’s a beautiful project,” she said. “I am really, really happy this is coming to our downtown.”<br /> The timetable will depend on how long it takes to secure permits, Burns has said. <br /> Among the approvals needed: a master site plan from planning and zoning; a land development permit from the city’s engineering department; site and building permits from the building department, and the completion of several inspections, according to a building department spokesperson. <br /> “We could complete the construction, start to finish, in 20 months,” Burns told the City Commission last summer. “It’s not unreasonable to expect to have a shovel in the ground by next year.”<br /> The project will come before the commission again for more approvals on March 9.</p></div>Boynton Beach: Joy, relief greet final approval for construction of The Piercehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-joy-relief-greet-final-approval-for-construction-of2022-08-03T14:58:47.000Z2022-08-03T14:58:47.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10745947857,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10745947857,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10745947857?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong><em>The eight-story complex will include 236 apartments and a 450-car parking garage. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story: </strong><a href="https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-the-pierce-honors-boynton-s-barefoot-mailman"><strong>The Pierce honors Boynton’s ‘barefoot mailman’</strong></a></p>
<p><strong>By Tao Woolfe</strong></p>
<p>The city’s final approval of The Pierce — a $73 million downtown complex of apartments, restaurants, retail stores and green space at 115 N. Federal Highway — has been greeted with enthusiasm from all quarters.<br /> Elected officials, the project’s developers, Community Redevelopment Agency staff and residents have expressed joy and relief in the weeks following the unanimous vote of the City Commission on July 5.<br /> But perhaps no one is more enthusiastic about The Pierce’s imminent arrival than Kim Kelly, whose landmark bar and restaurant, Hurricane Alley, will be a crown jewel in the new complex.<br /> “Affiliated is going to build us a stand-alone building with two stories and intends to make our move as reasonable as possible,” Kelly said in a phone interview. “The development group has been very attentive to our wants and needs. We are excited.”<br /> The preservation of Hurricane Alley, which has been at 529 E. Ocean Ave. for 26 years, helped sway the city to choose Affiliated Development over four other developers hoping to build on the 2.3-acre site.<br /> As Mayor Ty Penserga put it at a recent commission meeting, “Everyone loves Hurricane Alley.”<br /> The new bar and restaurant, which will be relocated to a nearby building on Boynton Beach Boulevard, will be familiar but fresh, Kelly said.<br /> She plans to repurpose the wooden floors and furniture and hopes to add some brick accents, but the restaurant will have more open space — including a mezzanine on the second floor from which diners can look out the many windows, or watch the downstairs activities.<br /> “It will have an old-school feel, and we’ll keep it as authentic as possible, but it will be newer and better,” Kelly said.<br /> Besides the 3,000 square feet of indoor seating, the new site will have an outdoor dining area, according to the plan.<br /> Kelly said the restaurant will add a massive projection TV that can livestream broadcasts onto one wall of the parking garage next door.<br /> Cold beers and cold oysters, fresh-caught seafood and hamburgers will still be offered to customers inside and outside. Kids and dogs will still be welcome.<br /> Kelly said she will continue to lease the Ocean Avenue space, currently owned by the CRA, until the new Hurricane Alley building is completed in about two years. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Other businesses in mix</span><br /> Affiliated Development CEO Jeff Burns has said there could be at least one other restaurant, as well as other retail businesses, in the complex’s 16,800 square feet of commercial space. <br /> The lion’s share of the property, however, will be occupied by a 236-unit apartment tower and an eight-story, 450-car garage that will include public parking.<br /> Ace Hardware and other retail stores in the area would not be affected by the development, city officials have said.<br /> “The Pierce’s eight-story apartment building will offer luxury finishes, features and amenities including a resort-style pool with private cabanas, state-of-the art fitness facility, co-work collective and keyless Bluetooth door entry,” Affiliated said in a recent press release. “The Pierce will be built and certified to national green building standards.”<br /> The Boynton Beach CRA and the Fort Lauderdale-based developer spent more than seven months hammering out compromises on the $5.5 million, below-market price. Affiliated will ultimately pay for the land; the number of public spaces in the parking garage; and the number of affordable apartments.<br /> Under the final agreement, the parking garage will provide 150 spaces — above the number outlined in city code — for public use. If Affiliated needs more spaces (up to a maximum of 10), it must lease them from the CRA.<br /> The developer also agreed to provide affordable rental apartment units with this breakdown: 50% (118 units) of the total 236 apartments will remain affordable for 15 years; 30% (about 70 units) will remain affordable for 30 years; and 5% (11 units) will remain affordable in perpetuity.<br /> The project timetable will depend on how long it takes to secure the necessary permits, Burns has said. <br /> Among the approvals needed: a master site plan from planning and zoning; a land development permit from the city’s engineering department; site and building permits from the building department, and the completion of several inspections, according to a building department spokesperson. <br /> “We could complete the construction, start-to-finish, in 20 months,” Burns told the City Commission in early July. “It’s not unreasonable to expect to have a shovel in the ground by next year.”</p></div>Boynton Beach: Boynton CRA shifts gears, leaves fate of major downtown project undecidedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-boynton-cra-shifts-gears-leaves-fate-of-major-downt2022-03-30T14:44:50.000Z2022-03-30T14:44:50.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Don’t expect a downtown medley of shops, restaurants, apartments and offices that is planned for city-owned land along the west side of Federal Highway in Boynton Beach to rise anytime soon.<br /> Even if Affiliated Development’s proposal for the property between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard proceeded on the company’s schedule, it could still be as long as nine years before the first shovel of dirt is turned. The project mix also includes a public parking garage and open space to attract downtown visitors.<br /> It’s not even certain that Affiliated, which was selected in November, will get to do the job. The company had been picked by city commissioners, who were serving in their role as the Community Redevelopment Agency’s board of directors. The CRA owns the property.<br /> Now, what company is awarded the project — and the fate of the project itself — is in the hands of a newly reorganized commission that has two new faces on it following the city’s March elections. A third new member will be appointed by the new commission to fill a vacant seat and finish the term.<br /> Former Mayor Steven Grant worked to nail down an agreement with Affiliated for its $73 million development proposal before he left office, but that effort ran into tough resistance at his final CRA meeting on March 9. After hours of attempting to cram through negotiations at the meeting, other commissioners decided more time was needed.<br /> Departing Commissioner Christina Romelus asked commissioners to ditch Affiliated and go instead with Related Urban, the second-ranked applicant that had offered to make a portion of its apartments be affordable workforce housing in perpetuity. She called the last-minute bartering between the CRA and Affiliated President Jeff Burns at the meeting “highly inappropriate.”<br /> CRA attorney Tara Duhy acknowledged the unusual nature of the all-out push to get the deal done.<br /> “To be clear, obviously we’ve made some changes, to the extent the board wishes to approve this tonight,” Duhy said. “In normal circumstances, I would recommend that we bring it back to you for final approval. We’re going to go through all of these and I will have to do a final legal, technical review because we have been working at Mach speed to get this before you tonight.”<br /> In the end, it was the two commissioners who are remaining — Woodrow Hay and commissioner-turned-Mayor Ty Penserga — who forced a middle ground. Departing Commissioner Justin Katz was absent.<br /> Penserga and Hay did not support Romelus’ request to cut ties with Affiliated or Grant’s rush to finalize a deal with the company. They agreed to have CRA and city staff spend more time negotiating with Affiliated.<br /> That decision came after City Manager Lori LaVerriere, who does not usually participate at CRA meetings, joined the discussion virtually to say more time was needed.<br /> “I just ask that you give it time and don’t negotiate from the public dais. That’s not the way to do that,” LaVerriere said after commissioners had spent three hours doing just that. “And to provide some further input to staff to let us continue to weigh in and see if this is a workable deal.”<br /> Some of the major project elements discussed at the meeting included:<br /> • Affiliated offered 118 of its 236 apartments as workforce housing for 15 years using income-eligibility guidelines, with 11 of those units kept as workforce housing in perpetuity. Commissioners wanted more workforce housing apartments to be kept that way forever, as Related had offered to do with 63 of the 213 units it proposed building.<br /> • Affiliated said it needed to keep all of the increased tax revenue its project produces for a 15-year period as a subsidy to make the workforce housing portion feasible. Commissioners said that was too much and would provide the CRA with no additional money during those years to support other projects. By the end of the night, Burns proposed receiving only 95% of the increased tax revenues annually, and only to an $8 million maximum over the 15 years.<br /> • Affiliated originally wanted the city to pay for and take ownership of the parking garage, which would include 150 public spaces and 423 private ones. Officials did not support that idea. Instead of reimbursing the CRA $5.5 million for the land, as Affiliated initially planned, the company proposed dropping the price of the land to $100 and treating the $5.5 million it would have spent as the city’s purchase price for the public parking spaces. It would be up to the city to decide whether to charge the public to use the spaces or offer them for free.<br /> • Affiliated plans to move Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant from its Ocean Avenue location to a new home at the north end of the project, along Boynton Beach Boulevard next to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. The developer said there may be a lag between when the restaurant would have to vacate its current location and when it could open at its new site.<br /> A major difference between the Affiliated and Related proposals is that Related did not include the current century-old Ocean Avenue buildings, including Hurricane Alley’s home, as part of its project. Instead, it planned to contribute money to help restore them, which also would allow Hurricane Alley to continue business uninterrupted.<br /> Resident David Katz told commissioners that saving those buildings, previously owned by the Oyer family, which has historical roots in the city, was a reason he thought the CRA should go with Related.<br /> “For that reason alone, this developer should not be chosen. To tear that down is, well, maybe not a crime, but it’s a shame,” Katz said.<br /> Related has said it could “restore these important buildings back to life as vibrant landmarks, maintaining the existing commercial fabric of historic Ocean Avenue.” <br /> Grant said the buildings, for which the CRA paid $3.6 million in December to include in the project site, were an impediment. He said the Oyer building “is in gross need of repair but, it’s too gross. It’s something where there’s a reason why it was never historically designated.”<br /> He lamented that the agreement with Affiliated was not accomplished under his leadership.<br /> “It’s very weird for me to have another project on the doorstep of the CRA, and then all of a sudden, it kind of gets pulled back. It reminds me of the Cottage District, where one of the board members felt that they had better options and now it’s vacant and we have no idea what’s going to happen with the 4 acres,” Grant said.<br /> “For the board to say, ‘You know what, Chair, we don’t really want you to make this decision; it’s better for the next people to make these decisions,’ after you’ve been here for six years. It hurts a little and I’ll let you know that.”<br />•<strong> In other action</strong> at the March 9 meeting, commissioners approved an agreement with restaurateur Anthony Barber, subject to final legal review and the CRA’s receiving outstanding financial documents, to purchase and turn the historic Magnuson House on Ocean Avenue into a restaurant that will use corrugated steel shipping containers for kitchen, restroom and storage space. Barber anticipates construction will take about 18 months. </p></div>Boynton Beach: Hurricane Alley says it may need $300,000 from CRA to relocatehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-hurricane-alley-says-it-may-need-300-000-from-cra-t2022-02-02T16:11:39.000Z2022-02-02T16:11:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10065501480,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10065501480,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10065501480?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Hurricane Alley’s owner says the money could come partly from the developer or as a stipend or grant.</em><strong> Staff photo</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong><br /> <br />Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant expects to have a new downtown home in the coming years, and its owner says Boynton Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency may need to pick up as much as $300,000 of its relocation costs.<br /> The popular downtown restaurant on Ocean Avenue will be losing its current digs to a planned redevelopment by Affiliated Development, which says it will relocate Hurricane Alley to another part of its project. The restaurant’s new, larger building is to be on the south side of Boynton Beach Boulevard immediately east of the Florida East Coast railway tracks.<br /> The CRA purchased the Hurricane Alley site in December. It plans to include the property as part of a larger redevelopment parcel on the west side of Federal Highway between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard. It is now working on an agreement with Fort Lauderdale-based Affiliated Development for that project.<br /> “With our relocation, we’re looking to either secure some type of funding from the CRA to relocate, either if that’s working with the developer or as a stipend, or as in grant money,” Hurricane Alley owner Kim Kelly told city commissioners sitting as the CRA board at the Jan. 10 meeting. “We’re seeking about $300,000. This move will probably cost us over $500,000.”<br /> Commissioners have supported keeping Hurricane Alley downtown. The restaurant played a role in their choosing Affiliated — which Kelly supported — for the redevelopment project. After Kelly spoke, Commissioner Justin Katz wondered if Hurricane Alley’s relocation expenses should be handled by Affiliated.<br /> Affiliated has proposed a $73.1 million mixed-use project called The Pierce, which would include 236 apartments, a public parking garage and retail, office, restaurant and open space.<br /> “I was under the impression that during the pitch by Affiliated for the project, it was repeated over and over again, that any machinations revolving around the move and relocation to the new property that was part of the pitch, that that was all taken care of. Am I confused?” Katz asked.<br /> CRA Executive Director Thuy Shutt said Katz wasn’t confused; that is what had been proposed. The CRA has never given such a large sum of money to a tenant of a building who is not the property owner, she said.<br /> “I believe before we really commit to anything, we should really go through the negotiation with Affiliated to see what he has to offer,” Shutt said. “Once we turn the property over to Affiliated, they have every right to negotiate. They have a side agreement with Ms. Kelly already for the relocation and they can sequence the construction to make sure that it is mutually benefiting to all parties.”<br /> Kelly said she wants to make sure she isn’t put in “debt to where we can’t get out of a bad hole” because of the redevelopment project.<br /> “This is just a move for us that wasn’t anticipated six months ago,” Kelly said. “Now we’re faced with this huge debt, so if it’s in the form of grants or negotiations with the developer, that’s all we’re looking for. It’s not going to be a cheap move.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">In other CRA matters</span><br /> Hyperion Development Group, whose affiliate purchased the Ocean One Boynton property north of Ocean Avenue on the east side of Federal Highway from developer Davis Camalier for $12 million in December, is seeking either tax increment financing or direct financing from the CRA for its project there. Camalier previously had a tax-financing plan tied to the project he had proposed for the site, but he gave that up last year when he wasn’t able to get his development plans off the ground.<br /> Hyperion CEO Rob Vecsler said in a letter to the city that Hyperion would seek to adjust the boundaries of some streets neighboring its project area to be able to increase the density of the residential portion of the project. The project is proposed to include at least 348 residential units along with commercial and retail space.<br /> Hyperion also has a contract with Camalier to purchase the Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery site on the west side of Federal that could become part of the Affiliated project. However, commissioners said they would not allow Hyperion to use the sale of that property to gain leverage so it could secure financing from the CRA for its project across the street. They said they want to keep the two projects separate.<br /> Affiliated is still working out its agreement with the CRA for its Pierce project. One major question is whether the city will agree to buy back the planned parking garage after Affiliated has built it. The second is if Affiliated will agree to keep 50% of the project’s apartments as “workforce housing” in perpetuity instead of for only 15 years as it originally proposed.</p></div>Boynton Beach: CRA endorses plan for historic restaurant, eyes buying more landhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-cra-endorses-plan-for-historic-restaurant-eyes-buyi2021-12-29T15:46:34.000Z2021-12-29T15:46:34.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9966142878,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9966142878,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9966142878?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>Anthony Barber plans to turn the historic Magnuson House on Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach into an American fare restaurant. In addition to using shipping containers to create kitchen, restroom, storage and bar space, the restaurant will have a patio deck that can seat 200 guests.</em> <strong>Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>A historic home on Ocean Avenue has moved a step closer to becoming a first-of-its-kind restaurant for Boynton Beach, one that will use corrugated steel shipping containers for its kitchen, freezer, restroom and bar facilities.<br /> Meanwhile, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency is considering whether to spend $3 million on land directly north of the restaurant site for a future project.<br /> The CRA plans to deed the 102-year-old Magnuson House at 211 E. Ocean Ave. to restaurateur Anthony Barber, who operates Troy’s Barbeque on South Federal Highway.<br /> Barber’s idea is to restore the house so it can be used for indoor dining, while adding refurbished shipping containers — a 40-foot one and three 20-foot ones — behind the house. He also expects to add outdoor dining on a new patio deck that can seat 200 guests, with American fare on the menu.<br /> “We look to revitalize this property and make it a destination location for Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach, something that can stand for many, many years to come,” Barber told city commissioners, who serve as the CRA’s governing board, at the CRA’s Dec. 14 meeting.<br /> The board voted 4-0 to accept Barber’s letter of intent for the property and to develop a final agreement with him that would also need board approval.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">New land deal considered</span><br /> Commissioners may also try to reach a deal to buy the Green Acres Condominiums site to the north of the Magnuson property from owner Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick began acquiring condominium units in 1986 — he now owns all but one of the 10 — but has been unsuccessful in enticing someone to redevelop the property.<br /> Fitzpatrick is offering to sell two parcels — the Green Acres one at Northeast First Street and First Avenue, and a vacant lot at 409 NE First St. next to the city’s proposed Cottage District — to the CRA for $3 million. He said the other condo owner is also willing to sell his unit.<br /> Commissioners said they are interested in buying the condo property to have a say in what is developed there, but the CRA doesn’t have the money in the current budget to pay for such a purchase. Commissioners said they would consider a deal to pay for the properties over the next two to three years.<br /> Fitzpatrick’s past attempts to see his property packaged and developed along with the CRA-owned Magnuson House site were stymied in part by the house itself and what it would cost for a developer to restore it. He previously suggested the city move the house to make the block more attractive to developers.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Restaurant finds a partner</span><br />Commissioners have warmed to the idea of the Magnuson House as a restaurant to serve downtown visitors. The CRA, which bought the property for $850,000 in 2007 intending to use it for CRA office space, sold the property for $255,000 in 2016 to a restaurant developer after its plans changed.<br /> The CRA took back the property two years later when the restaurant project fell through once the developer realized the costly work needed to bring the house up to code for a commercial operation. <br /> Barber’s plan, while still spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the house, avoids more costly commercial upgrades by placing the kitchen and other operations in stand-alone shipping containers — a first in Boynton Beach.<br /> Barber offered to pay the city $240,000 for the property, but that was offset by his intent to seek $50,000 in a CRA commercial improvement grant and another $200,000 in tax incentives. <br /> Rather than make the deal more complicated, commissioners suggested just conveying the property to Barber with deed restrictions — including that it always be a restaurant — and a requirement for specific design features the city may want. <br /> Mayor Steven Grant said any changes to the Magnuson House would have to go before the city’s Special Historic Resources Preservation Board and City Commission because it is designated a local historical resource. Commissioners hope to have a signed purchase and sale agreement in February. <br /> “I’m not in the land development business,” Barber said. “You can kind of rest assured that for the foreseeable future, barring major tornadoes, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, you’ll have a restaurant on Ocean Avenue.”<br /> Rodney Mayo of the Subculture Group said he is providing $1 million in financial backing for Barber’s restaurant and the needed renovations. The Subculture Group runs restaurants from Jupiter to South Beach, including Kapow! in Boca Raton’s Mizner Park, Dada in downtown Delray Beach and Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. Mayo expects the restaurant will take 14 months to complete once permits are pulled.<br /> “We’re partners in the restaurant as well as the property. We’re planning on going into this venture together,” Mayo said.<br />The CRA had another proposal for the Magnuson House, one that didn’t have the downtown draw commissioners were seeking. <br /> James Barton, CEO of Florida Technical Consultants, offered to use the house as FTC’s offices and a new training center. Barton’s business is in an Ocean Avenue building that is supposed to be torn down for another development — one of three buildings that had been owned by the Oyer family. The CRA closed on a purchase deal Dec. 17, buying the three buildings at 511, 515 and 529 E. Ocean Ave. for $3.6 million.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Negotiations underway</span><br /> The Oyer buildings are expected to be demolished as part of a new project by Affiliated Development. The CRA selected Affiliated in November to develop CRA-owned land on the west side of Federal Highway, extending from Ocean Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard. The two sides are now negotiating an agreement.<br /> Affiliated plans to build 236 apartments, with half considered to have workforce housing rents. It also plans restaurant, retail and office space and a parking garage. <br /> Affiliated’s proposal would move Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant from its Ocean Avenue location to expanded space on the north side of the project, on Boynton Beach Boulevard alongside the Florida East Coast Railway tracks, allowing it to remain open until the move into the new location.<br /> In addition to the CRA properties, Affiliated has a contract to purchase the Ocean Food Mart site on the northwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Federal Highway to include in the project.<br /> The Affiliated project also includes a significant amount of open space. The Affiliated proposal would put freestanding restaurant and retail buildings on Ocean Avenue where Hurricane Alley now stands, surrounding the buildings with more open space and pedestrian-friendly areas connected to the existing Dewey Park.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Boardwalk deal offered</span><br /> Hyperion Development Group, which plans a mixed-use development on former CRA-owned property on the east side of Federal Highway across from the Affiliated project, is also buying land on the west side that could be added to Affiliated’s project.<br /> Hyperion CEO Robert Vecsler said his company is planning to purchase the Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery site on Federal Highway. He suggested then selling the property to the CRA in exchange for tax incentives for Hyperion’s project on the east side of Federal Highway. Commissioners were reluctant to tangle the two projects, but asked Hyperion to put its offer in writing for staff to review.<br /> Grant was also interested in seeing if Affiliated would add more commercial space in its project if the Boardwalk site were added to it.</p></div>Boynton Beach: CRA’s choice for keystone development gets strong support from businesseshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-cra-s-choice-for-keystone-development-gets-strong-s2021-12-01T15:55:09.000Z2021-12-01T15:55:09.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9868130884,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9868130884,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="665" alt="9868130884?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>Box key:</em><br /><em>AMI: Boynton Beach Area Median Income ($65,182). </em>Renderings provided</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Boynton Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency selected a Fort Lauderdale firm that had strong support from local businesses to develop a new project on land it owns or plans to purchase on the west side of Federal Highway between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard.<br />City commissioners, in their role as the CRA’s governing board, selected Affiliated Development on Nov. 30 as their top choice to build a mixed-use project that includes apartments, a parking garage and restaurant, retail and office space.<br />If negotiations fall through with Affiliated, commissioners said they would try to reach a deal with Miami-based Related Urban, which ranked second of the five groups presenting proposals to commissioners.<br />Affiliated had the backing of Kim Kelly, owner of Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant, whose Ocean Avenue site is included in the project. The Affiliated proposal would move Hurricane Alley to the north end of the project on Boynton Beach Boulevard.<br /> That site would give Hurricane Alley a two-floor indoor restaurant, an expanded outdoor dining area and space for a “beer garden” area between the restaurant and a new public parking garage.<br />The Affiliated proposal would put freestanding restaurant and retail buildings on Ocean Avenue where Hurricane Alley now stands, surrounding the buildings with more open space and pedestrian-friendly areas.<br />Commissioner Christina Romelus, who ranked Related Urban first but supported the Affiliated decision, said she liked that Related’s workforce housing lasted in perpetuity, while Affiliated’s was for only a 15-year period. Commissioners agreed they would like to see if Affiliated can work a longer-term workforce housing element into its proposal.<br />The work Affiliated did meeting with community members helped win over the commissioners.<br />“They didn’t talk about building a relationship with the community. They had already done that,” Commissioner Ty Penserga said.<br />Affiliated named its project The Pierce after the historical Barefoot Mailman, Charlie Pierce, who was from Boynton Beach.</p>
<p><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9868132656,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9868132656,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="654" alt="9868132656?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></em></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9868143267,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9868143267,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="649" alt="9868143267?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>***</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9868138456,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9868138456,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="663" alt="9868138456?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9868143487,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9868143487,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="652" alt="9868143487?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p></div>Boynton Beach: CRA reviews new proposals for Federal Highway projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-cra-reviews-new-proposals-for-federal-highway-proje2021-11-03T14:44:40.000Z2021-11-03T14:44:40.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Five partnerships have submitted proposals to be unveiled in November for the development of the west side of Federal Highway between Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard.<br /> Most have individuals who were involved with the unsolicited proposals submitted last year to develop the Community Redevelopment Agency property, before the CRA decided to put out a formal request for proposals. <br /> The CRA is in the process of acquiring more property in the two blocks north of Ocean Avenue, between Federal Highway and Northeast Fourth Street, which would be added to the project’s footprint.<br /> Because of the heavy level of interest, with six unsolicited proposals coming in last year, commissioners decided to ignore all the submissions and create their own vision of the project. Those interested were invited to submit new proposals, and anyone else who would like to develop the property also was free to submit ideas. <br /> The CRA doesn’t have to make the submitted proposals public until its staff has had time to review them.<br /> The applicants planned to make presentations to the CRA advisory board at its Nov. 4 meeting and to commissioners at a special Nov. 30 CRA board meeting. A decision could be made at the CRA board’s Dec. 14 meeting.<br /> The CRA is seeking a “mixed-use development project providing retail, office, public parking and residential uses with a workforce housing component.”<br /> Five proposals have been received. They are from:<br /> • Jeff Burns of Affiliated Development in Fort Lauderdale<br /> • Mark and Kelley Hefferin of E2L Real Estate Solutions in Winter Park<br /> • Robert Vecsler of Hyperion Group in Miami<br /> • Albert Milo Jr. of Related Urban (The Related Group) in Miami<br /> • John Farina and Dustin Salzano of U.S. Construction in Delray Beach<br /> The Hyperion Group is planning to develop the Ocean One Boynton property on the east side of Federal Highway directly across from the CRA’s 115 N. Federal Highway project site. In July, Hyperion told commissioners it was interested in developing both properties as one project.<br /> Commissioners chose to move forward with a wide-reaching request for proposals instead, telling Hyperion representatives they would be glad to consider the company’s proposal along with any others that were submitted.<br /> Affiliated Development and E2L Real Estate Solutions were two of the applicants that also submitted proposals last year. Affiliated had proposed building 220 luxury rental housing units with ground-level commercial space. E2L also included 220 apartments in two buildings in its original proposal, along with a hotel — all to have ground-level commercial space. <br /> William Morris of Southcoast Partners, a Delray Beach development firm that kick-started interest in the property with its proposal in August 2020 to create a $65 million mixed-use development on the site, is now part of the U.S. Construction submission, Morris said. He said the new proposal is similar to the original one that included apartments, stores and a public-access parking garage.<br /> “I’ve teamed up as a development consultant with U.S. Construction,” said Morris, who previously developed the mixed-use Worthing Place in downtown Delray Beach. “I didn’t think that we had enough horsepower financially, as they did. … I thought maybe we’d have a better chance putting my ego aside.”<br /> Related Urban is an entity formed by The Related Group in 2009 to develop and acquire affordable and workforce housing developments. The Related Group has done developments in the city, including the Marina Village at Boynton, 625 Casa Loma Blvd.<br /> Three years ago, the CRA paid $3 million for parcels on the west side of Federal Highway that are being used now as surface parking. The CRA this year agreed to buy a .29-acre property at 508 E. Boynton Beach Blvd. for $915,000.<br /> The CRA is still in the process of adding to its properties in the two blocks. It has agreed to purchase three Oyer family buildings on Ocean Avenue, including the building that’s home to Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant, for $3.6 million by the end of the year.<br /> The purchase of the three Oyer properties, with their 0.41 acres, will bring the CRA-owned portions of the block to 2.29 acres at a cost of $7.5 million.</p></div>Boynton Beach: Ocean Avenue signs of change: Restaurant, butcher shop, land deal in workshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-ocean-avenue-signs-of-change-restaurant-butcher-sho2021-09-29T16:15:06.000Z2021-09-29T16:15:06.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9624346699,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9624346699,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9624346699?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Southeast corner view of proposed restaurant at the Magnuson House. </em><strong>Rendering provided</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong><br /> <br />Two new food establishments and a major real estate transaction — all now in the works — could signal a new stage in the revitalization of Ocean Avenue in downtown Boynton Beach.<br /> The city’s goal of turning the street into a South Florida destination spot could come closer to fruition because of changes planned or proposed at some of the oldest buildings on Ocean Avenue. The changes include:<br /> • The $3.6 million sale of a trio of early city commercial buildings — including one housing the Hurricane Alley Restaurant and Raw Bar — to the Community Redevelopment Agency. The CRA would then make the properties available for a larger project on the west side of Federal Highway from Ocean Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard.<br /> • The conversion of the historic Magnuson House into an indoor-outdoor restaurant. The century-old Ocean Avenue fixture has been vacant for at least 14 years. The owner of Troy’s Barbeque wants to create an “All-American dining restaurant” on the site, using 40-foot and 20-foot long corrugated shipping containers for the restaurant’s kitchen, bar and restrooms.<br /> • The opening of a gourmet butcher, market, eatery and catering establishment in another pioneer-era building on the avenue. Nicholson Muir Meats is leasing the historic Ruth Jones Cottage and working toward a Nov. 1 opening.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Oyer buildings on the block</span><br /> The CRA has until the end of the year to lock down the purchase of three buildings owned by the Oyer family that are critical to the agency’s redevelopment plans. The buildings are at 511, 515 and 529 E. Ocean Avenue.<br /> If the CRA can’t close the deal by Dec. 31 with Harvey Oyer, who is representing his family’s properties, then Oyer will likely turn to private developers offering more money. Oyer said he’s willing to sell to the CRA for less than he might receive from a private developer because he needs a quick sale to avoid a capital gains tax hit he anticipates is coming from the federal government.<br /> “It’s driven entirely by tax issues,” Oyer told city commissioners.<br /> Commissioners, who also serve as the CRA board, negotiated details of the sale with Oyer at the CRA’s Sept. 14 meeting. The items include an up-to-$200,000 nonrefundable deposit if the deal falls apart, accepting the buildings “as is,” and allowing yearlong renewal leases with existing tenants that can be terminated upon 90 days’ notice.<br /> Commissioners do not want any leases signed with new tenants, even though such leases would provide rental income to the CRA until a new project moves forward. Commissioners said they want to avoid any additional complications that might surface with new contracts that could interfere with a future redevelopment.<br /> The commission’s position likely will prevent the Surfing Florida Museum from getting available storefront space it wanted to coincide with the Boynton Beach Haunted Pirate Fest and Mermaid Splash, which is set for Oct. 30-31 downtown. Museum officials had hoped to use the space for a pop-up exhibit depicting 100 years of surfing in Florida.<br /> The Oyer properties are to be included in a larger development with CRA-owned properties to the north. The CRA is now accepting development proposals for the 115 N. Federal Highway project.<br /> Oyer also requested that the Oyer Insurance sign painted on one of the buildings be salvaged for its historical value and be placed somewhere visible to the public, which the CRA agreed to do if the cost does not exceed $20,000.<br /> “Over time, every original historic [commercial] building on your original business street has been torn down,” Oyer said. “I think it would be sad to do away with all three of those buildings and signage without the ability to save the signage.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">New interest in old house</span><br /> A few blocks west on Ocean Avenue, the CRA had been stymied in its attempts to use the Magnuson House in its redevelopment plans. The building has needed costly renovations to enable it to meet code requirements for a commercial enterprise. <br /> Restaurateur Anthony Barber thinks he has a viable alternative: Place all the commercial uses in portable shipping containers, while using the house to seat dinner guests. The revamped storage containers would be behind the house and outdoor seating would be added on patios around the building.<br /> An addition previously placed on the rear of the house would be demolished, said Barber, who also owns Troy’s Barbeque.<br /> City commissioners agreed to work with Barber to see if a financial agreement can be reached on the lease or sale of the CRA-owned property.<br /> However, after Barber notified the city of his interest in the building in July, others have come forward with their own proposals for using the building. Commissioners have given them until Oct. 29 to put together more complete proposals that could be compared with Barber’s.<br /> Two of the plans come from businesses currently in the Oyer buildings that would be displaced by a redevelopment project.<br /> The proposals include:<br /> • Creating a new location for Hurricane Alley. Owner Kim Kelly’s proposal said Hurricane Alley would use the main house for seating guests and office space, with construction of another building behind the house for the kitchen and restrooms, and a tiki hut bar area. The plan also would include a two-year extension of her current lease to allow Hurricane Alley to stay open during the renovations.<br /> • Turning the property into an office and training center for Florida Technical Consultants. The company, a civil engineering firm located in one of the Oyer buildings, wants to provide on-site classes for geographic information system mapping.<br /> • Two separate requests from adjacent property owners. Brian Fitzpatrick wants to combine the site with his property to the north, while Sami and Salam Dagher requested combining it with their land to the west. Either proposal could allow for a larger mixed-use development and both requested the Magnuson House be moved. Commissioners suggested the two property owners should present a combined proposal.<br /> Commissioners said most of the plans lacked sufficient information for them to decide, so they gave the proponents time to submit additional details while the CRA moves forward in its discussions with Barber. <br /> While some commissioners said they eventually see the Magnuson property as part of a larger development, they also said it was possible the development could happen around the restaurant if Barber’s establishment succeeds.<br /> The CRA must decide if it wants to lease or sell the property. <br /> Commissioner Christina Romelus supports selling the property to Barber, which would provide an opportunity to have a local, minority-owned business in the heart of the downtown.<br /> “We’ve seen what Hurricane Alley has been able to do over the last 25 years. What could be able to potentially happen with the Barber family here over the next 25 years if we permit this project to move forward?” Romelus said. “This is an opportunity to make something new, make something that’s different, bring a whole different vibe and essence to our downtown. And I want to see that. That’s a legacy that I’d like to leave behind.”<br /> Commissioner Ty Penserga said a five-year lease with renewal options may be a better idea, to make sure the restaurant can succeed before the CRA gives up control of the property. “In five years, we’ll know where you’re going, if you’re here for the long run,” he said.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Gourmet butcher on way</span><br /> The former Ruth Jones Cottage looked to be heading for success after being moved several blocks east on the avenue in 2011. It was first home to the Little House Restaurant and later Chez Andrea’s Gourmet Provence. But Chez Andrea’s, a French restaurant, opened just as the pandemic arrived and was not able to make a go of it. It closed in January. <br /> Now James Muir has come to the city from New York and signed a lease for Nicholson Muir Meats, filing his incorporation papers in July. Interior renovations for the new establishment at the cottage were ongoing in September.<br /> Muir owned a catering service and restaurant called Artaux in Sea Cliff, New York. The restaurant, now closed, received an “excellent” rating in a 2015 New York Times review for its “creative and delicious foods.” The catering company is still in business, Muir said.<br /> Muir lives in Boynton Beach and picked the Ruth Jones Cottage because “it is very central to everything” and has “great access to the bridge” connecting to the barrier island communities. “I thought that the specific location was great. It has a lot of character, that cottage.”<br /> The establishment will have a butcher counter featuring wagyu beef from Australia, Japan and the United States, prepared foods and a small restaurant with fewer than 20 seats, Muir said. He plans to offer off-site and on-site catering, Saturday evening tastings and memberships that provide special pricing, products and tastings.<br /> “We’re going to focus more on super high-end products,” Muir said. “We’ll have some retail items … a lot of prepared foods, grab-and-go salads, things like that.” <br /> The restaurant’s operating hours are still to be determined, he said. </p></div>Boynton Beach: CRA to buy Hurricane Alley site, nearby buildings for $3.6 millionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boynton-beach-cra-to-buy-hurricane-alley-site-nearby-buildings-fo2021-08-04T15:18:59.000Z2021-08-04T15:18:59.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9380657465,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9380657465,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9380657465?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>The area is home to the Hurricane Alley eatery and Oyer, Macoviak and Associates insurance agency. </em><strong>Coastal Star photo</strong></p>
<p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency plans to purchase the Hurricane Alley site and two buildings west of it for $3.6 million, to be part of a larger downtown redevelopment project.<br /> The Ocean Avenue properties, owned by the Oyer family, would be added to adjacent land already owned by the CRA at 115 N. Federal Highway. It would be used in a project that would extend from Ocean Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard between Northeast Fourth Street and Federal Highway.<br /> City commissioners, serving as the CRA’s governing board, agreed to the purchase price at the CRA’s July 13 meeting, with a sale likely before the end of the year. <br /> The Oyer buildings at 511, 515 and 529 E. Ocean Ave. don’t have any historical designation, though they are some of the oldest remaining in the city. Harvey Oyer said his grandfather purchased the buildings some 90 years ago and they have since been passed down through the family. <br /> The family has resisted past offers by the CRA to purchase the properties.<br /> “It’s a tough decision for us. There’s a lot of family history there,” Harvey Oyer said. “Emotionally it may be hard to part with, but looking at where the city is today, our vision and our father’s vision was always for the city to be successful.”<br /> Commissioners see the potential projects in the Federal Highway blocks immediately north of Ocean Avenue as critical to downtown’s success. <br /> “This is the Ocean Avenue frontage that is kind of our signature street in Boynton Beach,” Mayor Steven Grant said. “The project that we have moving forward with 115, this would only enhance it such a great deal because of the value Ocean Avenue has on the property as a whole.”<br /> The Oyer properties were appraised at $3.4 million in October. Commissioners are willing to go to the $3.6 million asking price to secure them, saying their value has likely increased anyway over the past nine months.<br /> One concern for commissioners is making sure Hurricane Alley Restaurant and Raw Bar has a downtown home once redevelopment of the block begins. They’d like to see Hurricane Alley included in the larger redevelopment and are hopeful it can be relocated temporarily during construction.<br /> Commissioners also decided they want to entertain as many offers as possible for the development of the CRA property on the block. The CRA is issuing a request for proposals, known as an RFP, to see what developers are interested in building on the site.<br /> Commissioners turned down an alternative offer from Hyperion Development Group, supported by Davis Camalier, for the CRA to skip the RFP process and work directly with Hyperion to develop properties on both sides of Federal Highway north of Ocean Avenue as one project.<br /> Camalier owns the property in the block on the east side of Federal Highway and is in the process of selling it to Hyperion. He received site plan approval from the city in 2017 for a multiuse project there called Ocean One, but nothing was ever built. <br /> Camalier and Hyperion also have leverage because they control a key parcel that the CRA has yet to acquire on the west side, the property that is home to Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery, a parcel Hyperion is also buying.<br /> Bonnie Miskel, an attorney who represents Camalier, said combining the properties on both sides of Federal Highway would make for a true gateway project that commissioners have said they want. It would also be paid for almost exclusively by Hyperion, she said.<br /> “The project is a $350 million project,” Miskel said. “In all of the years that I’ve been doing this, I can’t even think of another CRA project where the private developer spent 90% of the money to get the buildings out of the ground.”<br /> Camalier said commissioners should not discount the ability of Hyperion to do a great project.<br /> “They are capable of raising huge amounts of capital,” Camalier said. “This could be our Rockefeller Center in Boynton Beach.”<br /> Commissioners said Hyperion could submit a proposal just like any other interested group — and it might have an advantage because of the property it already plans to buy. They were reluctant to short-circuit the proposal process given the high level of interest from developers. Last year, six separate development groups submitted letters of interest for developing the CRA property on the west side of Federal Highway.<br /> “People are interested in this property. There is a fight to be had for a champion to rise,” Commissioner Justin Katz said. “If everyone believes that competition is good, if everyone believes that a fight is good and will produce the champion, the best person or outfit to do this, the RFP is the only process.” <br /> Only Grant and Vice Mayor Woodrow Hay favored accepting Hyperion’s letter of interest.<br /> “I feel we are missing out on an opportunity here,” Hay said. “I’ve seen RFPs where the best did not rise to the top. We ended up going into litigation as we’re currently doing with Town Square,” a public-private partnership that’s in a dispute over two planned parking garages that have yet to be constructed.<br /> Grant said the ability to have a combined project on both sides of Federal Highway would allow for uses that may not be included if they are done separately. He fears the new proposals will all include large apartment complexes.<br /> “I would want to see office space. I would want to see condos. I would want to see a hotel. I do not want more residential,” Grant said. “We are missing the boat on Class A office space that is needed. It is the combined aspect of the hotel, the residential, the retail and the commercial. I don’t believe anyone else can offer that.”<br /> Hyperion CEO Rob Vecsler said his company may move forward with plans for just the east side “because maybe we believe that waiting on the RFP adds too much uncertainty in timing. We feel the time to strike is now. The iron is hot now.”<br /> The main portion of the CRA property is 1.58 acres it purchased for $3 million in 2018, which is now being used as surface-level parking while awaiting development. In April, the CRA approved the purchase later this year of an adjacent 0.29-acre property at 508 E. Boynton Beach Blvd. — west of Ace Hardware — for $915,000. The purchase of the three Oyer properties, with their 0.41 acres, will bring the CRA-owned portions of the block to 2.29 acres at a cost of $7.5 million.<br /> Commissioners hope to have the RFP proposals in and reviewed, with a winner selected and negotiations completed so that a final contract can be approved at the CRA’s February 2022 meeting. The mayor and two of the four other commissioners are term-limited, so they would like to see their efforts finished before a new board is seated following the March elections.<br /> The CRA’s purchases may not be ended. Besides the Boardwalk Italian Ice site, other privately owned properties in the eastern block include a convenience store on Ocean Avenue at Federal, a gas station at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal, and Ace Hardware on Boynton Beach Boulevard.<br /> “We need to keep going and accept that the adjacent property, particularly the convenience store, likely needs to be acquired now,” Katz said. “The acquisition of the Oyer property necessitates the acquisition of the corner parcel now, because then we have the entire Ocean (Avenue) frontage.”</p></div>Benefit for cancer-stricken dive boat captainhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/benefit-for-cancerstricken2010-12-01T22:42:45.000Z2010-12-01T22:42:45.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960314852,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
Inga Zechner gives a hug to Capt. John Allen during a fund-raiser held at Hurricane Alley in Boynton Beach on Nov. 13. Allen is owner of Loggerhead Dive Charters and a longtime staple at the Boynton Marina. He has been diagnosed with melanoma and leukemia. More than 300 people attended and more than $13,000 was raised to help defray his medical bills. Zechner’s son learned to dive with Allen. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Photo by Jerry Lower</span><br /><br /></div>