related group - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T21:40:49Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/related+groupBoynton 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: 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>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<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>
<p style="text-align:center;">***</p>
<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>Lantana: Related Group buys 16 acres to build apartments at Water Tower Commonshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/lantana-related-group-buys-16-acres-to-build-apartments-at-water-2018-11-28T17:59:34.000Z2018-11-28T17:59:34.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Thurwachter</strong></p>
<p>A portion of the development site for Water Tower Commons has been sold to the Related Group for $14.76 million from Lantana Development, a partnership of Kenco Communities’ Ken Endelson and Wexford Capital.<br /> The sale, registered early in November, came after Lantana Development and the Related Group won approval from the Lantana Town Council to build 360 apartments on 16 acres at the north end of Water Tower Commons, the mixed-used development on Lantana Road east of Interstate 95.<br /> To finance the apartment complex project, Related of Miami, one of the country’s largest real estate conglomerates, took a $52.2 million loan from Regions Bank.<br /> The anticipated completion date is expected in 2020, according to commercial real estate broker Jay Bailyn, who represented the buyer and seller.<br /> “This was expected,” said Lantana Mayor David Stewart, who said the Related Group, which has about 4,000 multifamily units in its development pipeline, was just waiting for some approvals from the town before the closing.<br /> Lantana Chamber of Commerce President Dave Arm said another reason for the timing of the purchase is that developers were waiting for the entrance lane off of Lantana Road to be paved. That has happened.<br /> “You should see building happening soon,” Arm said. <br /> The first phase of the residential building will include 360 apartments in 14 multifamily buildings, a clubhouse with a resort pool, recreation areas and other amenities such as carports and garages. A 6-foot wall will surround the residential development.<br /> A second phase of residential development received approval from the Town Council on Sept. 24. That project will have 348 units on 18 acres, which are also expected to be purchased by the Related Group before construction begins. The plan calls for four multifamily buildings, 18 big houses, a main clubhouse, resort pools and open recreation areas.<br /> Water Tower Commons has been in the offing since 2014, when Lantana Development and Wexford Capital bought the land, which previously housed the A.G. Holley tuberculosis hospital, from the state for $15.6 million.<br /> The commercial portion of the project lags behind the residential due to a challenging retail climate, Ken Tuma, a principal with Urban Design Kilday Studios, said in September. Walmart showed interest in an upscale store, but the idea never materialized.<br /> Tuma said the project has been on the wrong side of a change in the retail industry, but that things are more positive now, especially as the residential buildings come to fruition.<br /> Having the residential units on site, Tuma said, has made the commercial development “much more marketable because of potential for people living within the community.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Related’s plan calls for 300 deluxe apartments next to City Hallhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-related-s-plan-calls-for-300-deluxe-apartments-next-to2018-01-03T17:28:32.000Z2018-01-03T17:28:32.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Mary Hladky</b></span></p>
<p>The Related Group is making a new pitch to the city to build an indoor performing arts center downtown while also buying city-owned land to build about 300 luxury apartments.</p>
<p>In another sign of its interest in doing projects in the city, Related also has proposed a public-private partnership with Florida Atlantic University that would include a convention center, hotel, apartments and retail on 30 acres on the southeast portion of its Boca Raton campus.</p>
<p>“The Related Group wants to do a lot more development deals in Palm Beach County,” said Glenn Gromann, an independent consultant with Related. “We are looking at a lot of deals in Boca Raton … and also in Delray Beach.”</p>
<p>While Related has made the overtures, the city and FAU have taken no action. Related has said it is willing to amend its proposals to align with the city’s and FAU’s needs.</p>
<p>“We have put that [proposal] out there for discussion and ideas,” Gromann said of Related’s communication with the university.</p>
<p>City officials have said they can’t reach any agreements with Related until they are further along in planning a new downtown governmental campus on 30 city-owned acres around City Hall. </p>
<p>FAU Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater met with Related Group representatives once in a “courtesy” visit, Joshua Glanzer, the university’s assistant vice president for media relations and public affairs, said in an email.</p>
<p>“While a hotel and convention center has long been part of FAU’s master plan, the project is a very long way from reality, and before it is, many policies and procedures must be followed before development partnerships are established,” he said.</p>
<p>Related’s offer to the Boca Raton City Council is a redo of one made in July that ignited controversy.</p>
<p>Related proposed building a 1,500-seat indoor performing arts center and adjacent parking garage in the new downtown campus.</p>
<p>In return, the city would give Related about 3.6 city-owned acres in the northeast section of Mizner Park, where the developer would tear down the aging outdoor amphitheater and build as many as 400 residential units, retail space and a parking garage the public also could use.</p>
<p>But that idea died a quick death after residents objected to the loss of the beloved amphitheater, and city officials are now considering putting a retractable roof on it or possibly redesigning it.</p>
<p>The latest Related proposal, outlined in a Nov. 30 letter to the City Council, calls for an indoor performing arts center and parking garage in the downtown campus or whatever other location the city chooses.</p>
<p>Related, South Florida’s largest luxury condo developer also known for its large mixed-use projects, would buy the city-owned “old library” that now houses city offices and land north of it located east of Boca Raton Boulevard between Northwest Fourth and Second streets. The “old library” would be torn down to make way for about 300 luxury apartments. </p>
<p>“The new proposal is a win-win for the city,” Gromann said. The money from the land sale “can be used for the performing arts center or whatever else the city wants to do.”</p>
<p>William Shewalter, Related’s senior vice president for development, set out his ideas for FAU in a Nov. 1 letter to Atwater in what he envisions as a $250 million project.</p>
<p>Related would develop about 120,000 square feet of retail and 360 luxury apartments on 27 acres along Glades Road west of El Rio Trail. The target market for the rentals would be graduate or medical students.</p>
<p>The retail would include full-service and fast-casual restaurants, “entertainment oriented components” and a grocery store or possibly a pharmacy.</p>
<p>Related or a hotel developer would build a 150-room hotel on 3 acres, and a 400-space parking lot would be located on the western edge of the project.</p>
<p>Related would build the 25,000- to 30,000-square-foot convention center, but FAU would pay for it and would own it.</p>
<p>FAU would realize $34 million if such a deal is reached.</p>
<p>In his letter, Shewalter describes the proposal as “initial ideas” and said Related would be very flexible.</p>
<p>Shewalter could not be reached for comment. But in a November email to university officials, he wrote, “I wanted to share with the entire team an exciting opportunity to partner with Related Development on what we feel would be financially positive to the university, an iconic place making a statement and would enhance the student and faculty experience at FAU.”</p>
<p>While Related is extremely active in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, it also has a presence in Palm Beach County.</p>
<p>Its projects include the Boca Grand condo in downtown Boca Raton, SofA rentals in Delray Beach, Slade condos in West Palm Beach and Marina Village mixed-use project in Boynton Beach, according to its website. </p></div>