By Mary Thurwachter
Once home to a supermarket tabloid and the world’s largest Christmas tree, 600 E. Coast Ave. will be the site of Lantana’s first high school.
Palm Beach Maritime Academy Charter School got the green light on the proposal, which required a special exception use in the commercial district, during the Jan. 14 Lantana Town Council meeting.
Another charter school, Chancellor (K-8), had occupied the property previously, but moved to Boynton Beach three years ago.
The Maritime Academy, an A-rated school, moved its K-8 grade school to 1518 W. Lantana Road at the intersection of I-95 in August and wants to add a high school at the former site of The National Enquirer on East Coast Avenue. The high school, set to open in fall with enrollment limited to 600 students (Chancellor had 800 students), would include grades 6-9 to start, then add grades 7-10 the following year, 8-11 in fall 2015, and 9-12 in 2016.
The high school will include ball fields and green space at the southern end of the property, a basketball court, and 213 parking spaces for staff and students.
The council chambers were packed to capacity with staff and students who spoke on behalf of the proposal, as well as many neighbors to the property who expressed worries about traffic problems and vandalism they said occurred when Chancellor occupied the site.
Maritime Academy officials tried to allay those fears by vowing to work with both the town and neighbors to keep the peace.
In granting the special exception request, the council attached 20 conditions, ranging from providing crossing guards to prohibiting school buses from encroaching upon the required vehicular parking spaces.
The property owner has to pay the town the equivalent of what would be the town’s ad valorem taxes on the property, about $5,700 a year, as a condition of the council’s approval. The site is in the process of being purchased by Beacon Acquisitions of Hallandale.
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