News

By Mary Thurwachter

    A zoning change for 10 acres of prime waterfront property that has been home to the Cenacle Spiritual Life Center in Lantana for nearly 60 years won the approval of the Lantana Town Council on June 9.
    The change, from C1 commercial to MW Mixed Use Waterfront, paves the way for development of a high-end rental community.
    Ocean Ridge developer Jerry Goray and Trinsic Residential Group (a Dallas-based company with an office in Miami) bought the property contingent on the zoning change. The property stretches between Dixie Highway and the Intracoastal Waterway and is across the street from the K-mart shopping center at the corner of Hypoluxo Road and Dixie Highway.
    A second public hearing and vote on the zoning change is on the council’s agenda for July 14.
    The property, at 1400 S. Dixie Highway, has undergone several zoning changes since 2009, when there was a proposal to build a hotel there. Then, the town changed the zoning from R3 residential to commercial.
    But after the hotel deal fell through in 2010, the council changed the zoning back to R3 residential.
    In 2011, the land was again rezoned to C1 commercial at the request of the Cenacle sisters, who argued that a commercial designation would buoy the market value.
    Mayor David Stewart, who cast the lone dissenting vote on the most recent zoning change, had some stern words for the Cenacle spokesperson, Sister Mary Riley, and attorney Al Malefatto, who represents the nuns.
    “It’s not our responsibility to make people’s property worth more,” Stewart said.
    “Three years ago, you had a justification letter as long as War and Peace (for rezoning to commercial). It’s not a town’s responsibility to bail people out.”
    Sister Mary Riley, who had appeared before the council several times previously, was unable to attend the June 9 meeting. Malefatto, however, offered an explanation.
    “What happened in the economy over the last five years is unprecedented,” he said. “Conditions have changed.”
    When the hotel was being proposed, “the room (council chambers) was filled with objectors,” he said. This time, he said, neighbors seem to be more in favor of the proposal.
    Boca Raton attorney Bonnie Miskel, representing the developers, said the plan is to build 319 units with resort-like amenities and lush landscaping. Miskel and the developers had meet with neighbors and members of the Chamber of Commerce to talk to them about the planned community.
    The mixed-use waterfront designation, she said, is a better fit than the current commercial designation. Some of the apartments would likely be live/work units to accommodate small businesses such as architects, designers, artists or attorneys. Renters would have their businesses on the first floor and live upstairs.
    In other action, the council approved a change to the comprehensive plan and the zoning map for the A.G. Holley property from MI Mixed Use Industrial to MXD Mixed Used Development.
    Southeast Legacy Investment LLC of Boca Raton bought the 73-acre parcel with plans for a multi-use development, combining residential units with retail and commercial space. A charter high school also may be built at Lantana Commons, the new name for the site at 1199 Lantana Road.