Eau owner begins lease on town space in Plaza del Mar
By Emily Rose Finn
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue does not want to be part of Manalapan’s planned new Town Hall. It wants to stay at the site of the current Town Hall instead — and it would pay to build a new facility there, Town Manager Eric Marmer told commissioners Sept. 8.
The town is planning to replace its Town Hall with a new one to be built on the former bank property it acquired at Plaza del Mar, 131 S. Ocean Blvd. The new budget includes $175,000 to design the building.
The town took that property through eminent domain. In June, a circuit judge approved the taking and the town deposited $2.85 million in the court registry. A jury could still set a different final price.
Meanwhile, until a new Town Hall is under construction, the town has agreed to let its Plaza del Mar property serve as a base for renovation work across State Road A1A at the Eau Resort & Spa. Commissioners on Sept. 8 approved a lease with MPB Property LLC, the resort’s owner, for the former bank building, providing the town income in the interim before the town’s construction starts.
The $4,600-a-month lease, effective Sept. 11, runs for one year and then can be extended from month to month, with the Eau renting the building in its existing condition.
Commissioners also approved allowing materials storage next to the building, behind an 8-foot chain-link fence with windscreen and a rolling gate that will enclose the storage area for use by the resort’s contractor.
At the resort itself, commissioners approved new black aluminum railings and teak-look cladding for the Eau’s guestroom balconies. “It’s basically a modification of the railings that are outside of the hotel,” said Tim Nardi, the Eau’s general manager. The new railings drop the current palm tree design.
“We’re very excited about the renovation that’s about to start at the hotel,” Nardi said.
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