The group that had been seeking to build a performing arts center didn’t give the Boca Raton City Council a chance to kill the project.
On Wednesday, the Center for Arts & Innovation (TCAI) sent a letter to the city terminating the 2022 agreement to lease land next to the Mizner Park Amphitheater. CEO Andrea Virgin said TCAI reached its decision “after careful reflection, and with utmost respect for” the group’s donors and “the collaborative effort” between TCAI and the city.
On Monday, the city council had been scheduled to get an update from City Manager George Brown. In a memo, Brown recommended that council members themselves end the lease.
It was clear two months ago that the city would reject TCAI’s request to rewrite that 2022 agreement. That rejection would have come Monday. As Brown wrote, “I do not consider the proposed realignment agreement an ‘update.’ It is, rather, a completely new approach.”
From the start, the city’s priority was to protect the public from inheriting a partially finished project from lack of money. The agreement called for TCAI to have half of the construction cost in two years and all of it well before the opening. TCAI hit the first goal and missed the second this year.
Under its proposal, TCAI would not have needed all its financing until the center opened—and that opening would not have happened until 2032. From speaking with council members, I know that the city never would have agreed to the new conditions.
And while Virgin and Brown hinted that the two sides might try for a new deal later, this sounds more like a divorce than a separation. “If there is interest in further negotiations toward a new agreement,” Brown wrote, “the process will take many months and generate additional costs for the city/community redevelopment agency and the center.”
Virgin seemed to blame the city. “Unfortunately,” she wrote, “based on Boca Raton’s responses to date and our further discussions, it seems we are unable to satisfactorily resolve these matters at this time.” Council members will disagree with that accusation if there is discussion at next week’s meetings. Among many other things, city officials didn’t believe that TCAI’s plan for an underground garage was workable.
And now? The city likely will work on a plan to renovate the amphitheater, which TCAI would have made part of the center. At some point, the city may entertain other ideas for that land, but I don’t see that happening soon. The staff’s priority is the downtown government master plan. (See next item.)
As for TCAI, Virgin said the group “remains deeply committed to its transformative mission…” After the Boca Raton divorce, TCAI “may need to explore alternatives.”
Boca sets deadline to find downtown campus developer
Boca Raton wants to pick a developer for the downtown government master plan by Feb. 11.
That date came out of the city council’s Monday special meeting. Mayor Scott Singer called it before today’s 3 p.m. deadline for bidders to submit proposals for what could be a five- to 10-year redevelopment of the 30 acres around City Hall.
Under that timetable, the city would seek to craft an interim agreement with the company by March 18. Singer had wanted a deal by February, but Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker spoke for her colleagues when she called that schedule “pretty aggressive.”
After the deadline, council members can’t have any private communication with the bidders, of which now there are two—Terra/Frisbie and Ross Related. There can be written communication, and the public can comment on the proposals and the council’s choice.
Before making that choice, the council will allow each bidder to make a public presentation, with time for council questions. Singer said the public will have six chances to comment before approval of the tentative agreement.
Monday’s meeting drew the first group of speakers. The topic has drawn little comment at previous meetings, despite the potential cost of almost $2 billion and the potential scope of the project. Terra/Frisbie proposes roughly 1,000 apartments, along with a hotel, office and retail. Under a public-private partnership, the developer would pay for a new city hall, community center and other public space.
Not surprisingly, Monday’s speakers live just west of the area, in some of Boca Raton’s oldest neighborhoods. Also not surprisingly, comments ranged from skeptical to hostile. One woman called the idea of a hotel “horrifying.” All speakers worried about safety and property values.
Though Singer and others noted again that the council has made the campus its top priority for two years, most key details remain vague. We know only that the police station will move—likely next to the Spanish River Library. The downtown area in question will have a substation.
But how much development does the council want? How much of it should be public space? How many employees does the council want to keep in the new city hall? As the city’s consultant noted, only if the bidders know what the council will accept can the bidders price their proposals.
I’ll have more next week after the city knows how many bidders have made proposals.
Majority of Delray commissioners support removing fluoride from water
The Delray Beach City Commission will hear presentations next month before deciding whether to stop adding fluoride to public drinking water.
During Tuesday’s meeting, three commissioners expressed support for removing the element, which the American Dental Association believes reduces cavities—especially in young people. Mayor Tom Carney, however, said he wanted to have “an intelligent conversation” before a vote.
Commissioner Angela Burns, for example, cited a study showing that fluoride lowers children’s IQ. Other research, however, appears to debunk that conclusion.
Utilities Director Hassan Hajidmiry said the city is preparing to overhaul its system for adding fluoride. He wants to avoid the expense if the commission wants to stop the program. He said that neither Boca Raton nor Boynton Beach adds the element to drinking water. The cities of Stuart and Port St. Lucie both stopped adding fluoride to their water after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo advised local governments in Florida to discontinue the practice.
City Manager Terrence Moore said the presentations will happen at the Feb. 4 meeting.
Second “Delray Defacer” avoids felony charge
As expected, the man who defaced Delray Beach’s LQGTQ+ intersection escaped a felony record at Wednesday’s plea conference. The last argument underscored the theme of this case that began with the incident 11 months ago.
Attorneys for Dylan Reese Brewer objected to the filing of a victim impact statement from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC). The council and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation paid $16,000 for the original intersection, which the city dedicated in June 2021, and which was defaced the first time two days later.
According to Brewer’s legal team, neither PBCHRC founder Rand Hoch nor the council itself qualified as a “victim” under state law. They thus supported former State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s view that Brewer’s action—burning his tires across the intersection three times—did not qualify as a hate crime that would have enhanced the penalties.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Dahlia Weiss, however, allowed Hoch to file the statement. In it, Hoch objected to the plea deal. Weiss approved the plea to two misdemeanors, Brewer will be on probation for 24 months, must pay $2,000 in fines and will lose his driver’s license for a year.
Brewer said he was “remorseful for putting everyone through this.” With luck, there will not be a third defacing.
