Saturday, April 12, 2014

Lake Worth Commission on a Fast Train trying to steamroll through the city

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Yelling "all aboard and don't get left behind" to the developers, Mayor Pam Triolo of Lake Worth, and one who admits that Lake Worth is poorer than dirt, is pushing developers to think of Lake Worth when they’re looking to expand or develop. The commission is riding a fast train to fast track the Park of Commerce and wants $17 million of your money to do it, all to attract developers, as well as to get development of any kind in Lake Worth. They are looking at every square inch where that can happen and it can't come too soon for any of them.

Unbeknown to the residents, the city hired a consultant group to come up with different suggestions on development within the city. This was done to help out potential developers...we paid to give them a light-bulb moment. There was no mention of the name of the consultant or what this study cost. Consultants are something this commission has always panned excepting for when it comes to pushing their ideas. Last week the city entertained potential developers and entrepreneurs for a meeting at our Casino and presented six ideas for "transformation" projects.

One of those ideas featured today in the Palm Beach Post is a transient oriented development right at Lake Osborne that abuts the Tri-Rail tracks. We already see the deplorable affordable rentals, although they appear to be built well, that we suspect will ruin this neighborhood. From the photo on the TOD, it is humongous with 4-5 stories and it would mean buying out the mobile home park and other property near-by--or figuring out a way to grab it.


Another thing that was presented was — A "258-room, 103,200 square-foot, up to-6 story hotel, with 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, south of Lake Avenue and running down the east side of Federal Highway." Of course, there is no mention of the heights election where the people voted to keep our downtown area no more than 45 feet or 4 stories. The commission believes that it now can do whatever it wants in this regard.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This Commission spends too much time in the barst thinking up these ideas
for the Developers and spending our money on Consultants for the Developers. Wow, where did they come up with the money for the Consultants? Most of these commissioners have Real Estate liscenses SO REALLY WHO DOES WIN IN THE END?

Lynn Anderson said...

Not sure that "most" have RE licenses. We know that Scott Maxwell got his license positioning himself in operating mode as a property manager for a possible "Gold Rush" in economic development, one of his obsessions.

Anonymous said...

What about this meeting at the casino for the developers and the Commission? I would call this a SUNSHINE VIOLATION AND DIDNT SEE ANYTHIBG PUBLISHED ABOUT IT.

Lynn Anderson said...

For at least the 100th time, this blog is NOT about personal attacks against Lynn Anderson. Take your crap somewhere else, anonymous who just tried to post here.

The way we get the property values up is to rid ourselves of slum, blight and eventually crime...you are starting on the abandoned houses. Good move.

I came from a town that is as beautiful today as it was 100 years ago. No development. Property values are out of sight there. Don't give me the crap about needed willy nilly development to get ourselves out of this hole.

Anonymous said...

Transient oriented development does make sense, and lost of our neighbor cities are preparing for it with the All Aboard Florida train approved. That type of development, if done well and properly linked with our downtown could be wonderful. More and more younger people prefer to do without cars, taking mass transit to work and then biking on the weekends, we should be ahead of this although I'm not sure why one would need a consultant to tell you this.