Soma Center Padlocked.

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2 former Chairs of CRA tell me off

Back in the days when we had money (before property values tanked), every Tom, Dick and Harry applied to the CRA for all that do re me they could get. You could look at the applications and then view the properties, and would quickly become outraged at the system. We exposed many of them. This was the era when the CRA did a whole lot of favors for its friends (remember the Pugh property?) and had to grant money based on terrible give-away policies. The mind-set was "we just have to get rid of the money."

The CRA believes that these give-aways encourage more private investment within the CRA's commercial corridor and it also encourages new business to move here. None of this is based on any proven statistics of which I am familiar. And it certainly did not happen in Lake Worth. The CRA, because of hard financial times, was forced to re-examine its policies on these commercial and residential grants, some sort of blessing in disguise.

I am not sure if much has changed with the CRA as I haven’t had time to get to their meetings this year. They have a $23 mil grant that they must spend within 3 years so you can bet that they will. One thing we do know is, the CRA no longer has that Cookie Jar from TIF, a funding for local governments that has always been highly debatable as to whether it really serves the resident populations well. Money is tight and the CRA will be lucky to even meet Budget. I shutter to think about that principal and interest payment for the Gateways that is close to $1 mil a year that Jeff Clemens got us into.

Two years ago, The Soma Center, a yoga establishment with a cafe, applied to the CRA for a Tenant Improvement Grant. They asked for $15,335 to help cover the cost of painting, stucco, a new door, a yoga floor and money to demolish some walls. The owner wanted to move the Yoga Center to the back of the space and move the retail and café to the front of the building. That made sense.

At the time, the owner promised the creation of four more jobs and the CRA said that it "expected that the business would become profitable." There was no foundation for this assumption. The CRA, led by Chair Wes Blackman, voted to give the tenant $7,667.50 in matching funds. Correction: Wes Blackman was not Chair but a member at the time.

I was in the Soma Center one time in my life. Every time I walked by I would say, "I can't figure out what in heck this place is all about," and I would always think of the money that the CRA gave to them--always. I don't even understand yoga although those who practice it swear by it as the cure all to just about everything including "better sex," "better health," "gets us in touch with our true selves, etc." I often wondered if someone was trying to con me on the benefits of yoga.

Now, two years later, we learn that The Soma Center is being evicted for non-payment of rent and taxes. Herman Robinson, the owner of the building and his wife Laurel, both past members of Lake Worth City Boards, padlocked the store. He says he has other interest in the space.

Mr. Robinson's building has been improved upon thanks to free money. Those improvements may not necessarily be what a new tenant needs. Money was readily given by the CRA with the hope that this yoga business would be successful. It was a decision made by the CRA Board based on its belief that this business had merit but most of all because of its relationship with Mr. Robinson.