Park of Commerce Lake Worth

Comment Up

Drawing from 1998

Park of Commerce

Discussions started in 1996 and the first conceptual plan for the Park of Commerce was presented back in 1998 at the PB County Board of County Commissioners Meeting.  County Commissioner Warren Newell was instrumental in getting this "off the ground."  Michael Bornstein, Newell's former aide from 1989 to year 1995, was no longer working for him at that time. The time frame of his employ, however, leads one to believe that he had to have been familiar with the POC. Back then, it was to be a joint venture and developed as an industrial park in order to attract small industrial businesses.

Here it is, seventeen years later, and the Park of Commerce, Scott  Maxwell's signature dream, is under full swing.  Now that Lake Worth has control of the property, we have changed the mission allowing residential properties. If Maxwell couldn't get the money for infrastructure from a general obligation bond, he found other ways to skin the cat than directly taxing the property owners of Lake Worth.

"The estimated cost of planned improvements under Phase 1 (there are three phases) is $7.7 million dollars. The City has requested $4.5 million in discretionary funding from the State of Florida and has budgeted $3.2 million dollars through its Capital Improvements Program (CIP). The city says that if it is successful in obtaining its requested grant funding from EDA, the amount of its local cost share will be reduced by $1,400,000. The requested grant funding amount represents approximately thirteen percent (13%) of the total project budget that is well within EDA’s threshold requirement that EDA funding may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total cost of the project."

The city believes that this "major roadway and infrastructure upgrade in the Lake Worth Park of Commerce is an essential component for long term job creation and industry development in the City. The proposed improvements expand roadway capacity and provide related infrastructure that is much needed to remove constraints that have been an impediment to local economic growth," says the city.

Now with all this talk about job creation--Remember the mayor saying it's all about jobs, jobs and jobs (the truth of the matter is that it's all about tax base even though we will be spending more for infrastructure, etc. than we will EVER receive in ad valorem, so is it really something that we do not understand?)--"this initial phase of development, combined with subsequent phases are designed to support a regional manufacturing facility that upon completion will provide 750,000 square feet of commercial space, 2,250,000 square feet of light industrial and office space, two hotels and other significant business enterprises that are projected to create or retain up to 200 jobs. Final build-out is projected during the year 2035." 

Also, the City is asking the County to place the upgraded improvements of the intersection in the County’s CIP for 2016 to include Boutwell Road and 10th Avenue North.