Once again, it's a developer/investor heaven in Lake Worth and once again, Lake Worth is rolling over for developers.
Tonight, Ordinance 2019-16 is on the agenda to change our heights. The ordinance provides for a referendum question on the March 17, 2020, General Primary election to amend the Charter downtown building height limitation of 65 feet to allow a maximum height limitation of 87 feet for the Gulfstream Hotel and adjacent properties within the same block.
We in Lake Worth have been against raising heights in our downtown, speaking out about it for decades. This commission does not give a fig about what the people have told them. Respectful Planning PAC won at the ballot just a few years ago keeping the heights to 45 feet and the city attorney pulled a fast one on the people--so did the commission. Small town charm to them is antiquated and of no importance, neither is the vote of the people. The staff believes that raising the stories by two will improve the chances of a developer/ investor to build. Once again, the city manager and staff are getting their way and this commission approves anything City Manager Bornstein wants.
As nothing else is on the agenda for March 2020, there will be a very low turn-out. The City counts on that and they will make sure that voters agree with them. And the rest of us don't have the money to fight City Hall.
I checked with the Clerk's office and was told that the Commission (no particular human being) put this on the Agenda. Of course they will approve the Ordinance that will come back for a 2nd public Hearing on December 12. And the naive voters will also approve. It's all about changing our city and handing it over to developers. Everyone had better guard our golf course and beach property like a hawk. With this group, you just never know what's next. As a reminder, my blog of October
One thing we do know, people would like to see the Gulfstream Hotel open once again as a hotel. There is zero guaranty that it would be a hotel built on that property. ..ZERO. A video from 3 years ago--
30 comments:
If the developer could have the height ONLY if the property was to be a Hotel - and this property COULD NOT be zoned for timeshare or condo or office building, I would be happy to see it happen...I would even be fine with considerable more height than the what is suggested, as an extra incentive for a hotel to be built here. Should we get a 4 star Hotel in the space of the Gulfstream, the tourism potential of our Town Skyrockets, the downtown gets a massive economic boost, and all of us in Lake Worth will benefit from this one single height exception. Lake Worth Beach is badly, horrifically in need of a good hotel where the Gulfstream now stands. The Gulfstream needs to be demolished, it will always be useless as a hotel due to impossibly small rooms in this day and age...and it is no where near large enough to have the economic impact on the town that we should all desire.
We proved and showed examples of 4 star four story hotels. This is about the greed of developers and the misconception of this administration believing the hype from these developer/investors.
It is zoned for other uses, not just hotels.
It must be demolished and built to today's standard and code. There is nothing that precludes a new design of the exterior to match what we have today as we take pride in our historic Gulfstream hotel.
Developers now have these fancy ideas of retail on the ground, a rooftop bar, etc. They would have to build a parking garage as well.
The city is just opening this up hoping to get bites from a developer and get this think moving.
See https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pbisg-palm-beach-marriott-singer-island-beach-resort-and-spa/ This is around 195 rooms...and is the size and quality that Lake Worth Needs. We don't have the room in footprint this Marriott has, so we need to go higher. One tall building in the town would not hurt the charm of Lake Worth...It might well be a fantastic addition, making all that is Lake Worth better.
One of the major reasons to have near 200 rooms in a hotel in Lake Worth, is the way County Tourism deals with helping hotels in the county with it's advertising. This is all based on bed tax and room nights. Having worked with County tourism on Palm Beach County Dive Industry tourism, I have learned quite a lot about what hotels they would help, and which they would do nothing of much substance for.... A tiny 4 floor hotel will never get much assistance from county advertising--meaning Lake Worth will not receive much help from this economically. But as we go over 100 rooms and head closer to 200, we become the recipient of major economic support from the County TDC, Discover, CVB and Film Commission.
Dan, the city is changing the height for the entire block, not just this Gulfstream property.
As one block is changed, there goes the neighborhood, so to speak.
We don't need the footprint of this Marriott.
In the movie "Burlesque", the concept of "Air rights" gets developed....the view owned by some, and how it needs to be protected. I think this has some relevance to the height issue for the Gulfstream property....Though I don't see anyone in Lake worth seeing any worse through this property to the intracoastal, than if it was 20 floors high. Maybe a closer relationship would be Siesta Key near Sarasota in the 60's and 70's when the hotels all along this world famous and beautiful beach were primarily 2 or 3 story, with only a small handful above this. So what they had then was the charm of the "old Florida" look. This was and is in stark contrast to the overdeveloped runaway governmental prostitution that allowed Miami Beach to be what it is today...something we can all agree Lake Worth can NEVER allow.
On the other hand, we do not have to increase heights on the entire block...this is an arbitrary ruling or an agendized body, meant to pave the way for future degradation of our small town charm....And then again, if this was limited to only one single block, just this one block where the Gulfstream is, the damage to the town is virtually non-existent--and limited to just here it could become a strength.
This one block is just the start of changing our small city forever
I would and will fight hard to prevent the small town charm and present look of our Downtown to ever be lost. I believe the people of Lake Worth would be united in this.
At the same time, I see the potential for one single exclusionary zone, of only this one block, to ECONOMICALLY ENABLE the remaining 99.9% percent of the town to become prosperous enough for all of our dreams, and to allow it to KEEP it's small town personna. Everyone would have to draw this line in the sand as this being the one and only exclusionary zone, and only possible because Lake Worth Beach desperately needs Tourism, and this is impossible and unrealistic without a major hotel in this one block.
People are still pissed off about the Lucerne in our downtown.
@10:20--We're all used to it now but I sure would not want any more tall buildings in our downtown. And then we end up losing Kilwins and Starbucks, busineses that attracted people to our downtown.
I hate tourists. If we need tourists to function, we should turn out the lights.
@11:07I agree
Lake Worth's Downtown has has a few really good Restaurants. Tourism allows this. More Tourism and we get more and better Cafes, restaurants and Shops/Boutiques ...And so far, Lake worth fails miserably in supporting decent shops/Boutiques, because we do not have enough tourist traffic.
Also, if we had more tourism, residents could get more from the city, with lower taxation or less need for "Bonds" or other assessments due to insufficient town revenue. Roads being kept up would be paid for, services like the pool at the beach could be better cared for, and programs for Children or for the homeless project could be more intelligent, more functional, and funded well enough to work.
The City has been explaining to us for decades it does not have enough tax revenue to handle the true needs of it's residents - and most of us DO NOT want the higher taxes or assessments we need for Lake Worth to "be", or to do, what it should. Tourism is the cost of getting a great deal, and for losing very little in the bargain.
I wonder if any citizen has talked to the developers to let them know the different feeling.or is everyone going by the city managers voice and you know hes not going to tell the truth
Dan at 12:04--don't really understand your logic on this one. And, I can't stand any of the restaurants in LW downtown...maybe TooJays. The revenue goes to the business who pays the landlord. All we get is a tax base. That would be essentially the same as values rise---nothing to do with tourists.
Whoa...Lynn you are not being fair....maybe not your personal preference but Lake Worth has what is arguably the best Italian restaurant in America, in Paridiso ( I have been all over the Amalfi coast of ItALY, and no Italian restaurant in Florida I have been to even comes close to Paridiso). Yes it is pricey, but they buy better and more expensive food than other restaurants, and they do not take shortcuts. And there are 4 or 5 other restaurants in Lake Worth downtown that are excellent, and then you get to the bar types like DAVES or or some of the others, that so many people like. We can be proud of the restaurants we have in Lake Worth, and people do come here from quite far away for what we have.
As to the revenue and where it goes.....I think this should be developed aS A TOPIC ALL BY ITSELF. Maybe an expert on this like Michael Bornstein could shed light on the differences in Lake Worth revenue if we have next to know restaurant income, versus if we were world famous and had people coming from all over, with good volume. I could be wrong, but my guess is that the Town would benefit alot for this. I might even ask Michael to comment on this for your blog :-)
Didn't even think of Paridiso---never go there...too expensive for me.
The restaurants on Lake Avenue are dreadful. I like that little restaurant on Lake and Dixie. Don't know the name of it. I don't eat Chinese so don't go there. If you're a drinker, I guess anything can taste good. What is good on Lake Avenue?
There is Couco Pazzo in lake avenue just west of dixie....there is the Steak restaurant --Callaros....I have not been to it often because it is so easy to grill your own steak at home..but these guys are a good restaurant. On Lucerne, there is obviously Paridiso, pricey but you do get what you pay for--you just need to want the best...and there is Rustico Italiano on Lucerne, and it is very good, and quite a bit less expensive than Paradiso...even what you might call affordable :-) I don't think the others deserve nearly as much mention for what they offer to tourists or to residents, but in such a small town, I think it is impressive we have 4 that are so good, and I think this is very good for Lake Worth Beach. But again, we fail miserably with shops...we have bad landlords keeping the leases out of reach for the right shops (and a smarter move for the town would be Eminent Domaining these greedy parasites to Lake Worth's future) and we do not have the tourism traffic good shops would really need to thrive with.
The Turkish Restaurant at Lake and Dixie is good. Downtown Pizza is good. That's about it. Carolyn does a great job with PAWS on the Ave. The little shop next to PAWS is great for a gift. Everything else is garbage. Do we need tourists here to buy beads and trinkets? I agree with 2:31, that if you drink enough, anything tastes good. You have to soak up all that cheap booze. Also, Toojays and Pelican are passable. Sorry to have overlooked them. It's also nice to have the UPS Store. None of these establishments are going to close because of a lack of tourists. Kilwins did a good business: they thought they would do better on the beach. Do they? I don't know, or care. Their ice cream wasn't that good anyway. If you make a good product, you don't need tourists. Let them waddle home and throw trash on their own streets.
Don't Pull Rank Dan: We all know Michael.
Dan Volker maybe you should buy a building in the downtown since all these very bad greedy landlords who have paid millions for buildings and have been paying real estate tax bills are doing such a bad job because they are greedy😂😂😂 eminent domain is what needs to happen to you as you have invested nothing nor have helped this town in any way by way of investment into the downtown
It is a small town.....Any of us should be able to speak with the officials....and we can...this is one of the cool things about Lake Worth. While possible in West Palm or Miami, there is "too much office", and not enough connection to the people in these much larger cities...
@10:26--WOW--what a dumbass remark. Must be a liberal.
@11:08--Dan--it might be your experience that elected officials answer your calls or e-mails, etc. but it is not true for 99.9% of the rest of their constituents. That percentage may be overly stated but probably close to accurate.
NOT ONE ELECTED OFFICIAL IN THIS CITY GIVES A DAMN ABOUT YOU OR ME, nor does the administration. They do what they think is best and never give the public the facts. They can't maintain a thing.
What they care about right now is changing our city, its LDR's, Comprehensive Plan and our Charter for all developers who might want to invest here and the public be damned.
@3:27pm...Kilwins already had their store at the beach. They could no longer afford the rent in the downtown--closed their store and Starbucks moved out. They were very disappointed in closing as they had been there for years.
@10:26 again--the landlords have been driving out businesses and "greed" might be an appropriate word to use here. They either paid too much for the buildings or the rental amounts they are asking are unrealistic. And this is what happened to the Gulfstream Hotel...Schlesinger paid way too much for it and so it sits there empty for 10 years and the city is now devising a scheme that will be approved by the voters for some guy to come in and build whatever he is allowed to under our rules...probably a condo.
anon@10:26 on the landlords....
WHO INVESTS IN THE DOWNTOWN, WHO HELPS IT, AND WHO HURTS IT.
There are the:
1. … people that eat or shop in the Downtown area and that are both investing and helping it.
2. … shop or restaurant owners that are investing and helping the downtown.
3. … Landlords for many of the buildings in the Lake Worth Downtown, that are not running the businesses in the buildings, but instead have elected to SPECULATE on how much money they can take from the consumers and the businesses, and who are for all practical purposes, Parasites in our system. They are offering nothing of value unless they were the ones that paid for the construction of the building in the first place; True, they pay taxes on the property, but in reality, the exorbitant leases the “obligate rectal parasites” charge the business in their buildings, actually pays the taxes in all but the buildings where the lease rates are so high that no business is willing to lease them, and the parasite landlord is forced to pay the tax themselves. And still they speculate, that the people and the town will grow and prosper, and in the future their investment will gain value from higher property values, so they hang on and PREVENT GOOD BUSINESS from being able to take advantage of these over-priced locations.
So who can guess who helps or hurts the Downtown?
What we need is a small business and consumer tax that functions much like the Bed Tax in County Tourism. We create a significant fund each year that would be administered by a collective group whose purpose is to look for businesses that are Keys to the consumer value proposition the Town desires….This includes the charm and entertainment value, and the restaurant or shop value for the Lake Worth Downtown….These key businesses discovered, would be placed on a list of businesses that would qualify for assistance by the town, to get into the ideal retail space. The city could assist by Eminent domain where an existing Landlord will not cooperate with a Fair Price, and in so doing is INJURING the downtown for their own speculation and profit, or, the Collective could negotiate to purchase the building in question from the parasitic landlord, and then administer a fair lease to the retail business, or even work out a “lease to own” deal when feasible. Most likely this collective would need to work WITH the Town, both the CRA and the commissioners and City manager.
Eminent Domain is a nice phrase to throw around, but the legal fees alone would most likely prevent this from taking place in most cases.
All of this would take light years to accomplish, and it's questionable if the generation following this one would view your ideas with the same enthusiasm.
My suggestions would be: clean the streets, power wash and paint the buildings; make every business owner responsible for picking up the trash surrounding that business, keep the homeless at bay, and enforce the rules. Put up some new signs with the fines posted for littering, do some landscaping, in short, work with what you have. Make everything count.
Also, it wouldn't hurt to have some more interesting ideas for the Cultural Plaza. Work with the Library. They always have interesting things going on.
Raise the bar!
Agree with 3:39 Lake ave is filthy, how do businesses not see this. Some buildings are caked with bird droppings and debris. I'm embarrassed to bring visitors. Unsanitary.
The other day, I went into CVS, asked for the manager, and told her the property surrounding the store was filthy. She called the landlord, and the next day, all of the trash had been picked up. If you walk around looking at your stupid phone, you won't be any good to anybody. Put the phone down, take a look around you, and try to imagine what could be done to make things better.
A pity that a manager has to be told the obvious, it'll go back to a pigsty. The few occasions I am obligated to meet people in a Lake ave restaurant, I'm glad I had my tetanus shot and I won't order much in most of them.
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