Developers still want to screw up our beach and golf course

Developers will take every square inch of undeveloped property if you allow it

"An investment group pitching a massive overhaul of Lake Worth Beach’s oceanfront and public golf course is conducting an outreach campaign this summer to drum up public support for the multimillion-dollar project. Hosting the Horizon presentations is a familiar face: former city lobbyist Richard Pinsky."

Can't help but Remember him...now instead of representing the city and lobbying in Tallahassee for grants, he is representing developers for the almighty buck--much more lucrative than the small retainer he received from the City.

As a reminder, Richard Pinsky, our former lobbyist in Tallahassee, is considered a "super lobbyist" and one of his specialties--development project approvals before local governments. He is also the former husband of Kimberly Mitchell who was a West Palm Beach commissioner for 13 years.

"Pinsky stopped representing the city in May, after more than 10 years, when he quit his job with the Akerman law firm, one of the city’s two lobbying firms. He formed Pinsky and Associates with his wife, Jessica, and accepted an offer to represent the investment group: Copperline Partners, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Hyatt World International, Fortress Investment and Stiles Construction.

Among the highlights of a development plan Copperline said will create a vibrant tourism-based economy for Lake Worth Beach:

• A $105 million, 250-room oceanfront Hyatt at the south end of the beach, just west of the existing traffic circle.

• An attraction (a seaquarium has been mentioned), a 5-acre park and a 900-space parking garage all at the beach.

• A public launch for kayaks and a water taxi on the west side of Ocean Boulevard just south of the Lake Worth Bridge, creating a dedicated water transportation link between the barrier island and the mainland.

• A $95 million, 150-room Hyatt on the south end of a newly designed Jack Nicklaus golf course. (Nicklaus toured the existing city course in November.)

• A new public swimming pool on the mainland, potentially at the city’s Northwest Park. The city’s municipal pool at the beach, shuttered since 2016, would be razed.

• No changes to the existing casino building and the Lake Worth Pier."

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