Lake Worth Beach CRA: WMODA Permits Filed, Utility Relocation Underway Downtown
Alongside planning work, the city and the CRA moved into acquisitions.
A CRA summary lists downtown properties purchased since 2016 across South K Street, South L Street, South M Street, and Lake Avenue, with a combined total purchase cost listed as $4,590,000. The list includes parcels such as 25 South K Street and 704 1st Ave. South acquired in February 2019 with city funding, and multiple South L and South M Street properties acquired in 2017 and 2018 through a mix of CRA and city funding.
The CRA also notes additional CRA-owned lots used for surface parking, including 20 South L Street and 13 South M Street, both acquired in 2005.
In concept renderings and site plan materials presented as part of CRA updates, the WMODA concept is shown as part of a downtown planned development layout that includes the museum component fronting Lake Avenue and a residential component in the surrounding footprint, with an “art walk” connection shown through the site.
The materials also frame the project as a mixed-use cultural arts campus intended to support arts activity downtown and tie into public-space improvements.
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WMODA in Lake Worth Beach refers to the proposed Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts Cultural Arts Campus, a controversial mixed-use development planned for downtown, involving a museum, apartments, and parking, spearheaded by Arthur Wiener and the City/CRA as a public-private partnership, facing significant resident opposition over public land use and development scale.
While supporters see it as boosting the downtown economy with art and housing, critics argue it involves unfair land giveaways, lacks sufficient public input, and threatens the city's character, with construction expected around 2028.
Does the City Commission ever listen to the residents?
