Construction paused at Alligator Alcatraz

Obama judge blocks construction at 'Alligator Alcatraz'

A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has paused construction for two weeks at "Alligator Alcatraz" after a challenge from environmentalist groups.

The immigrant detention center, located in the Florida Everglades, was opened in July and quickly became a polarizing symbol of President Donald Trump's mass deportation push.

Environmental and tribal groups want to shut the facility down, saying it will damage the local wetland ecosystem.

The temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams bars additional construction for two weeks while she considers whether to issue a preliminary injunction, which has a larger scope.

The Trump administration says this ruling is another example of activists weaponizing the court system to override Trump's electoral mandate.

Environmengalists have apparently never stopped to consider the environmental damage caused by mass immigration, which has become the main driver of U.S. population growth.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has championed Trump's deportation push, noted the ruling does not stop immigrants from being detained at the tent facility, which currently houses 3,000.

Read more about it...

Chris, you're wrong on this one!

Madison Terrace coming to Lake Worth Beach

Madison Terrace
Located on South Dixie Highway, the Madison Terrace Project, with financial support from the CRA.

According to Protect Lake Worth Beach Facebook page, it says: Once completed, this project will provide 176 units serving seniors over 55 years of age in Lake Worth Beach. Construction has begun and is expected to be completed in early summer 2026.

Madison Terrace's website says it will be 91 units for over 55.

Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth Beach

Update on Gulfstream Hotel

Historical Society of Lake Worth Gulfstream Hotel Update:

If you haven’t passed the Historic Gulfstream Hotel lately, you may be wondering about construction progress. Here it is!

The new roof is “dried in “ (waterproof, but without the decorative clay tiles).

Concrete structure and walls of the new southern back-of-the-house addition is complete, including the rooftop pool basin. This outdoor pool will be accessed from the mezzanine level of the front lobby.

All interior demolition is done and structural repairs are finished.

Original woodwork in the lobby, dining room and bar is fully protected from damage while surrounding renovations continue.

New window installation will be scheduled before the start of Hurricane season.

Installation of major equipment, such as chillers, pumps, electrical switchgear, transformers, and cooling towers is occurring now.

Installation of rough plumbing on the upper floors has started. Also, non-structural partition framing has begun on the top floors. Lake Worth Electric is busy installing upgraded service to the building.

Actual hotel opening will be determined by the Hotel Operator. However, work continues to progress according to schedule, and substantial completion of construction is still set for the fourth quarter of 2025!

More Construction on 6th Avenue South

Florida Department of Transportation December 18, 2024

Dear Elected Official: (Sarah Malega)

RE: Project Information Notification

State Road (SR) 9/I-95 Bridge Improvements Project
From 6th Avenue South to SR 802/Lake Worth Road
In the City of Lake Worth Beach
Financial Project ID Numbers: 449318-1-52-01

On behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), we are pleased to inform you of the upcoming SR 9/I-95 Bridge Improvements Project from 6th Avenue South to SR 802/Lake Worth Road in the City of Lake Worth Beach.

A Construction Open House is not scheduled for this project. Construction will begin in January 2025. Attached is a copy of the project information flyer.

Community feedback is at the core of all we do, FDOT works with the public to balance their community vision with the community's transportation needs. This is routine on all our projects to ensure Florida's infrastructure is safe, resilient, and efficient for many years into the future. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the FDOT Palm Beach Operations Construction Engineer, Joseph Marzi, P.E., at (561) 370-1152 or via email at joseph.marzi@dot.state.fl.us.

Sincerely,
Steven C. Braun, P.E.
District 4 Secretary

News from Chamber of Commerce

Exciting New Cultural Development in Lake Worth Beach Meeting on October 7th

The Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts (WMODA) has secured a partnership with the world-renowned Chihuly Studio to bring a permanent art installation and immersive experience right here in our city. This project involves the construction of a 33,000-square-foot museum dedicated to the Fired Arts, showcasing Chihuly's stunning glassworks in a permanent exhibit, making Lake Worth Beach one of only a handful of locations globally to feature such an attraction.

Why This Matters to Your Business:

• Increased Tourism: Similar installations in cities like Seattle and St. Petersburg have driven significant economic benefits, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue through tourism, hotel stays, restaurant sales, and retail spending.

• Economic Impact: Chihuly's exhibitions attract visitors from all over the world, and this could lead to a significant increase in foot traffic to local businesses like yours.

• Community Engagement: The museum will offer educational programs, events, and community initiatives that will bring more people into the downtown area, enriching the cultural life of our city and supporting local businesses.

Join Us to Learn More:
A joint City and CRA workshop will be held to discuss this exciting project. I strongly encourage you to attend this meeting to learn more about how this development that can benefit our community and ask any questions you may have.

Date: Monday, October 7th
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Lake Worth Beach Casino Complex

This is a unique opportunity for Lake Worth Beach, and your involvement as a local business is key to ensuring the success of this project. I hope you will join us to hear more about this transformative development and what it can mean for your business.

If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out, or visit www.wmodaloveslwb.com. Thank you for your time, and I hope to see you at the meeting!

Warm regards,
Nadine Heitz, Esq.
6316 Lantana Road #45

Sixth Avenue South Bridge Construction found Faulty

Sixth Avenue South bridge to stay closed into August after tests detect roadway problems

The Sixth Avenue South bridge, a major gateway to Greenacres, Palm Springs and Lake Worth Beach, has been closed for nearly a year and won't open in June as scheduled because of problems with its reconstruction.

A consultant found that the concrete used to repair the 50-year-old span across Lake Osborne didn't meet quality requirements and ordered its removal and replacement for a stretch of the roadway. That work will delay reopening until August, Palm Beach County officials said.

Lake Worth Beach City Manager Jamie Brown said the 50-year-old bridge needed to be renovated to meet the demand of the area's growing population.

"It was a long time coming," Brown said. "It was a very old bridge, like a lot of our infrastructure."

Read more...

6th Avenue South Closure

Notice from our District Commissioner, Sarah Malega

This notice is to inform you and your staff of an upcoming project to relocate two signal bridges on the South Florida Rail Corridor (SFRC) crossing at 6th Avenue South. The work will be performed by South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) contractors.

This work will require the full closure of 6th Avenue South to vehicular traffic from Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 6:00 a.m. to Monday, March 11, 2024, at 6:00 a.m. If necessary, this closure will extend to Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 6:00 a.m.

During the closure, traffic will be safely detoured along the established detour routes. Note: The existing road closure of 6th Avenue South, and the associated detour, remains in effect during this work effort.

Click to read--

ROLO President reports on 6th Avenue Bridge Construction

6th Avenue south night road construction

There was a meeting last tonight that you could call into concerning the nighttime construction on 6th Ave South. Here are some facts from the meeting:

Why night construction?

• The construction cannot be done within so many feet of a live power pole.

• The Lake Worth lines near the construction zone have to be de-energized for work to continue.

• Lake Worth can re-route the power load so that residents will not lose power but this can only be done at night.

• Night construction will start August 7th and go until August 19th, Monday to Friday,10PM to 10 AM. Not on weekends.

• The noise and vibrations should be negligible, but there will be an engineer on site monitoring this at all times.

If you have further questions you may call 561-684-4012

Katie McGiveron, President of ROLO

Upcoming Night Work at 6th Avenue Bridge

Click to read--

Important Updates from the CRA Lake Worth

1213 Lake Avenue
Madlyn’s Place will be located at 1213 Lake Avenue. This extensive renovation project will transform an abandoned structure into new office and meeting space for Path to College and Xcel Mentoring. Both of these neighborhood nonprofits will offer tutoring and leadership skills for our local youth. Minor interior demolition work has already begun and construction managers expect to have the project completed later this summer. This project is dedicated to the memory of the CRA’s former Chairwoman, and long-time Lake Worth Beach resident, Ms. Madlyn McKendry.

15 North E Street
The Micro Lofts at 15 North E Street is nearing completion. This project will offer new residential apartments with roof top balconies and ground floor studio space. Finishes and landscaping will be happening over the next few month and the development is expected to be 100% completed later this year. For any leasing questions call Sai Cheng at 561-305-6078.

CANA BAR & GRILL OPENS DOWNTOWN 604 Lake Avenue

UPCOMING EVENTS AT HATCH1121

R. Dot Arts & Creative Agency and Tambi Designs, LLC present Past, Presence, Future at HATCH 1121 Gallery. Works from over 30 artists from Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade counties will be on display.

Location:
1121 Lucerne Avenue, Lake Worth Beach, FL
Show Dates: March 11 - March 31, 2023
Opening Reception: March 11, 2023 | 5:30PM - 9:00PM
Daily Gallery Hours: March 13 - March 30, 2023 | 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Online Viewing Room: March 11 - March 31, 2023
Art & Flavor Artist Food Market : March 18, 2023 | 3:00PM - 9:00PM
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JOSE MENDEZ AT 561-805-0111

Construction Lake and Lucerne Avenues in Lake Worth

🚧 Upcoming Road Closure Information 🚧

Please be advised the intersections of US-1 and Lake Avenue and US-1 and Lucerne Avenue will be partially closed for improvements.
📌The roadway will be closed one corner at a time starting on at 8AM on Thursday, August 11th.
📌Construction work will take place Monday- Friday 8am-3pm.
🚙Access to businesses, residents and pedestrian traffic will be maintained at all times.
📅Estimated Completion: Spring 2023
📞For more information please contact the FDOT Project Manager Khosrow Gandjei at 561.531.3877

I-95/SR 9 Interchange at 6th Avenue South

Improvements for I-95/SR 9 Interchange at 6th Avenue South

This evening I joined the online meeting sponsored by FDOT.

Proposed Improvements:

• Adding a lane at the north and southbound off ramps

• Adding a merge lane and adding a right turn lane at the southbound on-ramp.

• Widening roadway pavement along 6th Avenue South to provide 7-foot buffered bicycle lanes

• Adding a lane on westbound 6th Avenue south from Michigan Avenue to the I-95 Interchange

• Signalization and pavement making upgrades

• Street lighting upgrades

• Replacement of railroad tracks, railroad gates, and overhead sign structure

The construction start date is spring 2023.
Estimated Construction end time is Winter 2025
Construction cost estimate if $9.3 million

Mayor Betty Resch and Commissioner Sarah Malega were on the virtual public meeting along with Reinaldo Diaz whose mike was muted. I might have missed others from Lake Worth.

Butters Construction filed plans for Warehouse

Butters Construction & Development proposed a warehouse at 1939 Seventh Ave. North, Lake Worth Beach and  has filed plans for a speculative warehouse.

BREF 7 Ave LLC, an affiliate of the Deerfield Beach-based developer, acquired the 5.4-acre site at 1939 Seventh Ave. North for $6 million in December 2021. It currently has a 1,460-square-foot broadcasting building but it’s mostly vacant. It was previously the home of radio station WWRF.

The property is located just west of Interstate 95, not far from the Tenth Avenue exit.

Read about it...

Lake Worth Beach Complex Plans

“The City of Lake Worth (the “City”) is seeking qualifications from interested firms to provide conceptual designs and cost estimates for the renovation, refurbishing and/or new construction of facilities at the City’s beach complex. The successful firm may also be requested by the City to prepare the construction design documents and provide construction phase services for the selected conceptual design.

The meeting is to choose the best firm based on a scoring process in the RFQ attached. The City conducts these types of selection processes all the time as a course of regular business."

Lake Worth Beach Complex Conceptual Plans Design, Cost Estimates & Construction Design and Construction Phase Services

This meeting is open to the public and those interested are welcome to attend. The meeting will be held in the Commission Chambers of Lake Worth City Hall at 1:30pm today.

$135 million Ballpark of the Palm Beaches moving right along

Comment Up

Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature earmarked $50 million toward the $135 million stadium. The Baseball corporations, Huston Astros and Washington Nationals, pay for any over-runs and they are tax exempt.

Trailer of wood dumped on Lake Worth City Streets

Comment Up

This trailer owned by Fencing South Florida and loaded with wood was left in the ROLO neighborhood yesterday morning. Everyone assumed that the trailer had broken down and the company would be back later and move it. The company never came back. Consequently, Randy McGiveron called PBSO when he got home from work; PBSO called the towing company with whom they have a contract, and the stuff was hauled out of there. It was right in the middle of the intersection of Collier Avenue and Lake Osborne Terrace.

As night was descending, the tow truck came in the nick of time. It was unsafe to leave it there at night with no lighting.

118 units to be built in Lake Worth across from Lake Osborne

Comment Up

AHS Development just got its construction mortgage and recently broke ground on the project at 2430 Lake Worth Road. It’s slated for 118 units in three Key West-style buildings of three stories each. The building will face Lake Obsorne. Read about it...

Construction on 10th Avenue North I-95 Interchange

I-95 Interchange Improvements at 10th Avenue North

Construction on this 0.579-mile project will begin Monday, November 2, 2015, in the City of Lake Worth. Work consists of widening 10th Avenue North, from Barnett Drive to “A” Street, including roadway approaches and bridges over I-95 and the railroad tracks to provide dual eastbound turn lanes onto I-95, widening the I-95 northbound entrance ramp to receive the newly constructed dual eastbound left turn lanes, and widening the existing three-lane I-95 southbound exit ramp to four lanes to provide dual left and dual right turns.

Other improvements include utility relocation, bridge construction, installation of barrier walls, curbs, sidewalks, guardrail, drainage, overhead signs, signing and pavement markings, signals, lighting, and retaining walls. This is the third of five interchange improvement projects throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The combined project cost for all five projects is an estimated $32.5 million.

Work is being performed by Community Asphalt Corp. and is expected to be completed summer 2017. For more information, please contact Andrea Pacini, 561-214-3358.

Palm Beach has become a Port-O-Let

Comment Up

Save Our Neighborhood attorney, Lesley Blackner, wrote a piece for The Shiny Sheet:

Special to the PB Daily News--

Recently, I was asked by a Londoner who’s never been to Palm Beach to describe this gilded island. She asked me what the island’s landmarks are. She probably thought I’d mention Mar-a-Lago, The Breakers, Billionaires Row or Worth Avenue. I thought about it and said:

Imagine a place where even shacks sell for millions. Imagine a place where every block and every major road is torn up with construction. You can’t hear the birds for the unrelenting noise of demolition and construction. As for landmarks, London has the red telephone booth. Palm Beach has the port-a-potty. You can’t go a block without seeing and smelling one. Until very recently, I could stand on the sidewalk in front of my home and view four port-a-potties. (Now there are “only” three.)

The other day I rode my bike through town (weaving in and out of the obstacle course that the roads have become) and counted 17 separate port-a-potties and new construction on nearly every street. I didn’t cover the entire island and only rode for one hour. I’ve been out many mornings walking my dogs when a port-a-potty truck shows up to do its thing and pick up a load. Hold your breath and run far away.

My acquaintance was shocked, saying, “All the big New York money is fleeing to Palm Beach.” Yes, that is true. The money wants to live in Palm Beach. However that may be, the Palm Beach Town Council must still run the place. The Town Council is charged with protecting the “health, welfare and safety” of the town residents. Council members are decidedly NOT charged with allowing uncontrolled construction to ruin our quality of life. Why can’t they stagger building and road construction? Must the whole town be torn up 24/7? In my opinion the Town Council is not doing its job.

When my son was little, he would say, “Could I have a piece of quiet?” I think of that now when I see and smell what Palm Beach has become.

LESLEY BLACKNER Palm Beach
PB Daily News

Construction work on 10th Ave North & I-95

I-95 Interchange Improvements at 10th Avenue North

Construction on this 0.579-mile project will begin Tuesday, October 20, 2015, in the City of Lake Worth. Work consists of widening 10th Avenue North, from Barnett Drive to “A” Street, including roadway approaches and bridges over I-95 and the railroad tracks to provide dual eastbound turn lanes onto I-95, widening the I-95 northbound entrance ramp to receive the newly constructed dual eastbound left turn lanes, and widening the existing three-lane I-95 southbound exit ramp to four lanes to provide dual left and dual right turns.

Other improvements include utility relocation, bridge construction, installation of barrier walls, curbs, sidewalks, guardrail, drainage, overhead signs, signing and pavement markings, signals, lighting, and retaining walls. This is the third of five interchange improvement projects throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The combined project cost for all five projects is an estimated $32.5 million. Work is being performed by Community Asphalt Corp. and is expected to be completed summer 2017.

Open House Notice: Advanced notice: An Open House will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., at the Lake Worth City Hall conference room, located at 7 N. Dixie Highway, Lake Worth, FL, 33460. Project staff will be available to answer questions; however, a formal presentation will not be made. For more information, please contact Andrea Pacini, 561-214-3358.