2GHO gets approval for PGA Plaza with Trader Joe's

by Dylan Roden

Gardens approves Trader Joe’s plaza renovations

By Willie Howard

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

PALM BEACH GARDENS —

Menin Development can proceed with a $12 million makeover of PGA Plaza that will modernize the shopping center at PGA Boulevard and Prosperity Farms Road, the city council decided Thursday

The council approved a redevelopment plan that includes enlarging the shopping center by 3,253 square feet, upgrading three entrances, adding 56 parking spaces, removing oak trees and adding a tower and a covered sitting area to the building occupied by Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza.

The company plans to begin renovations in September and complete them in the fall of 2014. New tenants scheduled to move into the renovated plaza include the California-based grocery chain Trader Joe’s.

 

 

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/loc...

Exclusive Details Of Jupiter's Harbourside Place

by Dylan Roden

JUPITER, Fla. -- It's the $144,000,000 commercial development re-shaping the waterfront in Jupiter and only CBS 12 News is given exclusive access to the construction site.  Construction is halfway done on Harbourside Place and should be completed in exactly one year.  This is all happening on the northwest corner of Indiantown Road and US 1 in Jupiter.

"We get dozens of calls everyday, people wondering what's going on," said developer Nick Mastroianni.


 

Story by Peter Schaller / CBS12 News

The developer saves a major announcement about the project for CBS 12 News.  They've just confirmed the biggest leaser here is going to be a 4 star Wyndham Grand.  The popular Jupiter wine bar and restaurant Too Bizarre will also move in here, into a much bigger space.



Mastroianni said, "This is our home, Jupiter is home to our development company just about everyone who works for this company."


There will be many more restaurants with some outdoor seating, shops, and a marina with public and private slips.  The developer says the project is creating an estimated 2,000 jobs.


There have been some critics of the project, mainly concerned that it was taking too long to complete.  But the town council approved it 4 to 1 back in 2008.  Now, 5 years later, here it is.  It's a developer's dream fueled by international financing and its meeting the right economic forecast to make it actually happen.

Source: http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stor...

Mini-golf proposal for A1A gets cheers, jeers in Jupiter

by Dylan Roden

By Bill DiPaolo

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

JUPITER -- — 

The owner says a proposed miniature golf course east of A1A would be a family attraction featuring burgers, ice cream and alcohol, but some nearby residents fear too much noise and traffic.

“It’s going to be people golfing with soft music in t

he background. Families need something to do,” said Palm Beach Gardens resident Patty Bartoli. Her Palm Beach Gardens-based company, J.E.M. Partners, bought the 2-acre property just north of Jupiter Beach Road in June for $1.2 million, according to county records.

Some residents of The Estuary, a 150-unit condominium just east of the now-vacant property, say the golf course would bring late-night partyers to a quiet neighborhood. Some residents of Jupiter River Park, a mobile home park across A1A from the property, also have voiced opposition.

“It’s an amusement park with alcohol open late at night. It’s too close to residents. People around here are pretty emotional against it,” said Rick Meares, an Estuary resident.

Plans for Lighthouse Cove Miniature Golf call for a 20-foot-tall lighthouse, waterfalls and 36 holes designed to feature Jupiter’s history and local sea life. A 2,000-square-foot, two-story building with adjacent covered outdoor seating would serve light food, beer and wine. No indoor seating is planned.

Mini-golf would fit the “funky fishing village” feel the town is trying to create along A1A between U.S. 1 and Jupiter Beach Road, said Brenda Arnold, the town’s Community Redevelopment Agency program manager.

“We don’t need another bar-restaurant. Many residents tell me they want more family orientated activities in that area,” Arnold said.

The complex would be open seven days a week. Hours would be 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Bartoli said. Entrances and exits are planned on A1A and Dubois Road. Outdoor live music requires a special-event permit.

Plans call for an 8,000-square-foot preserve of native plants in the northeast section of the site. A 5-foot-wide sidewalk would take pedestrians and bicycle riders past the food shack between A1A and Dubois Road. The parking lot on the north side would hold 63 vehicles.

The town’s planning and zoning commission Tuesday voted 4-1 to recommend approval to the town council. A final vote by the council is scheduled for Dec. 18.

“We are not creating a bar scene. Families are getting younger in the area. We’re looking to create a laid-back, Key West atmosphere,” said Bartoli, who said the complex will create about 20 jobs.

To view the proposal, go to jupiter.fl.us.

 

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/loc...

German government grants newly opened Max Planck institute $40 million

by Dylan Roden

Updated: 5:56 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 | Posted: 11:43 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012

By Stacey Singer

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

JUPITER — 

The German government has agreed to contribute $10 million a year for the next four years to the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, a German official announced Wednesday at the institute’s ceremonial opening.

The unexpected grant, which will allow for the expansion of brain research, is only the fourth time in the 100-year history of Germany’s Max Planck Society that it has committed money to a venture outside of Germany.

“My wish is that this institute will be a focal point for scientific breakthroughs and a bridgehead for German and American cooperation,” said Cornelia Quennet-Thielen, state secretary of Germany’s Ministry of Education & Research.

About 400 scientists, politicians and leaders in business and education attended the ceremony to inaugurate the modern, 100,000 square-foot building where brain circuitry is being studied. The festivities featured students from the Oxbridge Academy performing classical German music, speeches about the value of international collaboration, and even video of Nobel laureate Bert Sakmann kiteboarding along the Atlantic shore.

Newly elected Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Valeche, a one-time skeptic, said he was impressed that at a time of economic stress Germany was willing to support the Florida institute. He recalled the urging of former Scripps Research Institute President Dr. Richard Lerner to commit more tax money to bioscience here.

“Dr. Lerner said, “ ‘If we can just get one more world-class institution here, that will be the critical mass we need to get bioscience off the ground,’” Valeche said. “I think we’ve got that now.”

Florida and Palm Beach County have contributed $188 million to attract the German research giant to the region, including the $64 million building that opened Wednesday. The $40 million grant will enable scientists from Germany to visit and work, and likely will be renewed well beyond four years, Max Planck Society President Peter Gruss said.

The Florida institute is the society’s first outside of Europe. The society is supported by German taxpayers, and so the grant required approval from a committee comprised of both the federal government and all 16 German states, he said. The money is not earmarked for anything, instead the institute will be watched to see how it’s progressing.

“A scientific committee will come every two years to guide the institute and to tell me what they see about the research,” Gruss said.

Gruss said he envisions the institute being supported in the future one-third by the society, one-third by philanthropy and one-third by grants from the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.

“We have recruited young people from Cal-Tech, from Harvard, from Cold Spring Harbor. In three years, this institute already has standing in the scientific community,” Gruss said. “If you pick the right people they act as a magnet.”

The Florida institute’s CEO, David Fitzpatrick, said he opted to change the name of Max Planck Florida to the longer but more descriptive Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience to “better communicate our scientific focus, our mission, and our dedication to understanding the most complex living structure in the known universe.”

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/max...

Wind-farm plan OK'd by Palm Beach County zoning panel

by [Your Name Here]

By Dennis Glade

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

WEST PALM BEACH —

Palm Beach County zoning commissioners voted Thursday to allow construction on Florida's first wind turbine farm near Belle Glade.

Commissioners voted 6-0 for wind turbines at the 12,900-acre site. The plan now will go before the county commission.

Wind Capital Group, a St. Louis company, seeks to convert the wind blowing off Lake Okeechobee into energy that could power homes and businesses.

Throughout the process to get the wind farm approved, environmentalists have objected to what they believe will be irrevocable damage to the natural habitat of birds and other animals.

Robin Saiz, director of project development for the Wind Capital Group, said the firm is collecting data to determine how to protect birds.

Roy Schneider of the Audubon Society of the Everglades cautioned the zoning board to be patient before making any commitments to ensure the Glades' natural beauty.

"I do wish you would be cautious about making plans that are so long-term and expensive," Schneider said. "We are all supportive of clean, renewable energy sources, we all want more jobs.

"The question is what kind of jobs and is doing this for the long-term for the good of our society? Going toward this as a more cautious and conservative measure might be a good idea."

George Gentile of Gentile Glas, Holloway, O'Mahoney and Associates, speaking on behalf of the Wind Capital Group, said the construction of the wind turbines will boost the economy with 200 to 300 construction jobs and 15 to 20 permanent jobs once the turbines are running.

Gentile denied that the farm would produce a disturbing amount of noise.

"A normal conversation is anywhere between 50 and 60 decibels; 100 meters from the wind turbine we are at the 50-decibel level," Gentile said.

"The sound and noise coming from the new technology is well within range of normal activities."

Zoning Commissioner Sherry Hyman said she hopes that the wind farm will spark more energy sources like it, not only around Florida but around the country.

"I'm fully supportive of this project.

"We need more wind engines throughout our country and less fossil fuels, for sure," Hyman said.


Wind farm near Belle Glade

  • $350 million to produce 200 megawatts to power 55,000 to 65,000 homes.
  • 114 to 124 wind turbines.
  • Turbine would be roughly 30 stories tall.

Source

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/wind-farm-plan-okd-by-palm-beach-county-zoning-p-1/nLhLP/

 

Riviera Beach chooses architects for marina area, Newcomb Hall

by [Your Name Here]
Architectural renderings showing possibilities for a new Newcomb Hall at Riviera Beach Marina. The three-story design by the team C3TS/Gentile, Holloway, O'Mahoney & Associates features a Caribbean theme and with an amphitheater that faces northwest into Bicentennial Park.
Architectural renderings showing possibilities for a new Newcomb Hall at Riviera Beach Marina. The three-story design by the team C3TS/Gentile, Holloway, O'Mahoney & Associates features a Caribbean theme and with an amphitheater that faces northwest into Bicentennial Park.
 
By Willie Howard

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 9:11 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Posted: 9:08 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, 2011

— The architectural firm C3TS will design a new Newcomb Hall and a site plan for the marina property.

The city council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, decided Wednesday to hire the firm, ending a design competition between C3TS and Song & Associates, which presented their visions for the Newcomb Hall community center and the surrounding marina property to an evaluation committee on May 2.

The CRA staff will negotiate a work order with C3TS and its design partner, Gentile, Holloway, O'Mahoney & Associates, and bring it back to the council for final approval.

Song & Associates was chosen Wednesday to design improvements to the Riviera Beach Heights, Blue Heron South and Broadway West neighborhoods.

C3TS has proposed a Bahamian-style, three-story Newcomb Hall located on the southeast corner of Bicentennial Park. The new Newcomb Hall would include an amphitheater facing northwest into Bicentennial Park and a third floor that could be rented for parties and weddings.

The C3TS concept, dubbed Marina Place at Riviera Beach, includes a public market building next to Newcomb Hall, a tiki-style restaurant and small vendor huts for waterfront businesses.

On April 27, the CRA board agreed to borrow $25.6 million to rebuild Newcomb Hall, build a parking garage, beautify Riviera Beach Heights, and make other improvements around the marina and along Broadway to stimulate redevelopment.

Also Wednesday, the CRA board approved a plan to issue a request for proposals for a nonprofit company to operate a community boating program that would provide boating education and boat access to youths and their families.

The board approved searching for a community boating program provider in a 3-1 vote, with Councilwoman Dawn Pardo dissenting.

Pardo said the boating program seemed premature because construction work to replace the marina bulkhead is set to begin in June. Proposals for the boating program must be submitted to the CRA by June 18.

willie_howard@pbpost.com

Source:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/riviera-beach-chooses-architects-for-marina-area-newcomb-1469825.html

GHO Being Considered for Riviera's Newcomb Hall Renovation

by [Your Name Here]

Architectural firms present differing plans for Riviera's Newcomb Hall renovation

By Willie Howard  

Posted: 5:52 p.m. Monday, May 2, 2011

— RIVIERA BEACH --- Two architecture firms competing to design a new Newcomb Hall presented different visions Monday for the community center and surrounding property at the city marina.

Song & Associates focused on history in its design for a two-story Newcomb Hall with 20-foot ceilings in the rooms and dormer windows jutting out from the roof.

The Song & Associates design takes its style from the Riviera Hotel, bought in 1901 as a winter home by city pioneer Charles Newcomb . It features covered porches on the first and second floors where visitors could look out over the water and view the amphitheater, which would be in the northwest corner of Bicentennial Park.

Song & Associates' plan includes a central Newcomb Place on 13th Street, a view of the water for those looking east along 13th Street and a north-south corridor that joins Newcomb Hall with stores, restaurants and a Newcomb museum. A circular water fountain similar to the one on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach separates the marina office from restaurants and bars.

"It's like a mini downtown, like a small village," said Young Song, president of Song & Associates.

In another vision presented by the team of C3TS/Gentile, Holloway, O'Mahoney & Associates, Newcomb Hall is a crescent-shaped, three story building at the southeast corner of Bicentennial Park that includes an amphitheater facing northwest into the park.

Newcomb Hall would include covered porches for viewing the water and a banquet hall on the third floor that could be rented for special events such as weddings. The Bahamian building style would be similar to buildings found in Key West or Nassau.

The C3TS team's design for the marina property includes an open-air green market near Newcomb Hall, a tiki-style restaurant and small vendor huts for waterfront businesses. The plan calls for bright colors and lots of trees.

"We want it to be fun, invigorating and a place that people will remember," said Emily O'Mahoney of the C3TS team.

A 12-member evaluation panel will rank the firms' proposals and submit their scores to the city council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board.

A videotape of Monday's presentations will be shown during the CRA's May 11 meeting, CRA Executive Director Tony Brown said. The board is expected to choose one of the firms and authorize the CRA staff to negotiate a contract for a final design.

The CRA board last week agreed to borrow $25.6 million from BB&T Corp. to rebuild Newcomb Hall and make other public improvements around the marina and along Broadway in hopes of stimulating redevelopment of the waterfront.

 

Source:

Architectural firms present differing plans for Riviera's Newcomb Hall renovation http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/1449416.html