Delray development to rise along train tracks

Ahistoric slice of Delray Beach will soon sport a modern look that can be seen by anyone going by on a bike, in a car or on a train.

The weedy 12-acre field near Delray’s historic train station, where only remnants of warehouses and abandoned project proposals remain, will soon be home to an old Florida, Caribbean-themed worklive-play development called Depot Square Apartments.

Commissioners have approved the $20 million vision for the empty land, located minutes from Delray’s burgeoning downtown between Interstate

95 and the train tracks, south of Lake Ida Road. They believe it will help createmore places for people to live close to their jobs. The final hurdle left for the project is site plan approval, which is set for July 9.

Depot Square will add 284 rental apartments, which are a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The project dedicates 71 of those apartments to affordable workforce housing.

The development won’t just be a place to call home. It will also house an entertainment center inside a 7,500-square-foot clubhouse with a cyber cafe, fitness room and kids’ play area.

Outdoor features would include a swimming pool with a barbecue area, putting green and outdoor pool table.

Developers are also offering to help folks get towork. The plans include a free bike-sharing program for residents to borrow bicycles to get around town and a storage unit for those with bikes to keep their twowheelers in a safe place. It will also be the first Delray development to offer a community bike workshop, an in-house place for bike repairs.

“This project really hits the mark when it comes to pedestrian access and bike access,” said interim Planning and Zoning Director Mark McDonnell.

Part of the plan calls for a shared path for bikers and walkers to use to get to Lake Ida Park and downtown Atlantic Avenue without having to weave through town on side streets. To open the pathway to the public, the developer is kicking in $25,000 to expand the path past the development.

The proposed eight foot wide path still needs approval from the Florida Department of Transportation before it’s set in stone.

But some residents are already excited about the idea of the pathway.

“It will mean another gateway,” said resident Jim Smith, chairman of SAFE, an advocacy group that aims to keep roads safe for drivers, bikers and walkers.

The site has history that dates back to 1927 when renowned architect Gustav Maas designed and built Delray’s first train station. Despite the historic value, the land has remained undeveloped.

Commissioners did approve plans to revamp the areas with 90,000 square feet of office space and 296 living units in 2007, but the project never took off.

Project architect Rich Jones says Depot Square is the spark the area needs.

“Depot Square offers tremendous potential to help clean up and improve a blighted area,” he said. “With its adjacency to the historic train terminal, pedestrian connectivity, high visibility and distinctive design, the project could become a landmark feature for those approaching the downtown by car, train or bike.”

Commissioner Jordana Jarjura agreed.

“This project is on trend,” she said. “It cures a blighted area. It’s a great advertisement to our city.”

Living near the train tracks is a growing trend Mayor Cary Glickstein said Delray is behind on.

“It’s probably one of the best projects Ihave seen,” he said. “If you look at the demographic trends across this country it’s citing high intensity residential next to train stations and highways.”

But it is a lifestyle that Commissioner Shelly Petrolia couldn’t wrap her head around.

“I have a real problem putting people where everybody complains about the noise and the train,” she said.

Her colleagues convinced her that the project fit Delray’s future demographic.

“Younger people are willing to live in places that our generation would not consider,” Glickstein said. “The millennial are coming and they are expecting a lot different housing than we imagined.”