CRA to meet on projects

Delray Beach agency eyeing West Atlantic Ave., neighborhoods

DELRAY BEACH — Dozens of new homes could rise on the site of an old dump, as well as an old tree nursery in Delray Beach.

The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency will meet Aug. 15 to discuss its next steps to transform West Atlantic Avenue and its surrounding neighborhoods to continue to combat an area residents complained had been neglected for decades.

Over the years, the city and CRA have spent millions of dollars on street improvements, including paved sidewalks, lighting fixtures, winding paths and landscaped medians on West Atlantic.

The CRA has also purchased land and deteriorating houses to build new affordable homes in the Northwest and Southwest sections of town, areas that historically had been characterized by high crime, absentee landlords and vacant properties.

“It’s a work in progress,” said Jeff Costello, the agency’s executive director. “While a lot of work has been accomplished, there’s more work to be done.”

Among the projects under way within the western part of the city:

A gas station at 805 W. Atlantic Ave. that was purchased in 2006 for $1,353,520, is in the final stages of underground soil and groundwater clean-up. Costello said it eventually could become the site of mixed-use development, a project that helps “creating the synergy” in the community.

At the corner of Southwest Third Street and Southwest Seventh Avenue, the CRA in 2005 began ac-