Developer to offer homes where Heart of Boynton is

CRA offers $100K, $1M for Ocean Breeze East, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard projects.

BOYNTON BEACH — NuRock Development has signed up to be the latest group to attempt affordable housing at the Ocean Breeze East site and properties along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the cit y’s Heart of Boynton community.

The company will find out in the first quarter of next year if it will receive state tax credits to build the projects.

For both projec ts, NuRock a s ke d t h e c i t y ’s C o mmunit y Redevelopment Agenc y for a local contribution, an act officials say is looked upon highly by the state. The CRA agreed to $100,000 and $1 million for the Ocean Breeze East and MLK site projects, respectively.

Both proposals were for housing only, but a NuRock representative said he could look into adding retail spaces after an inquiry from the city’s elected officials.

However, that wasn’t enough for Vice Mayor Mack McCray, who represents the district that houses the land. He said the residents have “waited all these years” for a project representing what they want, and one without much-needed retail for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is not it. He voted against the projects.

Other groups have proposed development plans in the past for the two sites, but failed when they didn’t receive tax credits.

Fa i l e d a t t e mp t s a t O c e a n Bre e z e E a s t go ba c k a bout a decade, while its sister site across the street, Ocean Breeze West, has been developed into 21 single-family homes in a well-manicured community.

C o m m i s s i o n e r C h r i s t i n a Romelus called it a “heartbreaking process” to repeatedly go through.

The Ocean Breeze East project on Seacrest Boulevard between Nor t h e a s t S i xt h Ave nue a n d Northeast Seventh Street would have four residential buildings — each three stories tall — with a total of 100 units. The buildings would be designed with a Key West-theme, and would be green-certified and eco-friendly. The development would have a clubhouse, a leasing center, a business center, a fitness center and a pool.

NuRock would pay the CRA $800,000 for the 4.5 acres, which was appraised at just under $1.5 million, former CRA director Vivian Brooks said.

The MLK project just east of the Family Dollar at the southeast corner of MLK and Seacrest boulevards would be a 55-andolder community. On land just under three acres, the project would be 75 units and four stories. NuRock would pay $10 for the CRA’s 10 pieces of land, which in total were appraised at about $600,000, documents show. The company plans to spend about $2 million to buy six adjacent pieces of privately owned land.

Re s i dent Br i a n Fi t z pat r i c k said he’s been on MLK since the early 1990s, and “not much has changed.”

“We need something to come out of the ground,” he said.