Boutwell Road project underway
Ona windy, but sunny Thursday afternoon, Mayor Pam Triolo had some good news to spread in Lake Worth.
“Today, is a great day,” she said at a short press conference. “And, let’s just say it was 20 years in the making.”
Triolo was talking about the $1.4 million Boutwell
Road project in the city’s Park of Commerce that started in February on Boutwell Road.
The park is a 375-acre site and connector along Interstate 95 north of Lake Worth Road that has been the subject of upgrades for nearly 20 years.
The city received the money from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Lake Worth applied for federal money twice before and was denied both times. This time, however, the city collaborated with other groups, including the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, The Business Development Board and the Economic Council of Palm Beach County.
The city will be widening the roads, adding sidewalks and installing utilities. “We took this project over from the county,” said Jamie Brown, the city’s public services director. “Park of Commerce didn’t have any actual infrastructure, so people weren’t buying here. It didn’t make sense.”
Brown said there are no sidewalks in the area, making it difficult for people to walk. “There’s no way to get back and forth unless you’re walking in the streets or the grass,” he said.
The project, according to Brian Shields, Lake Worth’s engineer and director of water utility, should be done next spring in May or June 2019. “There’s quite a bit of cut-through traffic here that will have to be rerouted through detours,” Shields said. “People will have to get accustomed to that.”
The project has had its share of setbacks. Two years ago, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a record $461.4 million from the state budget, including $3.5 million earmarked for the Park of Commerce.
Since then, the city has changed the project. Instead of just having a Phase 1, there will be Phase 1A and 1B and 2, Brown said. “It’s a multiphase project,” he said.
Triolo said Lake Worth is finally addressing ignored infrastructure, with the project creating 320 jobs and luring close to $20 million in private investment. She also noted how the 250,000-square-foot Boutwell Business Center was bought by the Silverman Group for $30 million. The Silverman Group is a family-owned private equity and development firm focused on commercial and industrial real estate, according to its website.