Is 25-story tower back on the table?
Mayor Muoio instructs staff to take another look at rezoning plan.
WEST PALM BEACH — The battle lines over downtown waterfront development have re-formed.
Fresh off last year’s 3-2 defeat of the Okeechobee Business District plan, Mayor Jeri Muoio has told staff to study the rezoning effort again, to help attract desperately needed Class A office construction downtown. Two of the three city commissioners who voted against the plan are gone, raising the prospect that yeas will outnumber nays this time around.
At the heart of the fight last year was The Related Cos.’ proposal to build a top-flight, 25-story tower 300 feet from the waterfront, in a zone that currently allows no building taller than five stories. Muoio’s staff proposed the new zoning district ostensibly to promote office construction generally, but it was clear the only project on the table that it would immediately promote was Related’s, the city’s most prolific development firm, and that stirred opposition.
A bloc of residents fearing blocked views and traffic logjams on Okeechobee Boulevard, Flagler Drive and the Royal Park Bridge, fought the city and the firm, despite the promise of jobs, attractive architecture and an endowment to preserve the historic, African American-designed First Church of Christ, Scientist. Town of Palm Beach officials expressed concerns over the project’s potential to impede access over the bridge.
But at a mayor-commission work session Monday, during a discussion of a consulting team’s just-completed “mobility study” of downtown traffic solutions, the mayor turned to her director of development services and urged him to try again.
The city needs to make sure it has places for people to live and work, the mayor said. It has plenty of the former, with several apartment buildings about to come on line, but not enough Class A offices, she told Development Services Director Rick Greene.
“If they can be working
It’s unknown how the right provisions, it could help revived proposal will dif- transform the area into “a fer from the original, and massively connected mixedwhether it will again be use corridor,” Ryan said. downtown, that cuts down drawn to include the Related CityPlace officials have the use of cars, significantly site, which was roundly critnot said whether they would ... I would like to ask my icized as “spot-zoning” last revive their One Flagler office staff to take another look time. The new plan has not tower project, which they at the Okeechobee Business been made available to the spent many months designDistrict and see if we can public. ing and trying to sell to the work this through, including City Commissioner Paula community, only to lose the recommendations that are Ryan, whose district includes chance when the commisin the mobility study ... Let’s downtown, said Friday she sion voted the district down. look at how we can bring was open to creating an Gopal Rajegowda, senior more jobs into the city by Okeechobee Business Disvice president of The Related having more Class A office trict if it was more than Cos., said recently that for space.” just a redrawing of zoning the moment, the company is
Within days, the district lines. The city should see it focused on starting another was on the agenda once as “an innovative district” downtown office tower. That again, for the city’s Plan- whose provisions include 18-story tower, 360 Rosening Board to consider. That incentives for connectivity mary, is slated to rise at the meeting is scheduled for with surrounding neighbor- corner of Rosemary Avenue 6 p.m. May 15 at City Hall. hoods, transportation alter- and Evernia Street, possibly Groups that opposed the natives to connect people as soon as later this year. District proposal the first with their offices and other time are urging members destinations, and affordable to show up in force. housing, she said. With the