County OKs change in Congress Avenue extension
Palm Beach County officials approved a new path for the southern leg of the Congress Avenue extension after a brief discussion about putting the pressure on a neighboring developer and protecting the mobile home residents next door.
Congress Avenue ends at Northlake Boulevard. The road extension is meant to relieve traffic congestion at Northlake Boulevard and Alternate A1A.
The change to the extension’s southern alignment will make it easier for a private landowner to develop a 23-acre property to the west than if the road cut directly through the parcel. The property is the former Hilltop Gardens mobile home park.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Paulette Burdick asked if the county had notified the affected residents.
“This new plan might be beneficial to the developer, but it’s certainly not going to be beneficial for the individuals living in the mobile home park,” Burdick said.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Valeche said he met with residents last week, and there will be a 6-foot wall with landscaping to mitigate the noise.
“The intersection of Alternate A1A and Northlake is a nightmare, and this needs to be done,” he said.
Valeche urged the developer to work with Palm Beach Gardens to quickly get approvals from the city for the commercial development on the 23-acre site.
The mobile homes are in unincorporated Palm Beach County. The commercially zoned property is in Palm Beach Gardens, meaning the city council will have final say over any development.
The property is owned by Hilltop Residential Limited, a subsidiary of Standard Pacific Homes. It is under contract by Sedevco LLC.
The more developer-friendly alignment for the southern leg of the extension is contingent on the land owner giving the county the right-of-way it needs within eight months.
Don Hearing, a land planner working on the development, asked commissioners to give the buyer a year to turn over the right-of-way.
They want the road built as soon as possible, too, but they needed the alignment settled, he said. Now, they can move forward getting Palm Beach Gardens’ approval of the site plan.
The city will work with them to expedite the approval, but there’s still a process they have to follow, Hearing said. National tenants are interested in the property, and they don’t need uncertainty that the new road alignment could “evaporate,” he said.
Burdick was willing to accommodate his request. Valeche said he’d rather stick with the eight-month deadline, and if the approval process gets drawn out, he’s willing to extend it.
“I’d rather keep the pressure on now to get this done quickly,” he said.
County commissioners voted to approve the new southern alignment with the eight-month deadline.
The path of the northern segment of the road extension will remain the same as commissioners already approved, said Omelio Fernandez, director of the Palm Beach County Roadway Production division.
The new, southern piece curves a little farther to the east than it did in an earlier design, Fernandez said.
Engineers plan to start construction on the Congress Avenue extension in 2020 and continue through 2022. The budget includes $5.76 million for acquisition of right-of-way and $5 million for construction, putting the total cost at $10.76 million.
In all, about 16 houses, mobile homes and businesses will be affected by the Congress Avenue extension, said Kathleen Farrell, Palm Beach County Thoroughfare Roads section manager.
One plan for the commercial property calls for two warehouses/office space — one 201,840 square feet and another 84,500 square feet; a self-storage facility; and 21,900 square feet of flex space.
Hearing said that is just a conceptual plan. One entity is considering a traditional retail space, and another is considering showroom-type space for building trades such as floor and decor or tile.
Palm Beach Gardens owns 6 acres on the north side of the 23-acre commercial parcel. The vacant lot at 9290 Park Lane was recently appraised for $1.7 million, according to city documents.
The Palm Beach Gardens City Council awarded an agreement to Colliers International South Florida for real estate brokerage services for that 6-acre property at its May 3 meeting.