South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Self-storage plan could mean end of fight over land
City of Tamarac and developer would split profit
A development scandal that rocked Tamarac City Hall and left three commissioners accused of corruption is almost nearing an end.
And the finale to that bitter saga may come in the form of a self-storage project.
The city and real estate developer Bruce Chait have been in a tug-of-war over ownership of nearly two acres of land at the corner of Rock Island Road and Commercial Boulevard.
Now, pending city approval, that land is expected to be sold for $1.75 million to Rock Island Storage Partners, which plans to build a five-story self-storage building there. The profit would be split between the two disputing parties.
The agreement would end years of bickering and lawsuits filed by Chait.
“It’s nice to settle all the litigation, to have that chapter closed,” City Manager Michael Cernech said.
The history behind that land is a sore spot for Tamarac City Hall.
Chait and his son were accused of buying off elected officials in exchange for favorable votes for their controversial housing project. Chait told a jury that he expected Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco to vote for his project after he helped her become mayor of
Tamarac in 2006 by attacking her opponents. She was found not guilty by a jury.
He also testified he gave Patricia “Patte” Atkins-Grad a $2,300 down payment for a leased BMW 525i and gave her $4,000 cash to help pay for her victory party at Diamante’s Banquet Center. And he said he purchased a $30,000 Honda Accord for Commissioner Marc Sultanof.
Atkins-Grad was acquitted of corruption charges in 2012. Sultanof was charged with six felonies in 2010, but died while awaiting trial.
Chait, who has admitted to paying off numerous political figures to further his business goals, served a four-year probation sentence after pleading guilty to an unlawful compensation charge.
When his plans for more than 700 homes on the old Sabal Palm and Monterey courses were under discussion, he had agreed to give the city that spot of land — which is several acres, much of it under powerlines — to build a fire station. The land was deed-restricted.
But Cernech said the city later decided it couldn’t make good use of the land for a fire station because of the location, and refurbished another station instead.
Chait wanted the land back, alleging the city never took possession of it; the city said no. So he sued.
“As litigation was progressing toward a day in court, [the city asked]: ‘What are we going to do if we’re not going to build a fire station and we can’t build anything else?’ ” Cernech said. “It was an ugly, nasty situation for a long time.”
Cernech said they discussed paying Chait $375,000 for the land, which was appraised at $750,000, but they eventually agreed to sell the land and split the difference. The City Commission formally signed off on the settlement agreement in June.
Cernech said they agreed to “let the past be the past and settle this thing and everyone move on.”
He agreed to self-storage because it could be designed “to look like office buildings; it’s an attractive-looking building; it also doesn’t generate a lot of traffic,” Cernech said. “It’s a fairly benign use.”
The agreement, which may be finalized once the self-storage project is approved by both the Development Review Committee and the City Commission and the sale goes through, also ends Chait’s other lawsuits against the city, including one about code enforcement liens.
City Attorney Sam Goren said the Chaits argued they were improperly assessed $83,000.
Chait’s homes were never built because of the recession. The portion of land reserved for housing was ultimately sold to 13th Floor, which built singlefamily homes.
Chait could not be reached for comment.
“We’re finished,” Cernech said.