Can rising condos erase blight 2 blocks away? | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

The West Palm Beach City Commission will consider this request tonight. Click title for link to article. We are talking about six (6) towers, all around 30 stories tall, along the northern part of West Palm Beach's waterfront. Lake Worth resident Chris Fleming is quoted in the article. Click title for link.

Perhaps the condos would rekindle Publix’s interest in putting a store on Broadway or in Northwood Village, said Chris Fleming, a commercial real estate broker and board member of the Westgate Community Redevelopment Agency
“This could trigger Publix to build a store there,” Fleming said. “You don’t get anywhere unless you see some name-brand retailers on the street.”
Still, he said, the condos wouldn’t create instant improvement.

And this from urban planner Carl Flick, who lives in the area:

Critics of Rybovich’s proposal say new condos alone aren’t enough. Flick said crime is the top priority.
“The city has not kept its promise in keeping crime in check in the north end,” Flick said. “Nothing economically is going to happen until you do that. It needs to be a marked improvement over a sustained period for the development community to take notice, and that hasn’t happened.”

I think that Carl is right and that is why quality police services, like PBSO in Lake Worth, really need to be in place before serious investment and redevelopment can occur in the area.