Very exciting news from the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) about our Dixie Hwy. Corridor.

A project called “The MID” at 1601 N. Dixie Hwy. (see press release below).

The latest news is this project was enthusiastically received by the Lake Worth City Commission, the funding portion of initial infrastructure costs and providing a tax increment rebate, and passed unanimously on First Reading last Tuesday, May 1st. Second Reading will be on May 15th. If you can please show up at City Hall and show your support for this project.

Please Note: This project still has to go through the Planning & Zoning Board for the site plan and recommendations to the City Commission on rezoning to a “Planned Development District”. After which the City Commission will have two more readings on the rezoning application. There will be plenty of time for public input and addressing community concerns.

“The MID apartment residences”

This property on North Dixie Hwy. “[M]easures 5.6 acres and is the largest privately owned property in the CRA District.”

Here is the press release from the CRA:

The development of the City’s commercial corridors continues to be a priority for the CRA. Our main thoroughfare, Dixie Highway, has seen limited development over the years. This is due to a myriad of issues including high land costs and a lack of contiguous assembled properties for larger projects. The CRA played a role in several successful developments including Publix at 1101–1113 N. Dixie and the Shops at Downtown. In addition the CRA invested in numerous properties in the form of façade and tenant improvement grants. Despite CRA initiatives, large-scale, mixed-use developments did not make it past the conceptual phase until now.

In late 2017, founding partners of Affiliated Development, Jeff Burns and Nick Rojo proposed a project on the 1601 N. Dixie site to the CRA Staff. The property, known as the “Regency site,” has sat idle for at least the last ten years. It measures 5.6 acres and is the largest privately owned property in the CRA District.

Click on image to enlarge:

“The MID will provide new, attractive housing opportunities in the district that will attract professionals and couples . . . and also provides an opportunity for the attraction of additional retailers to the area.”

Affiliated, aka 1601 Dixie Holdings Inc., plans to build The MID, a multi-million dollar, mixed use development that includes 1 and 2 bedroom market rate apartments along with live/work units, a clubhouse, pool and other amenities. In addition, the two-hundred plus unit development will pay special attention to the character and fabric of the community by including public art and environmentally-friendly elements. Although the CRA and other developers have completed housing developments in the last eight years, most of the units were built specifically for households making less than 120% of area medium income. For instance La Joya, containing 55 units was completed in 2016 with CRA subsidy. It is restricted to households making 80% or less of area medium income.

An aerial rendering looking to the west, the intersection of 17th Ave. North and Dixie Hwy.

Questions? Use this link to contact the CRA staff, call 561-493-2550 or visit the CRA offices at The HATCH located at 1121 Lucerne Ave. on Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

One of the CRA’s goals in the Redevelopment Plan is to encourage market rate housing opportunities in the redevelopment area. The MID will provide new, attractive housing opportunities in the district that will attract professionals and couples who will support not only the commercial component of the project, but also businesses on and near Dixie highway and the downtown. The MID also provides an opportunity for the attraction of additional retailers to the area.

The CRA will provide support to the project by funding a portion of the initial infrastructure costs as well as providing tax increment rebate. The amount of the rebate will depend on the ultimate size of the project and the value it brings to the City. The project is expected to go through the City’s approval process during the Summer with construction beginning as early as late 2018.

End of press release.

Once again, the vote at the City Commission on May 1st at First Reading was unanimous, 4-0 (with Vice Mayor Pro Tem Scott Maxwell absent). Second Reading is coming up on Tuesday, May 15th.

Meet your mayor and commissioners for Districts 1–4:

To contact your elected leadership click on this link and let them know you support “The MID” and also support the continued redevelopment of Dixie Hwy. in this City of Lake Worth.