Lots coming up on the CRA's 1/26 agenda...

One of the more interesting items on the already full agenda is the potential acquisition of 1000 Lake Avenue through a lease/purchase option. This is the property and building immediately west of the City Hall parking lot at the corner of H Street and Lake Avenue. The proposal calls for the acquisition of the property by the CRA from the current owner with payments staggered over a four year period. The total amount of the payments would equal $850,000. Rehabilitation costs are estimated to be a little under $350,000. Staff is suggesting that the CRA undertake the rehabilitation work.

At one of the last meetings while I was on the CRA, we talked about picking up a building on the west side of the downtown as an Exhibition Project - showing what could be done with a historic building in our downtown and holding the possibility of using part of it for the CRA's offices -thus saving its current lease expenses. It also controls the building's ultimate use as the CRA could determine which "end user" of the property would be the best fit for the downtown, the CRA district and the city's brand - Palm Beach County's cultural destination.

Click title for direct link to back-up material on 1000 Lake Avenue.

Here you can see the building (right) as it looked during the pre WWII period. Note the shuffleboard courts in the area where the present City Hall parking lot is located.