This is Rick Gonzalez' firm. They worked on some projects while I was with the Mar-a-Lago Club and Trump International. He also did the Courthouse restoration in downtown West Palm Beach and the "Harriet" at City Place, among others.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Living Designs Group Renderings from RFQ Response
Friday, February 5, 2010
What one of our respondents did in honor of this Super Bowl...
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Boil Water Notice February 9, 2010 from 9am to 3pm
BOIL WATER NOTICE
February 9,2010
Approximately 37 homes
Water will be turned off from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
(1) The following address located on of Harvard Drive,
- Addresses are:
4 12 20 26
(2) Residents residing on Vassar Drive - Addresses are:
187 185 177 173 165 161 155 151 145 137 127
123 115 111
(3) Residents residing North Lakeside Drive - Addresses are:
2200 2212 2216 2301 2313
(4) Residents residing Bryn Mawr Drive- Addresses are:
110 120 122 130 136 132 138 154 158 164 170 178 184
188
February 9,2010
Approximately 37 homes
Water will be turned off from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
(1) The following address located on of Harvard Drive,
- Addresses are:
4 12 20 26
(2) Residents residing on Vassar Drive - Addresses are:
187 185 177 173 165 161 155 151 145 137 127
123 115 111
(3) Residents residing North Lakeside Drive - Addresses are:
2200 2212 2216 2301 2313
(4) Residents residing Bryn Mawr Drive- Addresses are:
110 120 122 130 136 132 138 154 158 164 170 178 184
188
Gestalt Design Studio's Response - a Lake Worth firm - to the Casino RFQ
Manuel Occhiogrosso is the President of the firm and is on the Planning and Zoning Board.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
More will come tomorrow...
One that jumps out to me so far in terms of design and historic preservation is the version presented by Beilinson/Gomez. It is very literal and includes actual elements of restoration, keeping the southern, two story part of the building intact design-wise. Then they recreate the original building in its former location - with a modern design device separating the two styles. It shows how the building progressed over time and the modern element is there as if to say they aren't trying to fool anyone. So far, this comes closest to being consistent with the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation.
Donaldson Group did not submit renderings with their RFQ...
...however they do have examples of previous work in the response.
BRPH Casino Building Plans from RFQ Response
Bessolo did not include renderings with their RFQ response...
...click here for their proposal. They do include pictures of previous projects.
Beach Casino RFQ Responses
I'm in the process of going through the responses. I'll be separating out the graphics from the packages and post them here. Be aware that these are highly conceptual and subject to change based upon Commission and resident input - at least one would hope. These will be put up in the order they appear on the city's website. Commentary on the proposals will come later.
Some historic pictures from our New Zealand connection...
In a previous post, we were introduced to Wm. M. Stafford, formerly of Lake Worth. He sent some pictures from the mid 1960s a few days ago - here is one of Capt. Stafford at the Lake Worth boat ramp - circa 1964.
Looking east from Bryant Park towards the barrier island. Notice the old bridge.
The Amaryllis beached on Singer Island after Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Click here for a PB Post reminiscence.
Notice the crew on deck - apparently they stayed with the ship until it was removed from the beach.
Uploaded architects' responses to the Casino building RFQ...
I just started to review these - more later on their approaches. Click here for link.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Stumbled upon this little ditty...
It sounds like it is a vintage song - and it is. It dates from 1961 and is from the rather obscure artist Ronnie Mitchell. Click here for information on Ronnie's careet.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
American International Fine Art Fair (AIFAF) from February 3-8, 2010, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center
An example of how art benefits the local economy and makes life here more interesting. Click title for link to full website for the Fine Art Fair.
Tales from a friend's visit to Utilities Customer Service...
Normally I don't like to post second hand information, but this comes from a trusted source and rings all too true as it relates to the local torture chamber known as Lake Worth Utilities Customer Service office. My friend went there to pay his bill. He prefers to hand deliver it and get a receipt due to prior problems with crediting his payment. When he arrived, he was greeted by a line "out the door" and into the hallway.
After about 45 minutes, he finally made it up to the teller window where he could overhear some conversations. The gentleman in front of him at the window said that when he called ahead from his house, he was told that he owed $480 and he had made a check out for that amount. He was told by the teller that he actually owed only $205. The gentleman then said, "Please check that, because I know how you guys work. I am afraid that if I pay you only $205 and walk out the door, I will probably return to a dark house since you would have shut my utilities off. Please make sure of the amount." After a few minutes, the teller returns and tells him the amount is $480.
As this was going on, and with many onlookers as the line was still out the door, an elderly gentleman in his eighties was at the customer service window signing up for new service. The clerk slid a form to him and told him that he needed to sign it. The elderly gentleman then said, "Mam, you will have to help me and tell me where on the form to sign, I broke my glasses this morning and I cannot see the writing on the paper." She said sternly, "You need to sign the form." He responded, "I know I do, but I can't see where to sign since I don't have my glasses, can you show me where to sign?" She then again said sternly, "Sign the form." Gathering sympathy from those in line, someone stepped forward and showed the elderly gentleman where on the form he should sign. The person who helped then looked at the clerk and said "You are an a**."
At this point, a woman in line says to my friend, "I hate living here and I would move out if I could."
Other things I have heard recently - there are many properties - some say about 100 in Lake Worth that are selling for around $25,000. There is one bank, I understand, that is not lending money for homes in Lake Worth since it's such a "squirrelly city." I have been told one of our local real estate agents is meeting with our Mayor to show him the letter and to see what can be done about it. If anyone can verify or discredit the information in this last paragraph, please post a comment.
After about 45 minutes, he finally made it up to the teller window where he could overhear some conversations. The gentleman in front of him at the window said that when he called ahead from his house, he was told that he owed $480 and he had made a check out for that amount. He was told by the teller that he actually owed only $205. The gentleman then said, "Please check that, because I know how you guys work. I am afraid that if I pay you only $205 and walk out the door, I will probably return to a dark house since you would have shut my utilities off. Please make sure of the amount." After a few minutes, the teller returns and tells him the amount is $480.
As this was going on, and with many onlookers as the line was still out the door, an elderly gentleman in his eighties was at the customer service window signing up for new service. The clerk slid a form to him and told him that he needed to sign it. The elderly gentleman then said, "Mam, you will have to help me and tell me where on the form to sign, I broke my glasses this morning and I cannot see the writing on the paper." She said sternly, "You need to sign the form." He responded, "I know I do, but I can't see where to sign since I don't have my glasses, can you show me where to sign?" She then again said sternly, "Sign the form." Gathering sympathy from those in line, someone stepped forward and showed the elderly gentleman where on the form he should sign. The person who helped then looked at the clerk and said "You are an a**."
At this point, a woman in line says to my friend, "I hate living here and I would move out if I could."
Other things I have heard recently - there are many properties - some say about 100 in Lake Worth that are selling for around $25,000. There is one bank, I understand, that is not lending money for homes in Lake Worth since it's such a "squirrelly city." I have been told one of our local real estate agents is meeting with our Mayor to show him the letter and to see what can be done about it. If anyone can verify or discredit the information in this last paragraph, please post a comment.
For your information...
People have told me that the blog has been taking a long time to load. This is probably due to the number of videos I've been posting recently. In looking at the settings, I discovered that it was set to load 100 posts on the first page. All those had to load before you could interact with the blog. I've reduced that number to 10 now. All the older posts are still there, you will just need to click on the "Older Posts" link at the bottom of the page to see them. You can also access individual posts by clicking on the title under the month that they were posted. I still encourage you to use the search function for keywords - that's a real fast way to find what you are looking for. Let me know if you see an improvement!
Expedited Permitting on the City Commission Agenda Tonight (2/2)
Click title for link. This is what the City Manager adds to the back-up material:
Apparently, it is designed to target only certain types of businesses - targeted industries and green buildings - and is not available for everyone. I'd like to see an option for people to pay a larger fee for expedited review for any project.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Click here for the Beach Casino Building Historic Designation Report
A good time to review this as it relates to the history of the building and it describes the historic significance of the current architecture. This was reviewed by the Historic Resource Preservation Board in the late 1990s - no action was taken for a variety of reasons.
The State of the Union Is Comatose
Click title for link to NY Times op-ed piece.
The State of the Union Is Comatose
The dysfunctional Congress needs shock therapy, not a talking cure from a president with large legislative majorities and powerful strings to pull.
Some excerpts:
"The historian Alan Brinkley has observed that we will soon enter the fourth decade in which Congress — and therefore government as a whole — has failed to deal with any major national problem, from infrastructure to education. The gridlock isn’t only a function of polarized politics and special interests. There’s also been a gaping leadership deficit."
"Perhaps McCain was sneering at Obama because of the Beltway’s newest unquestioned cliché: one year after a new president takes office he is required to stop blaming his predecessor for the calamities left behind. Who dreamed up that canard — Alito? F.D.R. never followed it. In an October 1936 speech, nearly four years after Hoover, Roosevelt was still railing against the “hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing government” he had inherited. He reminded unemployed and destitute radio listeners that there had been “nine crazy years at the ticker” and “nine mad years of mirage” followed by three long years of bread lines and despair. F.D.R. soon won re-election in the greatest landslide the country had seen."
Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile & Its Effects on Our Lives by Catherine Lutz; Anne Lutz Fernandez
Click title for link to BookTV presentation by the author. There is a video of the talk that can't be embedded, but I highly recommend that you watch it. It's about 50 minutes. The author talks about our society's reliance on the automobile for transportation and all of the unintended consequences of a car-based society. This has community planning implications since much of our infrastructure automatically is designed to promote and subsidize car travel, rather than other modes of travel such as walking, biking and mass transit. Click here for specific website devoted to the book.
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![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
