First, before we get to the approvals from the City for a project to move forward at the Gulfstream Hotel there is new news to report from The Lake Worth Herald and a reminder about false news published in The Palm Beach Post. Remember when the City’s Code Enforcement Dept. was blamed for the Gulfstream Hotel renovation not moving forward?
Read more about that below and the current status of approvals from the City for this historic hotel, the deadline for issuance of a building permit for work to begin.
This week’s Lake Worth Herald has the front page headline, “Activity Raises Questions”. Here is an excerpt from the news:
Word now has it there is a new owner and the building is being boarded up to protect the interior and windows from vandalism. Vandalism, some say is caused by the “homeless in the park”, others say some neighbors are responsible. It doesn’t matter, the building needs some work, and the citizens of Lake Worth and visitors to the city are asking a lot of questions.
Beware of myths, mis- and disinformation.
The Gulfstream Hotel, unfortunately, became a political football in the 2017–2018 election cycle. To learn more about that click on this link.
And there is more. For example. . .
The beat reporter from The Palm Beach Post reported in January 2017 that the Gulfstream Hotel was shuttered because of Code Enforcement. Absolutely false. But it was that story in the Post which sent the City into damage control. And the editor(s) at the Post published a letter on the editorial page which made the City leadership stop everything they were doing to get the facts out. From that letter published in the Post:
“The Gulfstream Hotel should be taken back by the city [emphasis added] . . . The Gulfstream Hotel and the seven years of neglect by Hudson Holdings, which is further delayed due to a lawsuit amongst the partners. A possible solution to look into could be eminent domain, where the city would take back the property. . .”
The Gulfstream Hotel has always been private property. The City of Lake Worth cannot ‘take back’ property it never owned. Now let’s move on.
Recent photos of the boarding up.
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| This is professionally done work. Boarding to deter vandals from getting into the structure. Since these photos were taken the plywood has been painted as well. |
And another:
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| Now to the approvals from the City of Lake Worth to move forward with a project: |
Click on image to enlarge.
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| Letterhead: From the City of Lake Worth confirming approval status for the Gulfstream Hotel (see text of letter below). |
In early 2016 a number of applications successfully went through the Historic Resource Preservation Board and then on the City Commission. There was much excitement back then and many of you will recall this video which summed up the public mood two years ago. Those approvals (which are enumerated in the language from the letter below) have a standard 12 month deadline for work to commence with the possibility of a 6 month extension if necessary. In the City of Lake Worth commencement of development is tied to the issuance of a building permit and continued work after the building permit is issued.
Issuance of a building permit would mean that a complete set of construction drawings has been reviewed and approved by the City’s building official. That has not happened in this case, as yet. But as the letter below identifies, Governor Rick Scott issued blanket Executive Orders based on various emergency situations that extend the life of an approval. This is done through the application process and is a statewide phenomenon.
Thus the deadline for issuance of a building permit for work to begin on the Gulfstream Hotel is now September 2019 for the conditional use approval (hotel) and October 2019 for the remainder of the approvals: expansion of Gulfstream Hotel (pool and restaurant), a new hotel to 65′ on the western lot and a parking garage as well on the southern area of the lot.
These approvals are important as it adds value to the property and allows someone to commence development without having to go through the various approval processes again. Now that Hudson Holdings is not part of the project any longer someone else can assume the responsibility for getting the various construction drawings together and subsequent submittal for a building permit.
There is ample time to do so and would not require a change of ownership. However, it also allows for a change of ownership if that should occur as the approvals run with the property and not the owner.
Text from page 1 of letter follows.
Re:
Gulfstream Hotel at 1 and 11 Lake Avenue and 12,14,20,22, and 24 South Lakeside Drive Notice of
Extension for Major Site Plan (PZB 15-0140009), Conditional use (PZB 15-00500013), Variance
(PZB 16-0150001), Certificate of Appropriateness (“COA”) for Demolition (HRPB 15-00100214),
COA for New Construction (HRPB 15-00100215), COA for Addition (HRPB 15-00100216), and COA
for Exterior Alterations (HRPB 15-00100217) (Revised date)
Dear Ms. Schrantz:
The City of Lake Worth is in receipt of your letter dated April 2, 2018, advising the City that you were, on behalf of your client, Gulfstream Hotel, providing notice to the City that you intended to take advantage of the tolling and extension periods allowed under Section 252.363, Florida Statutes, as it relates to the above approvals. In your letter, you are also seeking from the City “correspondence confirming the new expiration dates for the Site Plan Approval, Conditional Use Approval, Variance Approval and COA Approvals.”
As your letter details, the major site plan, conditional use, and variance approvals were set to expire on April 9, 2018. In addition, the COAs for demolition, new construction, addition, and exterior alterations were set to expire on May 2, 2018.
The Governor’s declarations and the extensions thereof which affect Gulfstream’s approvals are as follows:
- On May 3, 2017, the Governor issued EO No.17-146, which declared a state of emergency in Palm Beach County due to the Opioid Epidemic. EO No. 17-146 was subsequently extended by EO No. 17-177, EO No.17-230, EO No.17-285, EO No.17-329 and 18-47, which will expire on April 20, 2018 unless extended.
- On September 4, 2017, the Governor issued EO 17-235, which declared a state of emergency in Palm Beach County due to Hurricane Irma. EO No. 17-235 was subsequently extended by EO No. 17-287 and EO No. 17-330, which expired on February 27, 2018.
- On October 2, 2017, the Governor issued EO 17-259, which declared a state of emergency in Palm Beach County due to Hurricane Maria. EO 17-259 was subsequently extended by EO 17-304 and EO No.18-17, which expired on March 26, 2018.
Page 2 of letter:
Click on image to enlarge:
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| The letter is signed by the Assistant Director for Planning and Preservation, Mark Stivers, AICP. |
Thank You for visiting today and hope you found this information helpful.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
