The revival of N. Dixie Hwy. in this little City of Lake Worth has officially begun. Have you noticed? Or have you been distracted by an oft-repeated teaser about ‘kicks’?
Just one block over from 1715 N. Dixie Hwy. is 1601 N. Dixie Hwy. Have you heard anything about a project called “The MID”? Learn more about that below.
Please note that CRA Board meetings are open to the public and there is a three-minute limit for public comment on non-agendaed items. If you do decide to show up and speak it is perfectly OK to say nice things and even compliment the CRA staff and volunteer board members for all their hard work.
Lake Worth CRA Board meetings are held at The HATCH located at 1121 Lucerne Ave. Meetings begin at 6:00. Item VI on the Consent Agenda is “Demolition, asbestos removal and lot clearing of 1.5 Acre Site — 1715 North Dixie Highway” (see agenda item below). To download the entire agenda click on this link and scroll down for June 12th agenda.
Other public meetings this week are the Historic Resource Preservation Board on Wednesday at 6:00 in City Hall and the Tree Board will be meeting on Thursday at 6:00 in the Lake Worth Library for the City’s very timely event “Preparing Your Yard and Community for Storms”.
And also, briefly, stay tuned for the minutes of the Finance Advisory Board (FAB) and Bond Oversight Citizens’ Advisory Board (BOCAB) that were public meetings both held last week in City Hall. The minutes from these meetings should become available shortly.
Now to item VI on the CRA agenda, a memorandum from Deputy Dir. Chris Dabros to the Chair, Vice Chair and members of the CRA Board.*
EXPLANATION:
As a result of the $5.5M lines of credit obtained to acquire property, the CRA has been able to assemble multiple properties within the City. In addition to the new properties along Lake and Lucerne Avenues, the CRA has also begun to acquire property along Dixie Highway. In January 2018, the CRA closed on the property located at 1715 North Dixie Highway. This 1.5 acre parcel was previously used as a car dealership, auto repair/paint shop and other various retail operations. The site contains four (4) structures of varying size and condition, lifts and wells for vehicular servicing and large open areas for vehicle storage.
The acquisition of this parcel will help the CRA market this area of Lake Worth for new large scale development projects which can help reinvigorate the area. [emphasis added] This lot is located just north of multi-million dollar “MID” mixed-use retail/residential project which is expected to break ground later this year. The CRA has also inquired about obtaining additional parcels immediately adjacent to 1715 North Dixie Highway as we hope to assemble, market and redevelop this city block.
CRA Staff have already conducted and paid for certain due diligence measures on 1715 North Dixie Highway, including but not limited to:
- Environmental PHASE I & II testing.
- Lead & asbestos testing.
- Minor asbestos removal.
- Disconnect of utilities (water, electric, gas).
- Litter removal.
Significant asbestos removal (located in exterior roof tiles), demolition of all structures and site grading is the next step necessary for future redevelopment. In early May 2018, CRA Staff advertised IFB # CRA 03-17-18† to procure complete asbestos removal, demolition and grading services for a majority of the 1.5 acre lot.
The results of the IFB produced bids from seven separate qualified contractors.‡ As you can see, the bid pricing received from these contractors varies widely. It should be noted that the CRA has conducted various demolition and general contractor services with some of these respondents in past years.
Based on the results of the information received, Staff recommends that the Board select THE BG GROUP LLC to enter into a demo agreement with as they provided the lowest and most responsive bid. In addition, the Board should be cognizant that Staff may issue subsequent change orders for additional demolition services on any adjacent properties within this calendar year.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board authorize CRA Staff to enter into an agreement with The BG Group LLC to provide significant asbestos removal, demolition, grading and sodding services for the property located at 1715 North Dixie Highway. The total initial contract is not to exceed $70,995, not including any potential change orders. Staff also requests that the Board allow for no more than 50% of the contract to be paid up-front to the contractor, if necessary.
This is very good news for the redevelopment of North Dixie Hwy. Stay tuned for more news and updates about this going forward.
*FYI: There is one vacancy on the CRA Board. If you are interested is serving click on this link to learn more or email Olivia Brown, the City’s Volunteer Coordinator: obrown@lakeworth.org
†Exhibit ‘A’ referenced here in the memorandum is the public notice for CRA IFB 03-17-18.
‡Exhibit ‘B’ is the Tabulation Sheet for project bidders.
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