How many murals and colorful objects in Downtown Lake Worth is enough?

An oft-asked question: Is “The Arts” the answer for this City or should the FOCUS be on the fundamentals? Later on learn more about FOCUS and FOCUSing.

When nice colors and shiny objects attract people to this City when they get here there in not one single hotel to stay in. So are all those nice colors the draw or the lure for West Palm Beach to fill more hotel rooms?

Perception is this City is not at the table, we’re on the menu oftentimes with silliness like a store called Artsy Fartsy in our Downtown. Before going out of business in early 2018 the owner was quoted in the Lake Worth CRA News Blog in April 2017 that, “Lake Worth is a very artsy, charming town and the perfect place for a specialized, fun décor store.” And then commented, “Lake Worth’s top business assets are the public officials in place.”

But is the problem our public officials don’t have all the tools they need to help the small business community?

As tourists and visitors flocked to hotels in Downtown West Palm and to the Town of Palm Beach for the recently past 25th annual Street Painting Festival here is another question: Is it time to begin re-FOCUSing on our Downtown and FOCUS less on colorful objects?

Like murals on walls for example.

Why is it any more when the next and greatest idea comes along it oftentimes includes a new mural of some sort when everyone knows what is needed is a new hotel and a new parking garage? When those projects are complete hoards of people will fill the Downtown. And when the Gulfstream Hotel is renovated that will also draw big crowds.

But so often we hear, “Hey. Here’s a great idea. Let’s put up a new mural!”

Which begs the question. . .

Our ‘city says’ vs. ‘city hopes’.

It seems the default position always is “The Arts” will pave the way to the future. But has it? Will it? Time will tell. And the public needs to stay involved and watch what is going on.

A headline in The Palm Beach Post last October was “Significant changes coming to downtown Lake Worth, city says”.

This is about a press and news media presser held at the Cultural Council in Downtown Lake Worth.

Note that about this event the Post’s headline read “city says” in the online edition but in the very first paragraph of the print edition it read “city hopes” as reported by the beat reporter about that FOCUS presser.

Here is the first paragraph in the Post story in October 2018:


After 18 months, Lake Worth, the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County on Tuesday morning finally announced the launch of the Arts and Cultural master plan for downtown Lake Worth, an initiative the city hopes [emphasis added] will be key for economic development.


It’s a wonderful thing having artists in this City. But right now what we really need are drywallers, painters, electricians, plumbers, construction workers, masons and other trades getting to work. This City and the CRA and the Cultural Council have to do everything they can to get the Gulfstream Hotel renovated and open for tourists and visitors and get a new hotel constructed in the Downtown core. And then we can go about doing a whole lot of FOCUSing on “The Arts”.

Why?

Because until then it’s all ‘city hopes’.