đ Remaking landmarks
Good morning, friends. For you today, the 98-year-old heart of CityPlace, Palm Beach Gardens malcontents unite, north county beaches and the magic of every day.
đ Historic jitters
Concern over a proposed $20 million renovation of the old church at the center of CityPlace has West Palm Beach residents on the offensive, proposing historic designation for the church and formation of a preservation foundation.
The developers who own the site recently put out two renderings showing proposals for the east and south sides of the onetime First United Methodist Church, built in 1926 and nicknamed The Harriet.
Yes, but: No renderings show the north side, dominated by a wide stairway.
At least not officially. A February rendering leaked to Stet News shows the stairway cleft in two with the center carved out to allow access to the newly rebuilt retail space at ground level.
Such an alteration would jeopardize the buildingâs historic integrity. A spokesperson for the Related Cos. said Monday the rendering is outdated.
Why itâs important: The building is not pristine. For many years, it housed a ground-floor Starbucks. And the Il Bellagio restaurant extended from the south side. But previous updates preserved the churchâs most prominent features, including the stairs.
Whatâs in a name: The Harriet is named for Harriet Himmel, who contributed $3 million in 2000 toward the churchâs preservation. CityPlace is once again known as CityPlace after rotating through the names Rosemary Square and The Square.
Former Mayor Nancy Graham, who negotiated development agreements with CityPlace in the 1990s, told The Palm Beach Post in April that she believes the developers are breaking their promise to preserve the buildingâs architectural significance.Â
Not so, Relatedâs Ken Himmel said in a letter to The Post.Â
âDespite the fact it is not a designated historic landmark, we have never wavered from our commitment to respect the architectural significance of the building and once again make it a vibrant community destination,â Himmel (no relation to Harriet Himmel) wrote.
But residents are on edge as work on the buildingâs interior is underway.
Margie Yansura, who grew up attending the church, asked the cityâs Historic Preservation Board last month to pursue historic designation. The board agreed.Â
Linda Cullen, who served for 15 years on the Historic Preservation Board, is working to create a preservation foundation modeled on one in Palm Beach that works to preserve the townâs âarchitectural and cultural heritageâ and âunique scenic quality.â
âI canât believe we have been without one,â she said in a letter to Graham. âIn todayâs âdeveloperâ crazy environment, we must pay attention to our own area and what is planned.â
đš Ice rinkâs frosty reception
Palm Beach Gardens is facing opposition to plans approved in April to demolish the cityâs oldest park to allow a private group to build a $40 million ice rink complex.
When the council approved a 40-year lease with the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation on April 4, only two speakers addressed the council.
On Thursday, more than 50 people, many accompanied by children with skateboards, showed up to express opposition.
âPlant Drive Park is not just located in the old part of the city,â resident Samantha Marks said. âIt is the heartbeat of the city. Without this part of Palm Beach Gardens, there would be no signature city.â
Why itâs important: Twenty-six speakers presenting a petition with 2,800 signatures addressed the City Council during a portion of the meeting set aside for general public comment, a rare show of opposition in a city that prides itself on avoiding controversy.
Wearing green T-shirts emblazoned: âPBG Malcontents Unite! Save Gardens Skatepark and Plant Drive Park,â speakers attacked the city staff report that called the park âa marginal recreational facility (that) attracts malcontents who engage in illegal activities, including vandalizing the premises.â
Stet News first reported on that statement and the proposed lease on April 2, two days before the vote. Other media reports alerted residents after the vote.Â
To counter the malcontent characterization, organizer Heather Deitchman studied city police records that showed other parks had more calls than Plant Drive Park.
âTo be clear, I am not saying Plant Drive doesnât have police problems and police activity issues. It does. Iâve seen it. I looked at all of the records. But Plant Drive is seventh out of 11 Palm Beach Gardens parks for policing.â
Many speakers wondered how already congested 25 mph streets would safely handle traffic from a hockey rink.Â
âIntroducing a sports bar into a residential neighborhood near schools and churches is not only reckless but it endangers children,â resident Evan Emerson said.
Residents said they didnât know about the project until the council voted.
âIt was secretive. The public was entirely excluded,â longtime resident and former Mayor Mike Martino said. âThe welfare and interests of the public were not considered.â
Several speakers asked the council to rescind the agreement. Council members gave no indication if they would act.
âWhat you said was heard,â Mayor Chelsea Reed told the crowd. âYou need to allow time for council to make a consideration. These are not things that happen overnight or instantaneously.â
Catch Joelâs full story on the rising resistance to the ice rink here.
âł Emergency work restores north county dunes
The county raced to shore up two beaches this year in response to erosion caused by severe weather and king tides in 2023.
Why itâs important: As landowners on Singer Island build private seawalls to block the tide, the county has less access to restore some of those north county dunes.Â
Whatâs happening: County commissioners approved the multimillion-dollar emergency projects at Coral Cove Park on Jupiter Island and 1.2 miles of beachfront on Singer Island.
Michael Stahl of the countyâs Environmental Resources Management Department told commissioners at a recent meeting that the work had to be completed quickly to avoid disrupting turtles during their March to October nesting season.
Singer Island: After years of pursuing federal permits to install breakwaters to slow erosion, county commissioners in 2011 gave up on that plan.
Beach renourishment is not an option there or at Coral Cove, Stahl said, because it would disturb the nearshore habitat.
That leaves dune restoration. Sand is trucked in to widen the dry beach, and salt-tolerant plants are added to help bind the dunes.
Workers could not restore one Singer Island location because they couldnât safely access it, Stahl said.
Coral Cove Park: The county has restored dunes seven times at the park since 1989, most recently last year.
Whatâs next: The county will seek reimbursement from the state for half of the $4.5 million cost of the projects.
Officials are also considering a revisit to breakwaters, which Stahl called âan option of last resort.â
â Hannah Spence
đ The juice
đ˘ Margaritaville at Sea is launching a four-night cruise from its port in Riviera Beach to Key West and Freeport in the Bahamas starting in September. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
đď¸ Chiquita Brands International went on trial last week in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach over illegal payments the banana giant made to a Colombian right-wing militant group implicated in thousands of deaths. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
đŤ Brightline is eliminating most discount commuter passes. In a statement, the private passenger service says the public Tri-Rail line could offer express service to Miami. (New Times)
đ´ The director of âPalm Royaleâ tried to sneak into Palm Beachâs Everglades Club and was kicked out. The season finale is Wednesday on AppleTV+. (Hollywood Reporter â mild spoilers)
đ Congratulations to Take Stock in Children Palm Beach County, which last week received $1.7 million from the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation. Stet wrote last month about the nonprofitâs $1 million gift from billionaire MacKenzie Scott.
Phyllis Pressman, the matriarch of the family that founded Barneys New York, died last month at home in Palm Beach. She was 95. (The New York Times gift link)
đ 561 insider: Celebrating all the days
Long before social media influencers and brand ambassadors, John Cutrone of Lake Worth Beach curated and shared a corner of the world enriched by simple seasonal traditions.
Why itâs important: He and his husband, Seth Thompson, are opening a brick-and-mortar store nearly 30 years after Cutrone launched his mail-order and pop-up business, Convivio Bookworks.
Convivio Bookworks, a letterpress and book studio, features work from artisans around the world.
For example: Mexico (Dia de Los Muertos decorations), Germany (Christmas trimmings), Italy (fine stationery) and Ukraine (Pysanky or Easter eggs).
Why itâs interesting: Cutrone writes occasional dispatches about his life in LWB and each month shares a printable Book of Days, a guide to practicing ancient seasonal traditions that can make a ceremony of each day.
Such practices as keeping Christmas or marking the Lunar New Year.
The dispatch for May is here.
Why now? âItâs always been part of the dream,â said Cutrone, who holds a master of book arts degree from the University of Alabama and is the longtime director of Florida Atlantic Universityâs Jaffe Center for Book Arts.Â
The store is another step in building community.
 Cutrone plans small workshops once the operation is running on a regular schedule.
If you go: A grand opening is set for the Old Midsummer holiday (June 21, 22, 23).Â
In the meantime, Motherâs Day shoppers can visit during special hours: 11 am to 5 pm Saturday.
The shop is at 1110 North G St., Suite D, Lake Worth Beach.
Keep reading: This 2017 conversation with Cutrone is worth your time.
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