Delray Beach mayor takes over condo-hotel project

A judge agreed to the appointment of Cary Glickstein, the mayor of Delray Beach, to oversee the completion of the Palm House condo-hotel project, which has been plagued by an internal dispute among the owners.

Palm Beach County Judge Donald W. Hafele appointed Glickstein as part of an agreement among the Palm House parties to try to resolve their differences out of court.

The primary issue among the Palm House project owners is an internal dispute over who has authority over the project.

According to an article last year in the Palm Beach Daily News, a civil complaint in an ownership dispute was filed in circuit court Tuesday against Ryan A. Black, described as a 1 percent minority owner and former manager of Palm House LLC, the entity owns the condo-hotel property at 160 Royal Palm Way. The complaint alleges that Black removed valuable computer files related to the condo-hotel and padlocked the door. It also claims that earlier this month Black went to Connecticut and spoke with the majority owner, Gerry Matthews, to “compel” him to turn over his 99 percent interest.

Delray Beach’s mayor will be compensated for serving effectively as a third-party construction manager for the Palm House project on, vested with authority to hire subcontractors and other workers. Glickstein is an attorney and former developer who owns a building-related firm called Ironwood Construction Services.

According to Judge Hafele’s order, Glickstein will “secure, improve, repair, manage and oversee completion of construction” and improvements to the property, which has been under renovation since 2006.

The Palm House project has generated liens and lawsuits against the developers and a mortgage foreclosure action. The project also has been hit with town fines exceeding $1.8 million for non-approved work at the site and construction delays. [Palm Beach Daily News] – Mike Seemuth