Three developers are competing for rights to build a massive mixed-use project at the Riviera Beach-owned Marina Village, months after an FBI investigation delayed action on the proposals.
Related Urban, Forest Development and Sonnenblick Development submitted plans to build condos, hotels and retail on 12 acres near the Intracoastal Waterway at Marina Village, which spans 90 acres just north of the Port of Palm Beach.
A vote on the applications scheduled for Feb. 25 was cancelled after the FBI subpoenaed communications from Council Chairperson Shirley Lanier, Council Member Bruce Guyton, and Mayor Douglas Lawson that had to do with Marina Village, WPBF reported.
A development group led by Miami-based Related Urban Development Group was given the highest score from an evaluation committee, according to Riviera Beach’s director of procurement, LaTonya Ammons.
Proposals from Peter Baytarian’s North Palm Beach-based Forest Development and Pacific Palisades, California-based Sonnenblick Development, headed by Robert Sonnenblick, were ranked second and third.
All three developers will be given 20 minutes to make their presentations to the council next month.
Related Urban’s team includes Aventura-based BH Group, Boca Raton-based PEBB Enterprises, West Palm Beach-based Tezral Partners and Miami architecture firm Arquitectonica.
Their proposed project’s first phase includes 10 townhomes, three 6,000-square-foot retail buildings and a 578-space parking garage with ground-floor retail, a small-business incubator and recreational rooftop amenities for soccer, padel and basketball.
The second phase of that proposal consists of a 120-room hotel and a 224-unit condo-hotel with 528 parking spaces and a 6,000-square-foot retail space, as well as improvements at Marina Village’s waterfront Bicentennial Park.
In exchange for a 99-year lease with the city and CRA, Related Urban’s team proposes paying the city $3.75 million at closing as well as a 12.5 percent share of the development’s cash flow.
Forest Development’s proposal consists of a 39,400-square-foot restaurant and a 66,000-square-foot office in phase one, and a 326,900-square-foot convention center and Bicentennial Park enhancements as part of the second phase. The third phase is a 164-unit condo spanning 569,000 square feet and a new 49,800-square-foot dry boat storage facility. A 20-story, 270-room hotel with 43,7000-square feet of retail is in the fourth phase.
Forest Development proposed a 99-year lease paying a base rent of $370,000 a year during phase one and two, $555,000 a year rent for phase three, $740,000 a year rent at phase four, and $1.48 million a year once all aspects of the project are completed. It proposed paying the city 5 percent of the gross receipts collected from restaurants, 2.5 percent of the room revenue, 2 percent of the retail gross receipts, and 5 percent of parking fees.
Sonnenblick Development, along with West Palm Beach-based Island Hospitality and Orlando-based Margaritaville Hotel & Resorts, are proposing to build a 150-room Margaritaville Hotel and a 13-story, 70-unit residential building with retail, and 1,300 parking spaces for the first phase. The second phase consists of a 22-story, 200-unit residential building along with an 11-story, 150-unit tower with a 10th floor restaurant in the second phase. The plan also envisions a 20,000-square-foot FlowRider surf complex and a 20,000-square-foot aquarium.
Sonnenblick Development proposed a 99-year lease, or a base lease of 50 years with a 49-year renewal option. It offered to pay rent of $250,000 a year for the first five years, and $312,500 a year for five years after that. Thereafter, the base rent would increase 25 percent every decade. Sonnenblick proposed paying the city 2 percent of the Margaritaville Hotel’s gross revenue.
Riviera Beach officials see Marina Village as a potential core for a new downtown area. Its master plan for redevelopment includes two residential buildings that will be built by Related Urban, BH Group and Tezral Partners: the 149-unit affordable and workforce housing project called Residences at Marina Village and the 20-story, 418-unit Gallery at Marina Village.
An earlier proposal led by Atlanta-based APD Solutions to build a Margaritaville Hotel at Marina Village fell apart after its partners, Sonnenblick Development and Tezral Partners, left the joint venture and Margaritaville informed city officials it never had an agreement with APD. Robert Sonnenblick told TRD that it was his company that secured an agreement with Margaritaville.
When the city requested a new batch of proposals from developers last year, city staffers determined that out of four applicants, only Related Urban’s team submitted a completed application. In an effort to keep the project competitive, the council opted to reopen bidding.
What exactly the FBI was looking for in February hasn’t been revealed.
However, Forest Development’s team included a West Palm Beach consulting and outreach firm headed by Charisma Kendrick-Adams, who was a part-time staffer for Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the Palm Beach Post reported. Facing expulsion following a federal indictment for the misuse of millions of dollars of Covid-19 funds, Cherfilus-McCormick, whose district includes Riviera Beach, resigned on April 21.
Forest Development is slated to build Oculina, a 25-story condo development, at 3700 Broadway next to Forest’s finished Nautilus 220 project in neighboring Lake Park.
Forest Development is also negotiating with the city for the sale of 2.2 acres of land at 1851 Broadway for a future mixed-use, $325 million development.
Meanwhile, Sonnenblick Development is in discussions with Riviera Beach officials on jointly redeveloping 72 acres of land owned by the city and Palm Beach County Public Schools.