It’s rare for a Black person to speak at the Boca Raton City Council meeting and even rarer for several Black people to speak. But it’s been happening a lot lately.
That’s because of developments at Dixie Manor, the city’s public housing complex that also is part of Boca Raton’s history. Forty of the 95 units were homes for families of Black service members who were stationed here during World War II. The city bought the 9.3-acre property from a private owner in 1979 and gave it to the Boca Raton Housing Authority.
Even the newer units date back roughly 40 years. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been encouraging local housing authorities to consider “repositioning” older public housing. The Boca Raton Housing Authority is one such agency.
Despite its name, the authority is not part of the city. Council members appoint the five board members, but the authority sets policy and hires the executive director. No city money goes to the authority, which also oversees a low-income apartment complex in Boca Raton and vouchers for subsidized housing. Money for changes at Dixie Manor would come from the federal government.
There is general agreement that Dixie Manor needs upgrading. “Ninety-five percent of public housing in America is older than us,” said Gary Richardson, the authority chairman. The debate is about the upgrading.
Should the apartments be renovated? Should Dixie Manor be demolished and rebuilt? Either way, what happens to the tenants during construction? What happens to the Lois Martin Community Center that hosts many children’s programs?
Tenants and tenant advocates have told council members that authority staff have not kept tenants sufficiently advised about its plans. “The apartments are terrible,” acknowledged Angela McDonald, a tenant who serves on the authority. “But (the authority) needs to bring us to the table.” Executive Director John Scannell, McDonald said, “talks down” to tenants.
I left several voicemail messages for Scannell. Richardson responded. He denied that the agency has withheld information. “Any issues,” Richardson said, “can be worked through. Not everyone is going to be happy, but 95 percent are going to be happy.”
Last week, the board hired a consulting firm to conduct a feasibility study of the options. That study will take no more than four months.
When the study comes back, Richardson said, the authority will schedule a meeting with tenants and other “interested parties.” For work to begin as soon as possible, the authority would need to make a decision by August.
Money would come through the Florida Housing Finance Corp., and a later decision would push the work into the next budget year. The authority has a master developer agreement with Boca Raton-based Atlantic Pacific Companies. Richardson said the firm “likely” would do the construction.
Until recently, Richardson noted, “There was very little interest in the authority.” In August, the council appointed Brian Stenberg to a vacancy. He was the only applicant. When the next vacancy came up, in November, several people wanted the appointment.
For tenants, the main source of anxiety is where they would go during construction. McDonald points out that some residents have children in nearby schools. How far away might they be living?
Some tenants have lived at Dixie Manor for 30 years. They probably will want to come back. McDonald has been there only four years. Like some of her neighbors, McDonald isn’t sure that she wants to return.
So how will the authority ensure fairness for everyone? Richardson said, “HUD will 100 percent take care of everyone’s rent.” Stenberg said the authority “will bend over backwards to make sure families living in Dixie Manor are part of the process and experience the least amount of disruption possible once the time arrives to put shovels in the ground.”
The toughest problem is that Boca Raton offers very few options for subsidized housing. It’s not an issue the council must deal with often. And with Dixie Manor, council members are spectators, not participants.
But council members picked the people who will decide Dixie Manor’s future. So the council probably will keep hearing about plans for that future.
What will become of Sherwood Golf Course in Delray?
At today’s meeting, the Delray Beach City Commission will decide whether to allow development on what had been a golf course.
It’s a growing trend in South Florida. Decades ago, developers built retirement communities based on a model of owners playing golf. That worked until homes turned over and younger owners didn’t want to play golf all the time. They didn’t buy memberships. Courses folded.
This time, it’s the Sherwood Golf Course, on 37 acres south of Atlantic Avenue and east of Military Trail. It dates to 1960. The owners closed the course in 2018, citing what the staff memo calls “decreased public interest.” A deteriorating clubhouse and cart ban remain.
Pulte Homes wants to build 70 homes in the middle of the existing 125. For that to happen, the commission would have to approve a land-use change, a rezoning and a change to the community’s master plan. The minimum separation between these zero-lot line homes would decrease from 15 feet to 10 feet. In addition to the homes, Pulte would build a pool and clubhouse.
Some homeowners in such communities have objected strongly to the potential loss of open space. Boca Del Mar residents unsuccessfully sued to block development of the former Mizner Trail Golf Course.
Sherwood residents, though, flipped the script. They approached the city about removing the deed restriction that allows only a golf course on the property. When the planning and zoning board recommended approval, one speaker said that nearly 90 percent of the potential neighbors support the project because the property has become so blighted.
In addition, Pulte is asking for less than the maximum. As a result, the memo says, traffic would be roughly half of what it could be. County engineers say the project would comply with Traffic Performance Standards.
To ensure compatibility with nearby single-family communities, city planners want Pulte to improve access. Commissioners could attach that as a condition of approval.
FAU professor doubles as major donor
A Florida Atlantic University professor has become the second-largest donor among staff members.
Eric Shaw is a professor emeritus in the College of Business. The university will use his $2 million gift toward eight awards programs and endowments that, according to a news release, will “reward and recognize meritorious FAU student-athletes, as well as other students who demonstrate academic excellence in various fields of research, business, and other areas…”
Shaw received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from FAU and taught there until leaving for Rutgers University and then the University of Miami. He returned to FAU in 1982 and has been the business school’s associate dean and chairman of the marketing department. He has served on the faculty senate, the alumni board, the foundation board and the board of trustees.
New elementary school update
The advisory boundary committee of the Palm Beach County School Board left in place the staff plan for who will attend Boca Raton’s new elementary school.
As I wrote last week, the plan affects four of the city’s five elementary schools. The primary goal is to relieve overcrowding at Calusa Elementary. The new school, on Military Trail south of Spanish River Boulevard, has capacity for 1,000 students. Filling the campus will mean moving students from other schools.
Opposition during the committee’s four-hour meeting came from parents near St. Andrews Boulevard. The plan largely divides that area east and west of St. Andrews. Mayor Scott Singer, who serves on the committee, pushed back against the idea that the area is one community and spoke for the staff proposal.
Two board members proposed sending more students from the St. Andrews area to Calusa, even though the new school—now named O5C—is closer. That plan did not get majority support. The committee will meet again before the plan goes to the board, which has the final say.
Major residential development planned
More farmland near Boca Raton and Delray Beach will become development.
According to published reports, the Johns family has sold its 260-acre parcel south of Olympic Heights High School to GL Homes. The company plans to build nearly 700 homes. The Johns now lease the land for farming.
Previously, the family sold a vacant property on Glades Road just east of State Road 7. That land has become Uptown Boca.
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December 14, 2021 at 10:02PM
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Major Developments On Tap for Dixie Manor, Delray Golf Course, & More - Boca Raton
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