Construction underway on Royal Poinciana Playhouse redevelopment project

Work on the long-awaited redevelopment of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse has begun.

In a presentation to the Landmarks Preservation Commission last month, Alexandra Clark, vice president of Asset Strategy & Experience for WS Development, the project's developer, said interior demolition and abatement are underway on the project.

Construction drawings are progressing, Clark added, and a "dream team" of consultants continues to lend their expertise to the project's design.

Work is expected to be complete in 2024.

"We are working very closely with consultants to refine the means and methods for our design," she told commission members on Nov. 16. "I have never worked with so many consultants at one time. You name it, we have them. We couldn't be happier to have the best and the brightest as part of this team."

Related: Town Council gives final approval to use agreements for Royal Poinciana Playhouse renovation

Rebirth for theater: Cultural arts center, waterfront restaurant planned for long-shuttered Royal Poinciana Playhouse site

Shuttered for nearly two decades, the Playhouse will reopen as a cultural arts center and new waterfront restaurant.

The project will include a top-to-bottom renovation of the two-story, 34,517-square-foot landmarked building at 70 Royal Poinciana Plaza, which closed in 2004 after Clear Channel Communications, its last tenant, left.

When complete, the new venue will seat approximately 400, Clark told the Town Council earlier this year.

Programming will include art, film, dance, theater, music, education and charitable events.

Plans also call for a 200-seat waterfront restaurant with outdoor dining as well as 12,000 feet of retail and gallery space.

The proposed changes are designed to bring The Royal Poinciana Plaza’s center of gravity to the water and restore the building as a hub of art, fashion and food, Clark said.

Operating the programming for the planned cultural arts center will be INNOVATE, a publicly held company chaired by resident Avie Glazer, whose family owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

WS Development continues to search for an operator for the restaurant, which is expected to open alongside the playhouse. Clark said she and her team will take their time finding the right operator for the restaurant, which will be Palm Beach's first Intracoastal waterfront eatery that is open to the public.

"We're perfectionists," she said. "It's the same way we wanted to find the perfect theater operator. People reach out constantly. I think at the end of the day, we want to find the best operator for that space. Everybody wants a waterfront restaurant on the island of Palm Beach.

"But if it's not the right operator, and they're not offering this community the right food, and they're not consistent, and they're not offering the exceptional experience, we don't want them. We're really picky."

Renovation plans for the Playhouse include the addition of floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway, plus 7,995 square feet of additional space to the ground floor and an 893-square-foot, one-story accessory maintenance building.

Also planned are a new pedestrian plaza and valet drop-off between the Playhouse and adjacent plaza building; a restored restaurant deck with new trellis and new terrace along the west seawall; repair and restoration of the seawall; a new covered entry along the south side of the existing building; and associated hardscape and landscape design.

Clark said her team is addressing concerns related to the stability of the soil beneath the playhouse.

Engineers have performed several rounds of soil boring to determine what is below the building in order to create a firm foundation, Clark said.

"We are dealing with muck, so it is a tricky situation as it relates to achieving our goal of this building standing the test of time, the same way we hope the theater does," she said. "The existing building has settled, and the walls are in distress. We've done many rounds of studies to understand exactly what we must do to preserve as much as we can."

Clark said pilings will be placed within the building to ensure it won't settle further.

Additionally, the building's walls and roof will be adjusted in an effort to provide better sound attenuation for the theater.

"We're beefing up the walls, and we're re-roofing to accommodate the best performance space that will last for many years," she said. "We also want to ensure that we're creating an interior space that's column-less, so that the views are incredible. That means additional structure is required."

In her presentation to the landmarks commission, Clark also shared details of the venue's redesigned trash enclosure, south colonnade, front facade and interior space.

"The reconstruction and restoration is a dance that we've been doing with our team and our experts to determine how much needs to be rebuilt, like for like," she said. "Our original approvals are perfectly suited for what our team is advising is necessary, but we know how loved this building is, and we take that responsibility seriously."

The Royal Poinciana Playhouse was designed by architect John Volk, who added the Regency-style structure to The Royal Poinciana Plaza’s footprint in 1958 with the intention of creating a community center for the island.

The venue was a social juggernaut in the 1960s and '70s, featuring Broadway plays, ballets and musical performances as well as nightly dinners and dancing in the nearby Celebrity Room.

During its long history, the venue drew big-name such celebrities as Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope as well as social and political royalty such as the Duke of Windsor and the Kennedys.

Redevelopment plans will be helmed by the architectural teams of Spina O’Rourke & Partners and Smith & Moore Architects, with landscape architecture by Nievera Williams Design.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Construction underway on Royal Poinciana Playhouse