Five takeaways Boynton Beach residents should know from marathon commission meeting that wrapped up at 1:40 a.m.

Giuseppe Sabella, Palm Beach Post
·4 min read

The few people who remained at Tuesday's marathon Boynton Beach commission meeting wished city leaders a "good morning" as the meeting bled into Wednesday and ran until 1:40 a.m.

The packed agenda began at 6 p.m. and covered several major developments, including updates to the troubled Town Square project — a conversation that began at about 11:30 p.m., after much of the audience had already left.

Here are five highlights from the meeting:

1. Boynton Beach's Leisureville applauds long-awaited park protections

Residents of Leisureville, a 55+ community near Congress Avenue and Woolbright Road, filled about half the room as they awaited news on a park that's planned for their subdivision.

Commissioners voted to approve a resolution spearheaded by Vice Mayor Angela Cruz, ensuring the land can only be used as a "passive public park," which protects open spaces and natural habitats.

The resolution, which drew applause from nearly three dozen Leisureville residents in the audience, also bans parking and signage, except for loitering and trespassing signs.

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2. Commission OKs expansion of incoming sports training facility coming to East Boynton Little League park

Cars are seen driving on Woolbright Road by the entrance signage at the East Boynton Little League Complex on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in Boynton Beach, FL. Sports agent and Palm Beach County resident Phil Terrano, who grew up playing little league baseball at the complex, wants to build a baseball training facility adjacent to the Little League fields that would benefit athletes of all levels.

The commission approved an updated plan for the indoor training facility and new fields coming to the East Boynton Little League park.

The updated agreement allows Phil Terrano, the CEO of Primetime Sports Group LLC, to build a training facility that spans up to 28,000 square feet instead of the original 7,500 square feet approved in November, making room for future expansions.

Terrano is also planning to build an artificial turf field, accommodations for athletes with disabilities and new scoreboards for all the fields — a project he vowed to fund through private investments.

Addressing concerns at Tuesday's meeting, he also promised to ensure that an existing military memorial is properly maintained.

3. The Pierce project moves forward in downtown Boynton Beach

The Pierce, a 236-apartment, mixed-use, redevelopment project planned for Boynton Beach was approved July 12. The $80 million deal includes nearly 17,000 feet of commercial space, a seven-story parking garage and the continued existence of Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant, a city landmark on Ocean Avenue just west of Federal Highway.
The Pierce, a 236-apartment, mixed-use, redevelopment project planned for Boynton Beach was approved July 12. The $80 million deal includes nearly 17,000 feet of commercial space, a seven-story parking garage and the continued existence of Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant, a city landmark on Ocean Avenue just west of Federal Highway.

The Pierce, a project that promises affordable living, shopping and dining in downtown, is now one step closer to becoming a reality.

A request by Affiliated Development to rezone the area, from a central business district to mixed-use, passed its first review by the commission Tuesday. That request faces a second reading by the commission at a future meeting.

The Pierce development includes 300 multi-family rental units, a parking garage, office spaces and approximately 17,100 square feet of ground commercial space, including restaurants off Boynton Beach Boulevard and Ocean Avenue.

It also ensures that Hurricane Alley Raw Bar & Restaurant will remain open. The restaurant, a city landmark now on Ocean Avenue, will operate in a new building at the intersection of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Northeast Fourth Street.

4. Boynton schools see boost in funding

A group of principals and school district administrators addressed the commission one by one, thanking the city for an $848,500 investment that will go to Boynton's nine public schools:

  • Freedom Shores Elementary

  • Forest Park Elementary

  • Poinciana STEM Elementary

  • Galaxy E3 Elementary

  • Crosspointe Elementary

  • Rolling Green Elementary

  • Citrus Cove Elementary

  • Congress Middle

  • Boynton Beach Community High

The school principals shared a host of plans for the money, including safety upgrades on campus, leadership programs for students and improvements to their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.

5. Long-awaited update on Town Square starts late Tuesday, finishes Wednesday morning

The Town Square project in downtown Boynton Beach, Florida on June 8, 2021.
The Town Square project in downtown Boynton Beach, Florida on June 8, 2021.

For years, a stalemate between the city and JKM Developers has stalled Town Square, a public-private endeavor that was supposed to bring new life to Boynton's downtown area.

The public, taxpayer-funded portion of the project — including the new City Hall, library, fire station and amphitheater — is now complete.

But the private portion, including two parking garages, three apartment buildings and retail spaces, never made it off the ground. The city and JKM have since accused each other of not meeting obligations and stalling the project.

In hopes of settling the lawsuit that Boynton filed against JKM in 2020, both parties are working to sell the undeveloped land and the future of the project to a new developer.

That plan moved forward Tuesday with approval of several agreements with Time Equities Inc and its affiliate, Boynton Beach Town Center Apartments LLC.

The commission OK'd five items related to Town Square project after reviewing updates for about two hours, after most of the audience left earlier in the evening.

For an in-depth update on the Town Square development, check back with The Palm Beach Post later this week.

Giuseppe Sabella is a reporter covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton Beach news: Updates on Town Square, Leisureville, The Pierce