Letter: Residents should cheer plans for new playhouse and restaurant at Royal Poinciana Plaza

As a local interior designer and a Realtor, I have a vested interest in the well-being and success of the town. And as a resident of the Palm Beach Towers, which is adjacent to the Royal Poinciana Plaza, I have a vested interest in the success and beauty of the plaza as well.

My apartment directly overlooks the plaza’s playhouse from my living room, dining room and terrace. If you could only see the sad state that the playhouse has been in for decades, you would understand my writing this letter.

So let me review some facts.

• Historically, the playhouse was a true Broadway performance venue with 864 seats to see plays, ballets and musical performances. The Celebrity Room was adjacent to the theater and featured 278 seats of dining for private club members. The playhouse attracted performers such as Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

• After its being closed for 22 years, a recipe for success has finally been identified and proposed to the town; so reopening the playhouse with the right operator and the right community serving programming is essential for many years of its future success.

• The plan brought forth to reopen the playhouse is for flexible use and allows for multigenerational programming from music to lectures, to educational and children’s programming, to film and live performances.

• The proposed plan includes reopening the restaurant to the public as the only waterfront dining in Palm Beach and reintroducing retail and gallery space to the building, as Volk originally designed.

• The last time that the playhouse was open, there were 864 seats in the theater and 278 seats in the restaurant. In order for Sant Ambroeus to have breakfast and lunch, the theater was downsized to 725 seats.

• At every permitting step, the town has required the theater and waterfront restaurant to be held at its maximum numbers, therefore preserving the right to reopen both spaces as 725 seats and 278 seats, respectively. The proposed plan before the town calls for no more than 400 seats in the playhouse and no more than 200 seats in the restaurant, coupled with a small amount of retail and gallery space. Each of these uses and proposed sizes is aligned with the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

In conclusion, how fortunate the Town of Palm Beach is for this eyesore at the entrance to our island to finally having a viable plan to reopen. The playhouse will serve as a “community serving cultural arts space” for our town in a way that it deserves: as a waterfront jewel box that will be a destination that we can all be proud of.

Of course, the town will review and opine on architecture and ensure that parking and town-serving are satisfied, but it would behoove us all to meet these new plans with encouragement and support. I for one, can’t wait for opening night.

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Guy W. Clark II is owner of Guy Clark Interiors and a Realtor with Douglas Elliman Palm Beach.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Letter: Local interior designer, Realtor supports playhouse plans