November
2003 Design Session
City of West Palm Beach
and Palm Beach County Project Summary
[See also the Results
page]
Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach brought
forward a combined project for consideration by the Design
Institute. Each jurisdiction brings a different perspective
and capability to the project but their goals are shared: continued
economic development, furthering the use of mass transit and
the creation of workforce housing.
Palm Beach County presently owns an approximately six acre
parcel just west of the Historic Seaboard Railway Station on
Tamarind Avenue in West Palm Beach. This land is under consideration
for the development of an intermodal transit facility site.
The County is in the process of transferring the site to the
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) for development.
The RTA will then issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request
for Qualification (RFQ) for the site, which would look at how
the site could be developed to connect urban redevelopment
with mass transit. Transportation presently served through
this site includes Tri-Rail, Amtrak, Palm Tran (Palm Beach
County's bus system), West Palm's city trolley, taxi and Greyhound
bus service.
Across from the county-owned parcel and the Railway Station
is an approximately 30-acre site with multiple owners that
was also brought before the Design Institute for integration
into the plan. The site lies between Banyan and Fern, Sapodilla
and Tamarind in the City of West Palm Beach. The City and County
both see an opportunity to assemble the parcels and provide
for consolidated development of the area. The first challenge
of a coordinated redevelopment plan for the 30 acres is in
the actual assemblage of the land. The City and County are
hoping to encourage the production of workforce housing, plan
for an appropriate combination of office, retail or light industry
and to coordinate appropriate densities and intensities for
the site.
Design Institute Recommendations
The Design Institute Resource Team made a series
of recommendations for the redevelopment and development of
the project site and these are listed below. However, it became
apparent that given the number of stakeholders and the complexities
of the issues that a task force should be created to address
these recommendations and other elements that will surface
as the dialogue continues. Therefore, West Palm Beach Mayor
Lois Frankel, Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons, Downtown
Development Authority Executive Director Nancy Graham, Regional
Transportation Authority Chairman Michael Masanoff, and Regional
Transportation Authority Deputy Executive Director Jack Stephens
agreed to convene as an Intermodal Task Force. In addition,
these members agreed to invite Michael Busha, Executive Director
of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council to participate.
He has indicated his interest in this project site and acknowledged
its importance to the region.
The creation of this task force will allow for a structured
channel for inter-agency communication and ensure timely adoption
and implementation of a strategy for collaboration in the development
of the inter-modal site. Each of the local governments (West
Palm Beach and Palm Beach County), the Regional Transportation
Authority (RTA) and the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council
(TCRPC) will bring capabilities which will give support to
the subsequent development of the site.
Early tasks should include the development of clear implement
strategy and the drafting of a memo of understanding. All parties
should work to create a clear vision of the overall plan. It
was recommended that other duties of the task force should
include a thorough review of the downtown West Palm Beach master
plan and parties should work to develop a master plan with
a new block structure and street pattern. In addition, the
Resource Team suggested that the County and City should jointly
invest in a market study.
The Resource Team stated that it essential that the Intermodal
Task Force define the land and office needs of the county,
state and federal agencies and move forward on a plan to assemble
the land. It should be decided what each government agency
can contribute to the success of the project. For example,
Palm Beach County could contribute land, West Palm Beach could
contribute tax-increment financing while the RTA could contribute
management and oversight. Once the Intermodal Task Force develops
an understanding and adopts an implementation strategy the
plan should be taken to the state to petition for input and
cooperation regarding state-owned parcels.
It was recommended that the task force confirm the definition
of attainable housing and mixed-income recommendations and
define the proportion of subsidized to market-rate housing
units. The four agencies should pool their resources and identify
existing vehicles and tools for attainable housing. In addition,
parties should re-evaluate subsidy programs for affordable
housing as well as possible funding sources.
The Design Institute Resource Team recommended the task force
conduct site visits to model Transit Oriented Design (TOD)
collaborative projects like the MARTA Lindbergh site in Atlanta.
The Intermodal Task Force initiative should address the issues
that concern both the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach
County, while working in an action-oriented framework that
ensures timely results. This collaborative process could also
serve as a model for the RTA's role in future TODs in South
Florida and serve the County and City's common goals of increasing
mass transit ridership and workforce housing.
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