Gulfstream Front and Center

The Gulfstream Hotel at 1 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth, with the cleared lot next to it on the corner of Lakeside Drive where someone seems to want very, very much to build another building to add another 100 rooms.

The Gulfstream Hotel was front and center at Tuesday night's city commission meeting with city staff recommending a special "hotel district" be created to allow for perhaps very high heights around the Intracoastal waterway in Lake Worth.

"It's going to take some height for someone to put together an economically viable project," William Waters, the city's development director, told the mayor and commissioners in reference to the Gulfstream.

The Gulfstream Hotel has 106 rooms. It is on the market for $9 million, according to local blogger Lynn Anderson.

The problem seems quite simply not that one can't make money with "only" 106 hotel rooms, but that one can't make money with "only" 106 rooms after having paid $9 million for the hotel!

It's overpriced.

As of Jan. 1, 2011 it was assessed at $2.5 million. The county may have given it a low assessment because it was closed, and not making money. But still. It's not worth $9 million. In 2003 it sold for $6 million. Considering property values have gotten knocked back about ten years, this is probably what it's worth now.

The establishment of a hotel district -- with a much higher height limit than for the rest of the downtown area -- would allow a future (prospective?) owner of the Gulfstream Hotel to follow through with the previous owner's grand plan to build another tall tower in the empty lot on the corner of Lake Avenue and South Lakeside Drive in order to add 100 guest rooms.

My observation has been that large new buildings tacked onto the side of lovely historic buildings are really never a good idea. The value and beauty of the original structure is degraded, and can never be revived.

Veterans Day Parade Coming Back to Lake Worth

The Veterans Day Parade is coming back to Lake Worth this year, with the city commission allocating $8,00 to fund it, and a committee of citizens forming to help organize it.

The parade will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 10, the day before the official Veterans Day on November 11, and will be followed by an event at 3:30 p.m. in the Cultural Plaza in Lake Worth's downtown with speakers honoring the sacifices local veterans have made in serving their country.

Parade organizers are looking to contact all local veterans, in order to include them in the parade and ceremony. Vets are asked to call Juan Ruiz of the city of Lake Worth at (561) 493-2559.

Local businesses are also asked to help in funding the total cost of the parade, which is expected to exceed the $8,000 allocated by the city. Call the city if you think you can help with an in-kind or monetary donation.

And...Can anyone help fund the cost of 1,000 little American flags to pass out to parade participants and spectators? They're only 17 cents a piece. Call Juan Ruiz at (561) 493-2559 if you can!

Early Voting in Palm Beach County and Lake Worth Sun Endorsements

Not that most people have noticed....but early voting for the Florida primary has been underway since August 4.

So far, 633 people have voted at the nearest early-voting polling place -- in Lantana, at the Lantana Library at 4020 Lantana Road.

Hot races:

George LeMieux vs. Connie Mack for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary. The Sun endorses Mack!

Jeff Clemens vs. Mack Bernard for Florida Senate in the Democrat primary. The Sun stands with Bernard!

Judges and also the Sheriff, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections are on both ballots, as these are non-partisan offices. The Sun endorses "Woodie McDuffie" for Supervisor of Elections over incumbent Susan Bucher!

Early voting continues through August 11. The actual election is August 14.

23-Year-Old Shoots Himself With Homemade Gun

"Criminals can get a gun if they want a gun," the head of the Miami ATF office tells the Sun Sentinel. So why did a Lake Worth-area 23-year-old make one with spare parts he found in his dad's backyard? Because he was too broke to buy a gun, and his driver's license was suspended and he was bored out of his skull.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-felon-gunmaker-lake-worth-20120806,0,2833096.story



Manny Garrido of Lake Geneva Drive

Manny Garrido made a .40 caliber handgun that he kept in his pocket. It went off on March 29, and shot him in the leg. After a long investigation, he was arrested yesterday and charged with possessing a firearm as a felon. (Last year, he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of drug possession.)


Manny Garriodo's father told police he guesses his son learned how to make a gun from....the internet.

** The Sun Sentinel describes Manny Garrido as a "Lake Worth man." But he was living with his father, according to the article, and Palm Beach County property records show his father's home is a few blocks outside Lake Worth's town limits, at 1120 Lake Geneva Drive. So this is not technically a Lake Worth story. But it's close!

Fort Walton Beach Regrets Name Change

Lake Worth's name was almost changed this summer to Lake Worth Beach. Luckily, clearer heads prevailed. Now, little Fort Walton Beach, a nice community in Florida's panhandle, is wishing it had resisted adding "Beach" to its name back in 1953:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/opinion/worth-51502-lake-officials.html

According to this, as a result of Fort Walton's name change, the first word in the town's name is often abbreviated as Ft., which doesn't look so nice. Also, many people, including top political leaders, don't use the word "Beach" when talking about the town, referring to it just as "Fort Walton." So it didn't really work out that well.

What's Open, What's Closed

The Lake Worth Municipal Pool before it closed in the fall of 2010

The Golf Course is closed Mondays and Tuesdays in August for renovation of the greens. Play will be on temporary greens all month, Wednesday through Sunday (weather permitting) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Play all day for $18, or $15 if you come after 3 p.m.

The Boat Ramp in Bryant Park is still closed. It is being rebuilt, with floating docks added to replace the old rickety wooden docks. This was scheduled to be completed by September, but work appears to have slowed this summer and there is no word on whether it will in fact be opened next month.

The Boat Docks, Kayak Launch and Fishing Pier at Snook Islands Natural Area, just north of the Lake Worth bridge, have been open since the end of February. There's usually plenty of dock space available, and boaters can walk four blocks to downtown Lake Worth restaurants.

The Beach is open, though with limited parking. You can park below and walk up, or take your chances on limited parking on the upper level across from Benny's or at Kreusler Park on the north end.

The Pool, which the city's web site refers to as offering a "one-of-a-kind oceanfront pool experience" has been closed since 2010 and remains closed with no date scheduled for re-opening.

The Lake Worth Historical Museum on the second floor of the City Hall Annex is now open Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 1-4 p.m.

Does the Palm Beach Post Know Where Lake Worth Is?

I think it's a valid question, because we see sooo many stories about things happening in Lake Worth that didn't actually happen in Lake Worth. Yesterday there was a story "Two Shot in Lake Worth." After reading it, and consulting maps, I still have no idea if this in fact happened in our town or not. The location of the shooting given is the 1000 block of Eighth Avenue North "just south of Washington Avenue." Washington Avenue is the southern border of Lake Worth. It is nowhere near Eighth Avenue North. Does anyone from the Palm Beach Post ever come here? Aside from the once-a-week visits from the reporter who takes dictation covers our city commission meetings, I mean.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/two-shot-in-lake-worth-deputies-still-searching-fo/nP9tH/

Florida's Having a Tough Recovery

The University of Central Florida's economic outlook for the state for 2012-2042 shows a tough climb out of the Great Recession, with unemployment remaining "obstinately high" and not falling below 8 percent until the fourth quarter of 2014. A new housing peak, the report says, will be reached in 2026. So if you're looking to sell your Florida home and get maximum dollar for it, you only have to wait another 14 years!

But note -- UCF forecasts that home prices won't reach the highs they saw during the bubble at any time in the next 30 years. The highest they'll come is 74 percent of the housing bubble high. In 2026.

http://iec.ucf.edu/file.axd?file=2012%2f8%2fflforecast_jul2012_s.pdf

Former Havana Hideout Owner Opens Restaurant in Boynton

Chrissy Benoit, the former owner of Havana Hideout in Lake Worth, restored and moved a tiny historic home in Boynton Beach, which she's just opened as a restaurant on Ocean Avenue. It's called The Little House.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2012/08/little_house_boynton.php


The Little House restaurant, 480 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach