Delray Beach development back on track with amendment

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — There are big plans in Delray Beach. The big question is when it could become a reality along West Atlantic Avenue.

"This is not the agreement that we made 22 months ago," Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Chair Shirley Ervin Johnson said.

The Delray Beach CRA is split on whether to alter a contract for a developer.

"I definitely want to give them an opportunity to come back and prove us wrong," Commissioner Kelcey Cordell Brooks said.

The builder, BH3 Management, has approached the board to negotiate a fourth amendment to their purchase and sale agreement of the three blocks it's looking to develop.

"That fourth amendment will allow the development team to have 10 additional months to get all of their approvals for this project," attorney Neil Schiller said.

The project is centered around the 600-800 blocks of West Atlantic Avenue that BH3 said will include a Publix, office space, affordable housing and retail.

"I also feel like it will help grow our community back again," Chris Ceasar said. "To me, community is not where you lay at but where you pay at."

But Johnson said BH3 has already had multiple opportunities to take care of business, but she said it has come up short each time.

"We don't see them until it's time for some dramatic action on our part to give them more time," she said.

In the end, the CRA board voted in favor of the amendment.

BH3 said it will approach the board again before the next scheduled meeting in January with a new contract. From that point on, the builder is looking for permit approval to break ground by November.