THE $60 MILLION WMODA mixed-use development cleared its first hurdle Tuesday night when the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency approved a land donation and development agreement.
In separate motions, the CRA voted 6-1 to donate 1.6 acres downtown to Brooklyn-based United Management and to approve the development agreement with the firm. CRA board member Daniel Morgan voted no.
WMODA is an acronym for the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts, currently located in a temporary space in Hollywood. Museum founder Arthur Wiener, who also runs United Management, wants to build a permanent museum in downtown Lake Worth Beach as part of a mixed-use development that will include an apartment building and a parking garage.
UM, operating as Sunshine Lake Worth Development, would build the museum and apartments on land on the south side of Lake Avenue between L and M streets.
The company would partner with the city and CRA to pay for the $8.5 million parking garage at K Street, with the CRA paying $4 million, the city $3.5 million and WMODA $1 million. UM would build it; the city would own and operate it.
The parking garage would be built first, with the possible completion by 2026, followed by the museum and apartments, targeted for completion in 2028.
Some speakers voiced concern that the museum and apartments were too big for downtown and might better be suited in another part of the city. Others, including City Commissioner Sarah Malega, said the project is exactly what's needed downtown.
The project still faces several hurdles, and CRA chair Carla Blockson pledged that the public will be involved every step of the way.
“What we do with this project will determine the future of downtown. It will probably determine the future of our city,’’ she said before the board voted.
The next two steps are getting approvals from the City Commission on Oct. 15 and Oct. 29 on a public-private partnership and development agreement.
“I look forward to and I appreciate the opportunity to make a difference in the town and beyond,’’ Wiener said via Zoom.
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About the author
Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.