Welcome to 2012. Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and is
readjusting to normalcy.
I wanted to begin the New Year with something that actually took
place last year, but will probably come to fruition this year.
The Boca Raton City Council is putting a lot of time and study into
future use of the Wildflower property on East Palmetto Park Road.
Looking to gain some revenue from this piece of property which cost
the city a big chunk of change — $7.5 million — officials are hoping
that whatever comes to the Intracoastal-side lot can generate money
for the city.
The most popular idea so far is a restaurant. Three eating spots
have already filed proposals with the city, and a majority of the emails
generated at a meeting late last year have favored the restaurant
use.
But downtown property owner James Batmasian has urged the
council to scrap the restaurant idea in favor of rental housing. He
said there are currently 150 to 200 eating spots in the downtown,
all of which “are suffering” because of the poor economy, heavy
competition and the “need for more bodies” in East Boca.
“Another restaurant is certainly not a guaranteed business plan
for the Wildflower property,” he told City Council members at a
workshop.
Owner of Investments Ltd., Batmasian said he has a plan to bring
the “bodies” downtown — a rental housing development. He said
it would be compatible with surrounding homes. He also said the
Wildflower land could be used for public access to the Intracoastal
and revive Silver Palm Park on the south side of the Palmetto Park
Bridge.
In total, Batmasian said he wants the site to have the dual function
of a public park/boardwalk along the water, with some modest-sized
(900-1,000 square feet) rental apartments.
He’s got a point. There are a lot of restaurants downtown. And there
has been a lot of turnover lately. More people living downtown would
help the restaurants that are already there – and that’s important.
The City Council hasn’t responded yet. Let’s wait and see what
happens.
LIGHTS OUT
Sigh…. I just took the Christmas lights down, and the other
decorations followed. This was always the saddest part of the year
for me – particularly when I lived in New England. It meant Christmas
was over, all the colored lights and decorations were gone and we
faced another couple of months of barren trees, cold weather and
usually snow.
I looked around the neighborhood and other people were taking their
decorations down, too. Now, it’s back to normal. Walking the dog will
offer no seasonal views. Oh, well, the Valentine’s Day cards have
arrived. Time to think of that big day.
‘CIRQUE’ WAS AN AMAZING SHOW
After reading Skip Sheffield’s wonderful review of “Cirque Dreams
Holidaze” at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, I just knew
my wife and I would have to go and see it.
And it was everything Skip promised – and more. In fact, I’d say the
show was nothing short of amazing. As Skip said, it was a “dazzling
spectacle of sound, light and human feats of derring-do.” I can’t say it
more succinctly than that.
Amazing is the word that keeps coming up. My wife and I are still
talking about it – and wonder how they could do it. (In one scene,
a ballerina stands en pointe on an acrobat’s head!) People flip and
float and sing. Much of the music is original, but it was great to
hear “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”
This “Cirque” (French for circus) is not to be confused with the much
larger, better-known Cirque du Soleil with headquarters in Montreal.
Producer-director Neil Goldberg creates his shows right here in
Florida, in a large warehouse-studio in Pompano Beach.
We’re hoping it returns next year.