👋 Sears exits
Tuesday is here, and so are we! For you today, a mall anchor is out, county commissioners punt on sales tax and HQ decision, and Lake Worth Beach has a new ride.
Lawsuit offers insight into Sears closure
After 36 years at the Gardens Mall, one of the original anchor stores, Sears, has closed.
The decision came suddenly last week as Sears’ successor, Transform Operating Stores LLC, continued to argue in Palm Beach County Circuit Court that the mall on PGA Boulevard and the city conspired to block Sears from making money by leasing its second floor to Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“Having accomplished its goal of destroying the Dick’s sublease, the Forbes Parties (by their own admission) are waiting in the hopes that Transform goes out of business and … pressure Transform into selling its interest in the Sears Building to Forbes,” a 2023 legal filing said.
“Ultimately, the Forbes Parties’ goal, as it has been for years, is to get rid of the Sears store and recapture/redevelop the Sears property itself.”
Transform won the first round of the lawsuit in 2017. The court cleared the way for Dick’s to lease the space and ordered Palm Beach Gardens to pay Transform $625,000 in legal fees for its role in blocking Dick’s.
The decision came before Dick’s announced it would not sell guns at the Gardens Mall store.
Yes, but: Further efforts to open a Dick’s store failed as Forbes refused to sign off on paperwork needed for city approvals. The second round of litigation began in 2019.
The court has scheduled a two-week trial in August on claims rising from that dispute.
Transform, of the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Ill., still had 34 years remaining on its lease, court records reveal. Transform didn’t issue a statement or return requests for comment.
The mall, owned by the Forbes Co. of Southfield, Mich., issued a statement confirming Sears’ closing and saying it was working with its partners “to announce new plans for the repurposing of the two-level retail space.” The partners were not identified.
While the lawsuit remains unresolved, lawyers for Transform spelled out in a July 2023 filing three objectives behind Forbes’ continued resistance to Sears:
Free the Gardens Mall of Sears, an anchor tenant that no longer satisfies the Forbes' luxury vision.
Free Forbes of Transform’s below-market fixed rent payment schedule that continues until 2058 unless Transform is ousted.
Allow Forbes to demolish the Sears building and redevelop it so Forbes can reap substantial profits.
💰 Sales tax increase put off till 2026
They didn’t talk about Tri-Rail but the joint meeting last week between the Palm Beach County Commission and the local League of Cities was all about Tri-Rail.
The costly prospect of moving Tri-Rail to the coastal tracks that run east of Interstate 95 is the unspoken reason behind county commissioners’ decision to slam the door on the cities’ request to extend a 1-cent sales tax surcharge past 2025.
The sales tax surcharge has been in place since 2017. It will have raised more than $2.7 billion over nine years when it shuts down on Dec. 31, 2025. Half the money went to the school district, 30 percent to the county and 20 percent to cities.
Cash-strapped cities say they need that sales tax lifeline to continue.
The Palm Beach County School District says since it is required to share construction money with charter schools, it also needs the extra sales tax money to continue. It will ask voters in November to support a half-cent sales tax for 10 years — strictly for schools.
Yes, but: County commissioners, whose support is essential to place an extension for cities and the county on the November ballot, told the cities “No.”
They said residents need a break. But they also said they would entertain a 1-cent sales tax under a different provision of state law that can be levied for 30 years and pay for transportation needs.
That would be put before voters in November 2026. That gives supporters two years to build their case.
Why is the tax critical? Without a dedicated source of money, the Florida Department of Transportation has told local officials the county can’t be considered for federal and state grants to pay for moving Tri-Rail to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.
Tri-Rail is now on the CSX tracks, which curve west after leaving the West Palm Beach/Mangonia Park area.
Just shifting Tri-Rail to the FEC tracks in north county and building stations at 45th Street in West Palm Beach, 13th Street in Riviera Beach, Park Avenue in Lake Park, PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens and Toney Penna Drive in Jupiter is an estimated $109 million project. It would cost more to outfit south county with stations and to operate the trains.
The state has set aside $1.1 million this year to begin planning.
“This particular transportation surtax,” Commissioner Marci Woodward said at the joint meeting, “I would urge you all to consider it — that this is the way that we should move forward.”
Commissioners Mack Bernard and Gregg Weiss echoed her support. In an interview with Stet, Mayor Maria Sachs said she, too, liked the idea.
“It would go directly into really helping the county to develop as we should in the 21st century,” Sachs said.
🏢 County headquarters in limbo
Palm Beach County’s renovation of its 40-year-old downtown West Palm Beach headquarters will come to a grinding halt after commissioners discussed but didn’t decide last week what to do with the valuable site.
The county has put $721,000 into planning so far.
The $160 million plan calls for gutting and expanding the 12-story building while keeping it open to the public. Two of the building’s biggest tenants, the property appraiser and the tax collector, told commissioners Tuesday at a workshop that construction would be challenging.
“The renovation to this building planned is going to be incredibly disruptive to all of us,” Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks said. “I can imagine a multiyear project with jackhammering and banging and so forth while my appraisers try to get their work done.”
“I can’t move half of my third floor to another floor,” Tax Collector Anne Gannon said. “They are interdependent.”
A little background: The discussion started in January when Commissioner Mack Bernard suggested avoiding congestion downtown by rebuilding the Governmental Center in the Westgate neighborhood at Belvedere Road west of Interstate 95. The area just north of Palm Beach International Airport is about to undergo big changes with the sale of the Palm Beach Kennel Club site to the Frisbie Group, which is planning apartments, condos, a hotel and offices.
Bernard’s colleagues had other ideas:
Vice Mayor Maria Marino: Rebuild on Block D, the parking lot immediately north of the county’s Governmental Center. That land is slated for courthouse expansion in 2040. Commissioners asked if Block D could meet all their needs, including courthouse expansion. If so, they could sell their current site. If not, they could hold on to it for extra court space later.
Commissioner Sara Baxter: Build near other county office buildings at Vista Center, west of Florida’s Turnpike along Okeechobee Boulevard.
Commissioner Gregg Weiss: Move the tax collector and appraiser out of downtown, offsetting the need for expansion.
Architects are ready to begin construction drawings, which could take about a year, county Facilities Director Isami Ayala-Collazo said.
Commissioners told her not to let the architect start construction drawings but made no other decisions.
What’s next? Commissioners plan a second workshop April 16.
🍊 The juice
Even as Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation to allow the release of the 2006 Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Luis Delgado ruled that he would not release the documents, which an appellate court had empowered him to release last May. Come back in July, when the law is effective, Delgado said in his ruling. (The Palm Beach Post $$$) (Read the ruling here)
❓ Is MAGA the kiss of death in nonpartisan Lake Worth Beach City Commission race? Candidate counters: “I am not MAGA!” (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
✈️ Ruth Gottesman’s billion-dollar gift to a Bronx medical school was set in motion by a chance meeting on a flight to West Palm Beach. (The New York Times)
🎥 An Ocean Ridge man played a critical role in ensuring an accurate depiction of Native Americans in the Oscar-nominated film “Killers of the Flower Moon.” (The Coastal Star)
⛳️ ICYMI: Stet updated the Tiger Woods-led golf arena plans last week. Instead of an air-inflated dome, the promoters pitched prefab metal. (Stet News)
🆕 561 insider: Micro rides reach Lake Worth Beach
The short-range shuttles that zip around downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens are coming to Lake Worth Beach next week.
Driving the news: Lake Worth Beach is contracting with West Palm Beach-based Circuit Transit to launch the app-based service.
Two electric shuttles will operate on-demand in the area bounded by Seventh Avenue North to Sixth Avenue South and the Lake Worth Beach Tri-Rail station to the beach.
Shuttle hours will be noon to 9 pm Sunday through Thursday and noon to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday.
Up to three rides during the first month will be free. After that, trips will cost $1 per rider.
The $230,000, one-year contract will be paid for by the city, the CRA and rider fares.
Of note: Circuit operates in 40 markets including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. It has 70,000 riders in South Florida, partner Jason Bagley told the CRA in January.
What to know: Longtime Circuit driver Jim Kovalsky has this advice for riders:
Understand that it is a fun service to get you from place to place. You’re riding around in a cute little eco-friendly car.
Because they are shared rides, it’s not a service to use if you are time-critical. It is not Uber.
Tipping is not required but drivers appreciate it. $5 will make your driver very happy.
What’s next: CRA Director Joan Oliva told Stet she hopes ridership will justify expanding the service in the next fiscal year and that it could be financed by grants.
Watch for a ribbon-cutting to launch the service next week.
This just in: Boynton Beach plans to launch its own Circuit service this month, the CRA’s Bonnie Nicklein confirmed Monday to Stet. Info here.
You can download the Circuit app here.
🛣️ Beeline construction: The $148 million widening of the Beeline Highway from Blue Heron to Northlake boulevards gets underway this month. The public can ask questions about the project at a virtual public meeting from 5 to 6:30 pm today and an in-person open house from 5 to 7 pm Wednesday at Palm Beach Gardens City Hall. To register for the virtual meeting, click here.
🗳️ Early voting for the March 19 election begins Saturday in Palm Beach County. The deadline to request a vote by mail ballot is 5 pm Thursday.
⏰ Daylight Saving Time returns Sunday morning. Maybe go to sleep earlier on Saturday.
🌱 Please help us grow by sharing this newsletter.
🧳 Do you represent an organization or business that wants to sponsor our newsletter? Reply to this email or contact us at stetmediagroup@gmail.com.
🔍 Have a story idea or a news tip? Reply to this email or write to stetmediagroup@gmail.com, and tell us.