[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6611968,"mediaKeyId","2892781-174d34cdcff8ef42b0c0964244b2b135","parentId",2892781,"title","Northwest residents urge city to preserve EPAT Larkins Center; developers propose legacy, job and training elements","audioSeconds",3735,"startMs",1414025,"endMs",5149663,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2892781-174d34cdcff8ef42b0c0964244b2b135&start=1414&end=5149","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2892781-174d34cdcff8ef42b0c0964244b2b135/thumbnail_1414025.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6611968/Pompano-Beach/Broward-County/Florida/Northwest-residents-urge-city-to-preserve-EPAT-Larkins-Center-developers-propose-legacy-job-and-training-elements","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611968-abb0a17196df55a1e386023f1c374d33/orig.mp4?Expires=1770827147&Signature=aCHAijOYm7394t4~SUPLWpfr2bUaG4lCkt9~C-Ib9zv3kC9UHLs1R8Ea5VUhy15rxd5tIOXawihOgJW7TnrH7sJHubDPRm~Eqqu6t9cRGx20dinqWGAjvGLmZkgATeU2iHg6qnMKy4wNJeRUrWLIjKHdEn~yZUnqUO6HzjcmX~0~Pp-QYNaV~M057Z2DFjNBliyrB877KhR-aEdmyjPq3SWsOrUCgYjgG4~nZzSQUFzbPzzhJp2b21vUEN4ziizhKQpKen0-Ap~NVOWfQe34zItSek9mR5NCcPT3LaTXQ2WUBzHCivAm1VF1ybEGzlRP9TXmeoMaGv9Fynm~4Xc0Pg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Pompano Beach","date","2025-04-07T17:58:00Z","article","POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Dozens of residents who spoke at the Pompano Beach City Commission and CRA joint special meeting on May 7 urged commissioners and staff not to demolish the EPAT Larkins community center and asked that any new facilities retain or prominently honor the center’s legacy.

“...the community does not want the EPAT Larkins building demolished,” Commissioner Beverly Perkins told city staff during the meeting, reflecting concerns she said she has repeatedly raised with the developer and staff. Multiple public speakers echoed that position and asked for guarantees that the center’s history and community functions will be preserved.

RocaPoint Partners and its consultants presented several ways the redevelopment could incorporate cultural preservation and new community programming. Phil Mays and Danielle Handy described options for a replacement or expanded facility on MLK Boulevard, including a larger, state-of-the-art EPAT Larkins that could house a sports hall of fame, a legacy wall and expanded multimedia and ballroom space. Handy said such additions would be “an important part of any successful redevelopment project.” Phil Mays described a conceptual replacement sized to allow a ballroom for 500 to 700 people and expanded meeting and multimedia space.

Staff also outlined program elements aimed at connecting the project to local residents and small businesses: a vocational-technical culinary and hospitality program, a college resource center for high-school students, an incubator in roughly 3,000 square feet now leased by the CRA, a job-placement consultant to link residents to construction and permanent jobs, and an incentive structure to encourage local contractor participation. Sibyl said the vocational-tech and college resource additions would increase costs by an estimated $6,000,000.

Community members at the meeting raised several overlapping concerns: displacement and rising taxes, the adequacy of outreach, homelessness and social services, school conditions in the Northwest, and whether workforce housing targets are sufficient to prevent resident displacement. Speaker Patricia Kind told the commission, “we have people living in their cars,” a point echoed by other social-service providers who said demand for food, clothing and shelter has increased. Stephen Martin, a resident and father, warned that past projects had resulted in longtime neighbors being priced out: “We watched it grow … and we watched other people come into our community and we lost our community,” he said.

RocaPoint offered a $500,000 community-benefits fund to be released on development milestones and proposed an across-the-board 1% construction incentive (capped at $2,000,000) to encourage participation by local contractors and small businesses. Staff said the CRA and city would pursue developer obligations in a first amendment to the master development agreement if the commission approves additional project elements.

The meeting produced no formal decision on EPAT Larkins. Commissioners and staff said they would bring draft legal documents describing any added obligations back to the commission for review before a final vote. Perkins urged staff and the developer to honor the Northwest community’s preference to retain and renovate the existing center where possible and to ensure that any new facility occupies a prominent location in the redevelopment.

Ending: The city scheduled additional public workshops and a May 14 date when commissioners could be asked to approve MDA amendments and financing documents that would include or exclude the additional project elements discussed May 7.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Pompano Beach - City Commission on 2025-04-07 6:00 PM - Special Joint Meeting of City and CRA - Apr 07, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Residents and their elected representative told the Pompano Beach City Commission and CRA May 7 that they do not want the EPAT Larkins community center demolished; developers and staff described replacement options and community programs but made no binding commitments at the meeting.","taxTitle","Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida","taxId",4289,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6611973,"Pompano Beach staff update commission on downtown master plan, City Hall relocation and financing options",3707,287045,3994323,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2892781-174d34cdcff8ef42b0c0964244b2b135&start=287&end=3994","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2892781-174d34cdcff8ef42b0c0964244b2b135/thumbnail_287045.jpg","/articles/6611973/Pompano-Beach/Broward-County/Florida/Pompano-Beach-staff-update-commission-on-downtown-master-plan-City-Hall-relocation-and-financing-options","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6611973-322042ca1ea86c1b6f935ade362fb6b4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770827147&Signature=TvwjreBVUNoRNPgQbN~3R~yfYA8YbpeG~-ruoGYI6Yvc8YL4nyHDkWl9U21hUjELNvf4ZsPfLSa~KjJ~ZVxsfJOo9BtlOZuW-aSmLleWZ9DaADyPQw6BM0yeHRtFb2AbPgyG6Fq1IxBK39XogHHKU8TI4DaVxyllB7xaMmdDW07cmFxiV1AWQZqFvlw4R0v8B-OXXnTyxN8rFNLkhR5jtUsWxYbkxZsnv8I-~PGZbUIXXJw5TtqlgopGeLu45OHAiO~9BXUP1g2O0WkusN-ieTfVjZCYAOXs24gZCmsfK-aVY1rnFk-czCdRf8QmQwJa9ubFBIkY~Vj5ti8LUHg6jw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — City staff, the Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and master developer RocaPoint Partners presented updates May 7 on the downtown redevelopment master plan, including recent property acquisitions, a revised site layout that places a proposed new City Hall on the eastern edge of the project, and preliminary financing options to pay for civic buildings.

Staff emphasized that the meeting was informational: “we're not requesting any approvals for any items we discuss this evening,” Assistant City Manager Suzette Sibyl said at the start of the session. RocaPoint and the city said they will return with any proposed amendments to the master development agreement for formal approval at a later date.

The update covered three main areas: land assembly and design changes, civic programming and procurement, and funding options. Nguyen Tran, who led the acquisitions presentation, said the CRA acquired 18 parcels in the past nine months and that the purchases were typically from “willing sellers.” Danielle Handy of RocaPoint described a reimagined master plan that she said would concentrate City Hall on the eastern side of the redevelopment to place the municipal building near the Northeast Transit Center and a planned commuter-rail station: “This entire redevelopment project … contemplates about 4,000,000 square feet of retail office, multifamily, and civic and government type uses,” Handy said.

Architects from HOK presented initial programming for a potential new City Hall and parking structure. HOK said its early target for the new administrative facility is about “16,288 gross square feet” based on stakeholder interviews and a 20-year staffing forecast. Building official Michael Rada said the current City Hall is about 34 years old, “it's really seen its useful life,” and cited roof leaks, storage shortages and FEMA vulnerability as drivers for replacement or major renovation.

Staff also summarized procurement and consultant work completed to date. Sibyl said the city issued four RFQs since the master development agreement was signed in June 2024, and that the city selected Keith Engineering for civil and survey work and HOK for City Hall and parking-deck design. Jonathan Ray of HOK described community engagement planned for April and May and said HOK expects a concept-level design by June.

On funding, staff presented two broad approaches discussed in prior negotiations: (1) a developer/tenant-lease model in which a private partner finances civic buildings and the city leases them; and (2) a city self-finance approach using certificates of participation (COPs). Sibyl summarized earlier estimates presented to the commission: the city’s planned civic program cost was cited around $111.5 million under a self-finance scenario; the prior developer-lease scenario had a higher long-term cost estimate because of financing assumptions. City staff said self-financing could lower the assumed financing rate and reduce the 30-year total payment from roughly $386 million under the private-lease assumption to about $224 million under public financing, an illustrative difference staff described as “savings of a hundred and 52,000,000 over 30 years.” Sibyl said the city will provide more detailed cash-flow and financing analysis at a workshop scheduled for April 24.

Staff also flagged program-level choices that would change costs: adding a vocational-technical/career training kitchen and college resource center is currently estimated at about $6,000,000 (including furnishings and equipment), Sibyl said. RocaPoint said it would set aside a $500,000 community-benefits fund tied to development milestones, with disbursement to schools and nonprofit partners when infrastructure and occupancy milestones are reached.

Next steps and public schedule: staff listed upcoming public engagement sessions and decision points, including a joint workshop on April 24 to review funding and an April 30 joint meeting to review community input; staff said any proposed first amendment to the master development agreement and related bond documents would be presented for approval at a May 14 meeting.

Discussion-only items in the presentation included design concepts, proposed additional project elements, and suggested developer incentives; the commission did not make formal decisions at the May 7 meeting.

Ending: Staff and the master developer emphasized further public meetings and workshops over the next several weeks. Sibyl said the goal is to bring any recommended MDA amendments and financing documents back for formal vote on May 14 after additional community engagement and a workshop to review financing in detail.","City staff, the CRA and master developer RocaPoint Partners updated the City Commission and CRA board May 7 on the downtown redevelopment master plan, recent property acquisitions and financing options; no approvals were requested at the meeting.","actionData","errors"]

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Northwest residents urge city to preserve EPAT Larkins Center; developers propose legacy, job and training elements

Pompano Beach staff update commission on downtown master plan, City Hall relocation and financing options