Developer seeks feedback on 500‑unit mixed‑use project at 12th Street and Broadway

Sobo Company representatives on Feb. 12 asked the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency board for feedback on a proposed mixed‑use development at the corner of 12th Street and Broadway that would include residential towers and ground‑floor retail.

The proposal explained that the project would be roughly 500 units with about 10,000 square feet of retail and a central pedestrian courtyard and plaza tying the site to the Marina District across Broadway. Brian Terry of Insight Studio, the project planner and landscape architect, told the board the presentation was for feedback and “nothing you say tonight will bind the CRA.”

Why it matters: The site was previously the subject of a rezoning and site plan for a marine dealership; developers and some board members said a mixed‑use residential project could add substantially greater tax value and support the Marina District’s revitalization.

Details and timeline: Terry said the team envisions four connected buildings with a tiered profile—shorter frontage on U.S. 1 and taller elements stepping back toward Avenue E—with tower components reaching about 20 stories at the rear and lower components of roughly eight stories on the Broadway frontage. The team said unit counts and sizes are not final and that designs are evolving; they characterized the 500‑unit figure as a current target rather than a fixed number.

The developers discussed price expectations for ownership units and estimated a potential price range of about $790,000 to $1.3 million for some units, while saying final pricing would depend on market conditions when the project reaches the market. The team estimated a project scale “close to a $250 million” development and said projected impact fees at the scale discussed exceed $2.3 million; they also estimated eventual assessed value in the hundreds of millions ($550 million was cited as an end‑of‑project valuation in the presentation).

Board feedback and community remarks: Board members generally expressed support for bringing residential and retail uses to the west side of Broadway and for activating the corridor as a walkable downtown. Commissioners raised questions about parking, unit mix, phasing and timing; Terry said the team plans to submit applications to Development Services in March and anticipated staff review would take several months. He said construction could begin roughly 18 months after approvals, with phased development thereafter.

A nearby developer, Bob Sonnenblick of Sonnenblick Development, spoke during public comment and called the proposal “the kind of good neighbor” that would support larger investments across Broadway.

Next steps: Presenters said they will return with refined plans during the permitting and rezoning process. The CRA board did not take a binding vote on the concept; the presentation was explicitly a request for feedback.