The Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board voted 3–1 to invite the top three proposers to present proposals for the disposition of a 2.2‑acre site at 1851 Broadway in the downtown core.

The motion to schedule presentations by the top three proposers — Forest Development, Frontier and Gideon Financial, and Kennco Communities — passed with Commissioners Davis Paneer, Vice Chair Mila Anderson and Commissioner Spiritis voting yes and Chair Lanier voting no.

The board heard from Jidel Murcias, executive director of the CRA, who described the disposition process and a timeline of solicitation steps, including receipt of an unsolicited proposal from Forest Development and evaluation activity that followed. He said the site is identified in the CRA redevelopment plan as a priority redevelopment opportunity.

Joe Goldstein, the CRA's procurement lawyer, told the board switching from an outright sale to a public‑private partnership (P3) would carry both procedural and substantive differences. "There is some risk that if you wanted to switch to a P3 ... you might have to start over to give P3 notice," Goldstein said, and that a P3 is typically "much more sophisticated" than an outright sale because it can affect financing and long‑term ownership structures.

Murcias told commissioners the solicitation process followed Florida Statute 163.380 for CRA land dispositions and that staff had convened an evaluation committee that scored and ranked five submissions, recommending Forest Development as the top ranked proposer. He said staff published the notice and extended the submission deadline once at the board's direction.

Commissioners debated whether to invite all five proposers or limit presentations to the top three. Several commissioners said community benefits would be a key consideration in choosing a developer and asked for the evaluation package and scoring breakdown. Murcias said staff would distribute the evaluation committee's rankings, proposals and scores to board members by the end of the week.

The board's motion directs staff to arrange presentations from the three top‑ranked proposers at a date to be determined; the board discussed whether to hold the presentations at a special meeting or at the next scheduled CRA meeting on Nov. 12.

Next steps: staff will schedule the presentations, send the evaluation materials to commissioners, and follow up with logistics for the presentations.