Planning board recommends approval for Marina Annex: 175-unit workforce housing, 15,000 sq ft community center

The Riviera Beach Planning and Zoning Board on Sept. 11 recommended that City Council approve a four‑part application from Marina Annex Housing LLC to redevelop a roughly 3.62‑acre site at 251 West 11th Street into a six‑story, 175‑unit workforce housing building with approximately 6,500 square feet of ground‑floor retail and a 15,000 square‑foot community center to be operated by the Alpha Educational Foundation.

Staff and the applicant told the board the project would change the site’s future land use from Community Facility (CF) to Downtown Mixed Use (DMU), rezone the property from Community Facility to Downtown Core (DC), grant a zoning text amendment to waive a building step‑back requirement for properties west of Avenue E, and approve a major site plan for the mixed‑use development. Principal planner Kurt Thompson asked the board to forward the items to council as four separate votes; the board voted unanimously on each application.

The project team said the site currently contains a vacant K–8 private school and several temporary structures used by community organizations. John Hurt, executive director of the Riviera Beach Housing Authority, said the authority transferred the surplus property from the city and partnered with private developers to deliver workforce housing. “This is a fine example of public‑private partnership,” Hurt said, adding the plan would provide housing, commercial space and a permanent community center where temporary facilities now operate.

Managing the entitlement process for the applicant, Jarell Harris said the development aims to serve working families and will include a mix of one‑, two‑ and three‑bedroom units. The proposal calls for 175 residential units, a landscaped civic open space, a swimming pool, and 218 on‑site parking spaces (including 9 ADA spaces). Thompson and the applicant stated the site plan also adds about 13 parking spaces on West 11th Street and 16 spaces on West Park Drive that will serve the development, yielding an effective total of 247 spaces accessible to the project.

The applicant team — identified in the record as Marina Annex Housing LLC, O'Connor Capital Partners and Urban Farmers Inc. — said the development will deliver about 250 construction jobs and roughly 30 permanent full‑time positions when complete. The applicant estimated approximately $1.2 million in city impact fees associated with the project. Architectural and engineering firms on the team included Architecture Farm, Architecture Design Collaborative, Calvin Giordano & Associates, WGI and CAM Consulting; Nucor Construction was listed as a building partner.

The proposed Alpha Educational Foundation community center would occupy about 15,000 square feet across three floors and include a commercial kitchen, a divisible multipurpose room, classroom and office space for local nonprofits. The applicant said existing perimeter fencing around the Boys & Girls Club on the site will remain and that a secured connection will allow supervised interaction between the club and the new center. The applicant also said the pool will be enclosed and limited to residents and their guests.

Staff recommended approval subject to 12 conditions read into the record, including: a 110% landscape performance bond; a two‑year landscape maintenance requirement; construction initiation within 18 months; authority for staff to approve administrative site amendments so long as changes do not exceed 15% of the approved plan; a five‑year deadline for certificates of occupancy; public‑art participation equal to 1% of vertical construction costs (with options to fulfill on‑site art, donation, or in‑lieu payment); transit shelter construction and maintenance paid by the developer; compliance with the city’s solid‑waste and special‑utilities requirements; and finalization of loading‑zone locations prior to building permit issuance.

Board members asked about management, safety and operations. The applicant and partners said the Riviera Beach Housing Authority will own the site and provide oversight; the project team confirmed O'Connor Capital and Urban Farmers will participate in ownership and management. Terry Booty of Urban Farmers said the ownership partnership will be the fiscal agent and manage ongoing operations. The housing authority confirmed it will handle lease‑up, ongoing management and will accept Section 8 vouchers for the development.

On process and zoning specifics, staff explained the requested text amendment would remove the step‑back requirement that applies to buildings taller than four stories for parcels located more than 500 linear feet west of Broadway/US‑1 or west of Avenue E so the site can support six stories of housing. Staff said the change would apply only to properties west of Avenue E and would not alter step‑back rules for buildings along Broadway.

The board made four separate motions and voted unanimously on each: approval of the future land‑use amendment (LU250001), approval of the rezoning (ZA250002), approval of the zoning text amendment to waive the step‑back (ZA250005), and approval of the site plan (SP250008) subject to the 12 conditions. Each roll call in the record shows Board Member Brown, Board Member Joseph, Board Member Gallen, Board Member Shepherd and Chair Wiley voting yes; no no‑votes, recusals or abstentions were recorded.

The planning board’s recommendation will be transmitted with staff’s findings and the conditions read on Sept. 11 for any subsequent City Council consideration required by local procedure. The project team and the housing authority said they will continue design and permitting work pending council action.