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Neighbors and nonprofits urge CRA to transfer small Delray parcel to Shared Future Foundation
Summary
Dozens of residents, nonprofit partners, teachers and children urged the Delray Beach CRA to convey a 0.16-acre parcel at 29 SW 6th Avenue to the Shared Future Foundation to expand a community campus; speakers described programming, past philanthropic investments and proposed affordable-home deliverables.
Dozens of residents, nonprofit leaders, teachers and students spoke during the CRA public-comment period urging the agency to convey the small CRA-owned parcel at 29 SW 6th Avenue to the Shared Future Foundation to expand an adjacent community campus.
"Choose partnership, choose regeneration led by the people who call this place home," said Dr. Sarah Selznick, who identified herself as the founder of Shared Future Foundation and said the foundation has invested more than $2.28 million into the SET community and owns other nearby properties. She asked the board to "please say yes" to the proposal.
Speakers described the parcel (about 0.16 acres) as the missing quadrant of an existing campus that currently hosts a co-working space, community programs, a food-forest pilot and youth projects. Multiple nonprofit representatives, including Pablo Del Real, said the proposers had submitted a valid offer and were awaiting a response from the CRA. "There was an offer made on the property, so we're not really asking for you to give it to us. We're asking for you to sell it to Shared Future Foundation," Del Real said.
Procurement limitation: staff and the chair reminded the room that a cone of silence tied to the procurement process remains in effect. "The cone of silence is still in effect," a staff member said, explaining why the CRA had not publicly discussed the proposal; staff also told the audience to expect a response by Monday.
Why it matters: advocates described educational benefits for area children — multiple students and a fifth-grade teacher described hands-on outdoor learning, a "Legacy Farmers" youth program and partnerships with Florida Atlantic University — and argued the small parcel would secure long-term community programming and additional affordable housing deliverables the foundation proposed.
Next steps: staff said they would provide proposers with a response by the coming Monday. The CRA did not take an on-the-record sale or conveyance action during the meeting; the cone of silence and procurement rules mean the board could not discuss specifics publicly until the objection/response period expires.
