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CRA study finds parking and infrastructure would limit housing yields on Artists Alley and Federal Highway sites
Summary
Peacock Architects' due diligence review found that parking, building support spaces, FDOT/railroad adjacency, and lack of detailed surveys substantially limit theoretical housing yields on the Artists Alley and North Federal Highway parcels; commissioners raised cost and funding concerns and took no acquisition action.
Delray Beach CRA staff presented a Peacock Architects due-diligence study that evaluated redevelopment potential for the Artists Alley parcels (330–358 NE 4th Street) and two parcels on North Federal Highway (2400 and 2410 N. Federal Highway). The study produced high-level unit-yield scenarios but concluded practical yields were governed primarily by parking capacity and by unassessed constraints the architect did not evaluate at this stage.
"The analysis is an order-of-magnitude assessment to test regulatory feasibility and planning-level residential capacity," Christine (CRA staff presenting the study) said, explaining the study did not include a full traffic analysis, certified boundary/topographic surveys, or a financial feasibility model. Peacock’s conceptual exercise estimated parking supply and then derived theoretical unit counts: approximately 130–146 units for Artists Alley under certain parking assumptions and roughly 130 units for the Federal Highway scenario depending on parking estimates of 175–190 spaces.
Key constraints identified included required vehicular circulation and ADA-accessible parking, loading and service areas, solid-waste/recycling facilities, utility and mechanical rooms, elevator and stair cores, and setbacks tied to FDOT or adjacent railroad rights-of-way. The architect noted structural column spacing needed beneath buildings and the physical footprint required for building systems could substantially reduce parking efficiency and the practical unit count.
Renee Jadusingh, the CRA executive director, told commissioners that appraisals for the Artists Alley parcels came in around $19–20 million and that the property owner’s asking price could be north of $20 million — an acquisition level the CRA does not currently have budgeted. "Cost and the amount is a big consideration," she said, noting that incentivizing a buyer or developer would likely increase CRA expenditures.
Board reaction emphasized fiscal caution and parking practicality. Several commissioners said a purchase price near $20 million was not feasible given competing CRA priorities (including Pompey Park and other West Atlantic projects) and warned that the parking math — for example, 140–160 parking spaces for an estimated 130–146 units — did not appear to meet realistic demand.
No formal action to acquire either property was taken. Staff said the due-diligence packages are included as exhibits to the agenda item and recommended additional technical studies (traffic study, boundary/topographic surveys, and financial feasibility analyses) before any acquisition or incentive decisions.
Next steps: Staff suggested that if the board wished to pursue either property, further technical work and funding sources would be required; otherwise, the study provides a basis for future decision-making.
