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Commission directs staff to negotiate 10‑year lease option for Benny's on the Beach with 5% biannual escalator
Summary
After public testimony and commissioner debate, the Lake Worth Beach City Commission directed staff to offer a 10‑year lease extension option for Benny's on the Beach (to reach a 30‑year cap) with a biannual 5% rent escalation and otherwise keep current terms, with staff returning with final negotiated language.
Dylan Lipton, representing Benny's on the Beach, asked the commission for a 10‑year extension to the restaurant's current lease, saying the business has made significant annual investments — "roughly $1,000,000 annually in maintenance, repairs, utilities, capital improvements, taxes, insurance, employee parking, and ongoing stewardship" of the pier facility. Lipton said a biannual 5% escalator would grow rent from roughly $500,000 annually to more than $630,000 by the end of the extension period.
Commissioners discussed differences between Benny's (a high‑revenue, tourism‑drawing tenant on the pier) and other city tenants such as the golf-course Beach Club. Several commissioners said a longer lease helps a tenant make capital investments in a vulnerable, ocean‑exposed structure; others warned against premature extensions that limit future commissions' options. After further public comment both for and against, the commission voted to direct staff to negotiate the 10‑year option with a 5% biannual escalation and to return with the negotiated agreement.
