We're going to call the meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency to order. Roll call, please. Chair Burns. Here. Vice Chair Markert. Here. Deputy Vice Chair Casale. Commissioner Carney. Here. And Commissioner Long. Here. Thank you. Can I get a motion for the approval of the agenda? And a second. I'll second it. Vice Chair Markert. Yes. Deputy Vice Chair Casale. Commissioner Carney. Yes. Commissioner Long. Yes. And Chair Burns. Yes. Okay, we are now at public comment, and you said that we have one. Okay, so let's get that one first, and then we'll call for the public. Good afternoon. My name is Reginald Cox, 715 MLK Drive, Delray Beach, Florida. I would like to thank Commissioner Tom Markert and also Commissioner Angel Burns, Commissioner Rod Long, and others who have been attending the transformation plan update process. It's been a long time coming. We have to thank you for your continued participation for the community. To that end, I strongly urge the board to select option C regarding the 800 block and cancel the RFQ or put it on hold and wait for the set transformation plan update process to be completed. Due to the site being contaminated for years, it may be best suited for a centrally located parking garage to relieve the anticipated future parking so that traffic burdens come into West Atlantic. This is, you know, as a result of the future cohesive development being planned. Due to the amount of vacant land as well as contiguous vacant land, we have an opportunity to let urban design and planning strategies, along with community input, make an intentional connection that complements east of Swinton and not take away from it. Always remember, delay doesn't mean to not. And we are closer than ever. And we all deserve to get it right. So, again, I urge the board to let the set transformation plan process play out. It's due to be completed in a finality by January. And we look at an opportunity, really, to make a strong connection with east of Swinton, with the opportunity that we have west of Swinton. Thank you so much. Okay. Thank you. The floor is now open for public comment from the public. Go ahead. Thanks. Tim Hernandez here today with Rick Castor. We understand, you know, you've issued an RFP for this year on West Atlantic for one block. Okay. We kind of think the way you're going about this is an unforced error. The overriding goals of any RFP and redevelopment in this area should be to help the community the most, be a catalyst for the redevelopment of the entire corridor, and surrounding neighborhood, and be an attractive gateway to the city. To accomplish this, we believe a master plan covering the 6, 7, and 800 blocks is smarter than a piecemeal, one-block-at-a-time approach. Master plan will allow for a more cohesive design, compatibility uses. Master plan will result in cost savings through shared infrastructure, such as parking, solid waste, utilities, drainage. Civil and landscape design costs will be reduced and better coordinated. Master plan will allow a picture of positive change and momentum to be painted, which will make it easier to attract higher-quality tenants. It will provide more flexibility in finding the best location for tenants and will create synergy. Master plan will make it easier to finance, reducing the number of lenders. Master plan will increase accountability. The city and tenants will have a single entity to deal with as inevitably issues arise. That single entity will have the ability to resolve those issues. Our development team, Rick and I, along with Brian at Azure, Delray-based, we've been building in the city for 25 years. Love the city. I think we've earned the respect of staff by doing what we say that we'll do. We have a track record of actually getting things built, many projects that we can point to over this period of time. In fact, Coda and Atlantic Grove, the only two developments with significant residential components, built west of Swinton in the last 40-plus years. Kaysan redevelopment by Azure is the third. So the latest example of how well master planning works is the development that Rick and I did in Pompano Beach on the Fishing Village site in their East CRA. That site has been beyond transformational in many ways, socially, economically, and in terms of changing the whole image and identity of that community. We sent you a plan for West Atlantic a few months ago, all of you. This plan, we think, has superior site design, architecture, high quality of public and private spaces, and is in scale with its surrounding. It's most importantly, unlike the last two efforts, it's practical and feasible. We can build it. In fact, we can build it. We can be under construction in less than 12 months. It's got a range of housing opportunities. It's close to employment and supportive of local businesses. Provides needed neighborhood services, grocery, health care, and finance, which have been long identified as the needs for that area. I have like 30 seconds? 30 seconds. Okay. Creates opportunities for neighborhood participation before, during, and after construction. Piecemeal approach will be slower. Results will likely be substandard. The project's been talked about for years. It's been over 20 years since Atlantic Grove broke ground. There's no need to wait any longer. Whether it's our group or another group, best chance of success is by awarding all three blocks to one developer, ideally one with a practical plan and a track record of performance in the city. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? I have Rick Castor with Azure. We've been doing master plan communities, I have, for 40 years. And there's no doubt about it that if the goal is not only to support the immediate neighborhood, but to act as a catalyst, a larger area, master planning the three blocks together is a no-brainer. You can ask Anthea, you have professional staff. A private developer would never do one-off because you're not going to create the dynamicism that you need really to make it have a fundamental impact. So to do a one-off, you're kind of just shooting yourself in the foot. I mean, we've put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into curating these projects to get the right mix of tenants in addition to a grocery store that we know is a priority, you know, financial services, health care, combining it in a series of one-, two-, and three-story buildings. This is going to create the link that you want, not only as the dual purpose. It's three purposes. One is obviously the immediate neighborhood and showing something that hasn't happened there in decades. But it's a gateway to the city, and it's a way to connect West Atlantic with the downtown. And I think that's what's fundamental because everybody drives down this road. They want to see it connected. They want to see one community. And the way to do that is by master planning this and allowing it to help support all the other development that could then occur. Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Sarah Selznick. I live at 1700 Northwest 2nd Ave, Delray Beach. I'm here on behalf of Shared Future Foundation, Village Academies, Legacy Farmers, and many community partners to introduce a proposal for 29 6th Avenue called Regenerating Roots. This project reimagines a vacant lot owned by the CRA on 6th Avenue as a green, cultural, and educational hub. Our fifth graders will be designing and planting an urban farm and developing a microbusiness from the goods that grow from it. These amazing kids working alongside the West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition, Village Academy, Soil and Soul, Pathways to Prosperity, and general landscaping will be building something that's both beautiful and beneficial. Over 60 native and fruit trees have been planted on 33 Southwest 6th Avenue, the neighboring lot. Currently, Shared Future Foundation owns three parcels surrounding this lot, and on those other lots is developing with the set community a non-profit co-working space called The Hive, a tea shop, bookstore, and retail space called Harvest House, an outdoor event venue, and also supporting Delray Community Missionary Baptist Church, our neighbor, to beautify their space and open it for additional community uses. Within a minute of meeting the legacy farmers for the first time, they asked, why can't we do that land too, referring to 29 Southwest 6th Ave. I shared we could explore that possibility together, and here we are tonight. A formal proposal has been submitted, and we are grateful to share our ideas with you. Our goal is to activate this site in a way that invests in the set's future, through native landscaping, food forests, outdoor classrooms, and pop-up spaces for community activation. It's development that uplifts, not displaces. We know the CRA is committed to affordable housing, and we share that goal. In fact, Shared Future Foundation is developing attainable homes and rentals on other sites we own. This parcel on the commercial corridor, we hope you agree, is best suited for community gathering and commercial activation. Regenerating Roots is more than a beautification project. It's a living demonstration of what's possible when residents, schools, and local organizations come together to invest in people and place. Thank you for your time and for considering this community-led proposal. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Dana Tate. I'm a resident at 114 Northwest 18th Street in Delray Beach. I'm also here as the 5th grade teacher at Village Academy and club sponsor for the Legacy Farmers Club. I've been a teacher at Village for the last nine years. Too many of our 5th and 8th grade students are falling behind in science, not because they lack ability, but because they lack opportunity. The numbers may be discouraging, but they don't reflect our children's potential. As you will see tonight, they are bright, curious, and full of promise. They just need learning that feels real, relevant, and alive. I'm so proud of them and proud to be their teacher. That's what Legacy Farmers offers. Hands-on, project-based learning rooted in science, culture, and community. Since launching, my 5th graders have thrown themselves into the work, writing essays in their free time, advocating for this project, and choosing to learn outside instead of behind screens. They're discovering that science isn't just something you study, it's something you live. Through project-based learning, students see that science isn't confined to books. It lives in their hands, their history, and their homes. They grow the same herbs and vegetables their ancestors once did, reconnecting culture and curiosity. When families come together to cook, plant, and celebrate, children realize that science is a part of who they are, a living legacy of resilience, wisdom, and joy. Expanding this project will let us grow even more, literally and figuratively. With more space, we can serve more students, extending the program from 5th grade through middle school, and the possibility of partnering with institutions like FAU to bring in college mentors, research collaborations, university-level STEM experiences right here in Delray Beach. This project is so much more than a garden or a food forest. It's an investment in Delray's youth, its families, and its cultural and environmental future. It aligns directly with the CRA's mission, building community wealth, revitalizing the set, and creating opportunity through education, sustainability, and local pride. Our students are proving that when they're trusted with responsibility, they rise to it. They're growing confidence, leadership, and vision, and now all they need is the space to keep going. Thank you. Good evening, Delray Beach commissioners and CRA board members. How are you today? My name is Nayika Vanell, and today I present to you why we need to acquire the property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, Delray Beach for the Legacy Farmers Club. As a member of the Legacy Farmers Club, I have learned just how amazing nature is. Many children and adults don't realize this. This piece of property will inspire people to want to plant a seed for our generations and generations to come. The Legacy Farmers need the property to show kids and adults how to grow plants, take care of nature, and even how important it is to keep our city and land healthy and clean. We are trying to make a safe, calm, and relaxing food forest for people and children to relax, explore, and learn. Next, we need the property because we are treating it like a landfill because people are treating it like a landfill or a garbage dump. We want to stop this and transformate this into a beautiful, colorful food forest. We want to show the community how the proper care of the land can benefit all of us. This experience should be something that all children and adults can experience. It has changed my perspective on animals, natures, and plants. I learned how nature provides us a lot of important things to everyone's life. For example, I never knew trees provided us oxygen, which is so important to our bodies. Being able to gain such knowledge will be an advantage to all children. Thank you for considering our request for the property. Thank you. Good evening, Commissioner and a CRA board member. My name is Jean, and I am a fifth grade student at Village Academy. I am a member of the Legacy Garden Club at my school. I am here tonight to ask your help to improve our community. We are here to ask that you give our group the property at 29 Southwest 60 owned by the CRA. We have some very exciting plans for this piece of property. We will plan to turn the property into a food forest and an urban farm. As the plant grows and produces food and herbs, my friends and I will start small businesses to use some of the things we grow to make products and sell them to our community. We also can plan to provide natural education to the adults and children in our community. First, our food forest and urban farm will give the community free food and we can sell healthier greener products. We can also help young children learn how to start and grow a small business. For example, I am hoping to make the delicious banana pudding grown by me for my friends and family. I know you want to have some. As I like to start my business, I can use what I learn when I become a teenager and adult. I also can share what I learn with other kids who have big dreams of their own. I know the CRA and Commissioner has plans to support small businesses in our community. We can help. Next, we can clean up the pollution and encourage others to do the same. We also can support native plants and animals. We also can beautify the neighborhood. We will clean up the pollution by picking up trash until it looks nice. When we clean it, the whole neighborhood might clean it up too and the whole community will look nice and be healthy. Plenty more trees will help native animals by giving them food and at home. Also, planting native plants will save water and clean out the air. As food forest and urban farmers are great, it's great for the neighborhood and the environment. Last, we can help and educate adults and children. We can help adults and children for their own properties to grow their own food. This will help them save gas and save money because they won't have to go to the store. We also can help adults and children increase their test score on their science test. This will help them learn about science from us like plant adaptation, pet structures, and healthy food. We can teach them how plants and animals work together. Thank you for your time. Bye. Thank you, Archie. Good evening, City Commissioners. Hi, my name is Kaylee Miller, and I am a member of the Legacy Gardeners Club at Village Academy. I am here today to ask permission to use the property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, Delray Beach, owned by the CRA. We are trying to create a food forest, and we are also trying to make an urban farm where people can come and get food from our forest. The Legacy Gardeners would like to change and clean up that dirty piece of land and bring it back to life. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we go to the hive and we plant stuff there and clean up the land because we want to turn it into a food forest. Last time I was there, my friend found a full dirty diaper in the bushes. We want the property to come alive, and because of that trash, it is killing plants and animal life and creating pollution and killing the beautiful grass and turning it ugly. Also, we want to educate both kids and adults. And a food forest is an edible forest that you can eat from. We are going to plant things like trees that produce fruit, bushes that produce fruit, like blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon, and trees like avocado trees. These trees will help the CRA's current project to plant more trees in a set. The food that we grow can be given out to people in the community. We are also planning to run workshops for children and adults on how to start food forest and gardens in their own yards to help them get free and healthy food all around by us kids. I hope you will consider giving us the land because the Legacy Farmers Garden Club we are starting this year will last for many years to come and hopefully grow. I want all kids to get the same experience I am getting in adults to learn more about the environment to make a greater place for me and my children to grow up. The Legacy Farmers Garden Club is a special place to me because I can learn how to plant different plants like avocados, blueberries, watermelon, banana trees, mango trees, and sugar apple trees. Lastly, P.S., I love going to the garden club because we can learn something new every day. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Samaya. I am a fifth grade student at Village Academy. I am a member of the Legacy Gardeners Club at my school. We ask for your help to improve our community. The Legacy Farmers Club was formed this year to make the property behind the hive a food forest and urban farm. We are called the Legacy Farmers because we hope to change the land behind the hive and have more kids after us to take care of it when we leave. With a new food forest, we can learn about science, how to make products from what we grow, and we can teach other kids and adults in our community too. The Legacy Farmers Club will help to teach children all about science, how to conduct scientific investigations, how to grow different plants and fruits, nutrients, and how to take care for animals and the nature around them. The food forest will also educate adults in our community. The students who are in this program plan to share what they have learned with everyone we know. We are inviting parents and community members to many different events to teach them all about the plants, animals, and environment we are a part of. Garden Club is not just a club where we can learn about gardening and having fun. It is about working together as a team to plant stuff and help people know what we know. Some things we learn at Garden Club are how to grow our own food, work as a team to get what we want, how to grow different types of plants, help the earth and nature around us, and lastly, to help us improve our science skills. Thank you for your time. Please feel free to visit our garden. Thank you. Evening, commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Claudia. I am a fifth grade student at Village Academy. I am a member of the Legacy Gardeners Club at my school. I am here tonight to ask for your help to improve my community. We are here to ask that you donate the property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, DeRay Beach, owned by CRA to our group. We want to acquire the land in order to grow edible plants, fruits, and vegetables. We want the garden to be colorful and full of life. We want to create a gift shop for people to buy what we grow. Also, we can make items out of what we grow and sell them to the community. This will help us to teach people and other kids how to start our own small businesses. I want to make a Haitian cooking seasoning called Ippies from the Plants We Grow. By changing the land to a food forest and an urban farm, we can explain and teach people about what we grow and why. The food forest will help us educate ourselves and lots of other kids and adults. As a member of the Garden Club, it is the best club because we are learning how to grow fruits and vegetables. This is why having that piece is so important to us. During Garden Club, I get to learn about all the different ways to grow plants, vegetables, and fruits. I hope one day this property is a place where I can bring my family. By having this property, the club can host community events such as Family Cooking Night, Family Harvest Night, Garden Art Night, Family Showcase of Learning, Taste Test Night, Music in the Garden, and Planting Day. Thank you for listening to all the reasons why the donation of this property to the Garden Club would be great for our community. Thank you. Good evening, Commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Orion Adams, and I'm a fifth grade student at Village Academy. We are here to ask that you can give our property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, Denver Beach, owned by the CRA. The Legacy Farmers Project is about changing two vacant lots into a food forest and urban farm for our neighborhood. We are growing to be farmers, and we will plan to educate ourselves about growing a lot of plants and maybe even raising chickens to make more food and more healthy veggies and help the community. We can help everyone in our community, including ourselves and our families. During our project, we plan to grow plants and learn from different people how to make different natural products like tea, soap, salsa, and spices. By learning how to do this, I can learn how to start a business to make more money as I grow older. Someone has to put me through college. Our urban farm will help our community and the environment. We can help save native plants and animals, all while getting cleaner air and trash-free space to play and learn. The Garden Club is so important to me and my school because I like to be outside with my friends, learning how to make new things, taste new foods, and how to clean up my community. We can grow on field trips, and I can be excited to make all kinds of merchandise to sell and learn with my friends how to start a business. I also think it's important to have beautiful, clean, and natural spaces for me to play with my friends. Everyone should care about our earth, and I want to teach others how to make their properties as cool as ours will be. Thank you. Good evening, City Commissioners. My name is Giovanni Sanen, and I am a student at Village Academy. I am a member of the Legacy Gardening Club at my school. I am here tonight to ask you for your help to improve the community. We are here to ask to give our group the property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, Delray Beach, owned by the CRA. The Legacy Gardening Club would like to upgrade the land by making a food forest. Let me tell you what it is. A food forest is a place where trees and shrubs and plants produce food that is edible. They also create a space for welcoming wildlife. It provides a space where kids can come and learn about plants in a safe environment. Also, students can try new fruits and vegetables. So far, we have learned how to germinate and plant many types of herbs and vegetables. I have learned about the Florida ecosystems and why it is important to plant trees, plants that are adapted to the environment. Please consider giving us the property. I love coming to Gardening Club because it helps me learn about the plants, and it is fun to know about things that I ignored about the plants adaptations. Learning more about the plants makes me feel like I'm growing with them every single second and every week and every single year. I want to be able to keep coming to Gardening Club as I grow through middle school and high school and give other kids and adults the same experience. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Aiden, and I am a fifth-grade student at Village Academy. I am a member of the Legacy Farmers Club at my school. We are here to ask you that you give our group the property at 29 Southwest 6th Avenue, Delray Beach, owned by the CRA. We plan to change the land into a food forest, learning space, and urban farm. A food forest is an awesome forest of fruit trees you can eat. Our urban farm and food forest will be helpful for the environment of Delray Beach. For example, we are going to clean up the property where people have been dumping their garbage and that is full of weed and dead grass. After we clean it up, we are going to plant a food forest that will give people who need it in the community free food. Some plants that we must grow are mango trees, avocado trees, guava trees, dragon fruit trees, and bushes like blueberries, and plants like strawberries, all the good things to eat. We will welcome everyone and bring a smile to the face of our community. This area will also support the native wildfire by giving them a place to live. We will help to add more trees to set the neighborhood. We want to expand the Legacy Farmer Club into the next piece of land because we will be able to grow more food for the community. When it is finished, it will be beautiful and give me, my family, and the community delicious food. So far, I have learned how to grow stuff and to work together and to help people. We are working our hardest to grow this urban farm and food forest. We even sold some of our plants at a market. When we sell fruit and vegetables and other gifts, we will use that money to make more fruit, vegetables, and flowers. And we can keep the business going. Thank you for your time. Bye. Thank you. Good evening, commissioners and CRA board members. My name is LaShonda. I am a part of the fifth grade club asking for your property. We are going to turn that land at the hive into a food forest, urban farm, start our own small businesses, and educate ourselves so we can start a nature education program led by kids for other kids and adults. At our farm and forest, kids and adults can learn science and nature. Children will learn how to grow their own food and all about native gardens. We will also give free food and plants to our community. For example, if a kid is so hungry and he thinks, what am I going to eat today? Oh, I know what I'm going to do. I will go to the hive down the street and get healthy food there. Adults will have different activities, like family cook night, where families cook with us and use our produce. We can teach the adults. We can also let tours of our food forest, too. The legacy of our club reminds me of my great-great-grandmother. She loves being in nature. And when I am in the garden, I feel like she is right by me all the times. I have learned a lot in our club. I have learned all about plants and seeds. I also tried two different types of avocados and sold plants at the market. We made $200. Kids and adults will make friends at the hive while they are working together, learning together. We will have an amazing time together, and we will make the city of Derry Beach a better place. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Good night. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening, city commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Kendra. I am a fifth-grade legacy farmer at Village Academy. Tonight, I am here to ask you for your land. As all my friends said, we have big dreams for your property. Right now, people think that your property is a junkyard. It is not a dumping yard. If we keep the property as a dumping yard, the environment will become a waste to the community. If the land was a food forest, the land would be beautiful and useful. Other people would learn about it and admire it, and wants to do the same to their yards. If the environment will be healthy, it also feels good to be in nature. It helps me feel better, and it helps me calm down and feels like I'm in a safe space. I have been in the legacy farmer since September. I have learned how much water trees need, different things you can make with plants, and how important plants and animals have to have a healthy environment. Imagine how much more we can learn and teach others in our community if we grow our forests in both lots. Goodbye. Goodbye. Good evening, commissioners and CRA board members. My name is Henry, and I am a fifth-grade student at Village Academy. I also live in the Delray Beach community. I am a member of the Legacy Gardeners Club at my school with my partners. I am here tonight to ask you for your help to improve our community and to ask that you give the land next to the hive to us. Our club was formed this year to transform the space behind the hive into a food forest and urban form for our community. We hope to learn to grow our own food, use the plants we grow to start small businesses and sell products made from what we grow, and educate ourselves and others to improve the environment by growing their own food forest on their properties. A food forest is a place where you grow many types of edible plants. For example, we could grow fruits like fruit trees such as mango, jackfruit, and oranges. We could grow bushes such as blueberries and plants like strawberries. Right now, we have already planted banana trees, a mango tree, and a sugar can plant. Just think of how much food we can grow if we had more land. The food we produce not only provides food for the community, our urban farm or food forest will be better for their environment. We can plant more trees to increase food supply and create less competition for native animals. We can also help the CRA with their project to increase the number of trees in the area. More trees means more shade, cleaner air, and a beautiful community. Changing the land to a food forest will also decrease pollution. The trees can make the air cleaner to decrease air pollution. Lastly, the Legacy Farmers Club will help educate both kids and adults to grow and to connect to the environment around them. The city should care because some people want to grow a garden in their backyard, but they cannot. Also, some kids like to garden, and when they try to make a plant, it doesn't even germinate. We can help them by selling gardening kits, but adults like to garden too, so we can sell plants and send people home with a guy to take care of them. Finally, we can sell our produce and spend money on our garden to make it more beautiful and better for the environment. Sincerely, Hennedy. Thank you. Yes. I want to thank all of the members of the Garden Club for coming to share your ideas and your essays. You took me back to the classroom. Thank you. You did a great job. Thank you. Madam Chair, if I might, just for purposes of clarification, I'm sure the Board's aware of it for the benefit of the public. In light of the fact that this is an unsolicited proposal, the coding of silence is in effect, so you cannot talk about the item this evening. Okay. Thank you. But we can request that it go on the agenda for a future meeting. Yes, ma'am, but we'll have to consider that administratively. Okay. And then, thank you. Thank you. Montre Bennett, 323 Northwest 2nd Avenue. Good evening. This is preserving. This is legacy. This is the right thing to do. Speak, children. Whitney Houston once said, I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them the beauty that they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. This is their call, and they know what's happening presently, and this would be a lasting impact on their future. I support these students in the ask of giving this land, not to only flourish the land, but to flourish them as beings. Legacy. Leaders engaged, growing, agricultural currency in their young, bright minds. Green space is needed. Yes, in order for wealth to be spread, each block needs to be built individually. I would like to know, what does this request for qualifications cover? Is it granting access to do this project? Is it giving this person the access to do the project on Northwest 8th Avenue? Or are we just wasting our time to see who is qualified to build the project? And are we going to go back out and do a whole process to grant this project to be done? Because at one point, I know we did not want containers. And I know we talked about doing a modular project. But again, in a set transformation plan, this whole project was never to be on Atlanta Avenue at all. And I'm complete. Thank you. Thank you. Sure. Jamal D. Weatherspoon, 28 Southwest 13th Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida. Greetings to the dais. Salutes all who thought it not a waste of your time to make time to be here today. With regard to this project, one, salute to all of the organizations who got their things together to put their name in the hat, so to speak, with regard to this construction project. With that being said, number one, we absolutely, and I say we because while Atlantic has historically been split, there is but one Atlantic in the same way that there is but one Delray Beach. With that being said, I think it does beg the question with this development project, is it development with regards to infrastructure and or development with regards to the people that surround it? I will not profess to be someone who gets in the way of progress. With that being said, we have to consider civic design with a soul. And so in what ways outside of structure are we really going to get the best return on our investment with regard to our people, right? One year of prosperity, plant rice. 30 years of prosperity, plant trees. 100 years of prosperity, invest in people. So any proposal, whether we decide to move forward with what it is that we are currently doing or we decide to throw it all away and start from scratch, if there is not a hard line, not just design, but signed, sealed, and delivered commitment to accountability and responsibility for the environment, meaning the community, but also, yes, the environment that these structures inhabit, what is it but another empty shell that will add to the list of revolving door businesses that has been a long Atlantic that I've seen for the last 36 years? It's not a question. It's not a comment. Just food for thought. Thank you. Thank you. Members of the CRA, my name is Clint Oster, and I'm here to speak about the property at 29 6th Avenue. And as the owner of General Landscape, I'm here to express my full support for the Shared Future Foundation Regenerating Roots project on Historic Fifth Avenue. My company has proudly served Delray Beach for over three decades, and I share the vision of transforming the vacant, underused space into thriving, sustainable landscapes that reflect the beauty and resilience of the set. The Regenerating Roots initiative offers a unique opportunity to combine community development, environmental stewardship, and education in one impactful project. General Landscaping is committed to support the general ongoing maintenance of the site to ensure it remains a vibrant and well-cared-for community asset. In addition, we will teach students and residents about native plants, food forests, and regenerative landscape practices, helping to build both environmental knowledge and local capacity. I commend the Shared Future Foundation and its partners for leading a model of development that connects people to the land and legacy, and I look forward to contributing to the long-term success of this community and Delray Beach. Thank you very much. Thank you. Hey, good evening. My name is Pablo Del Real with Soil and Sol. We share office space at 34 Southwest Fifth Avenue, part of the campus in question here, which is adjacent to 29 Southwest Sixth Avenue. I'd like to share a little bit about the history of, the recent history of green space in Delray Beach since 2010 or so as a modern kind of era of this, and I've been involved in it from about that time, so almost 15 years. Soil and Sol incubated the Delray Beach Children's Garden. That was our project for five years. It's still running and thriving. The Delray Beach Children's Garden had 18,000 visits last year. So when we're talking about green space, we're not talking about solely generating some produce. We're talking about a destination, and we know Delray is a destination for many activities, but since 2015, it's been a destination for children and nature at the Delray Beach Children's Garden. Soil and Sol also pioneered the tree giveaways back in 2012 as part of our development of Frog Alley Community Garden. We ran that garden for five years and returned the property to the owner, Iris Jones. So we've been around this space, and what we're looking at here today is something very unique. You're looking at permanent green space because the spaces that I've mentioned were all on leased land. So it's like sleeping on the couch. We're not doing that over here. A local family foundation has sunk a million dollars into the campus. And in that history that I've given you, those 10 years, 15 years, I can't recall any significant contribution from the city of Delray Beach or the CRA, unfortunately. You have a chance to do something different here. So I'm going to invite your attention just to three highlights here, vision, wisdom, and childhood. The very first public park built in the United States was Central Park in New York City. And it took vision from the commissioners at that time in 1850 to say, we're going to carve out some space for people to be well, and we're going to pay for it. 800 acres, Central Park, New York City. That's vision. Wisdom, the average annual temperature is going up every year. That's not going to change unless something else changes. These children are working on something that might mitigate the increasing average global temperature every year. Finally, childhood. Childhood is changing. It's been a massive experiment. It hasn't gone well the last 12 years with the screens. So this gives the children the chance to be children. So please support this request. Thank you. My name is Chuck Whitley. I reside at 210 Northwest 2nd Avenue. And the young people that I saw, it is really easy to confuse them as children. Yeah, they are. But they're also leaders, not leaders of the future. They are leading right now in this moment in time. It was in the fifth grade that I got my first chance to come speak to what was then a city council. Now, I don't remember the day. I do remember the year. It was 1968. I do remember. Yeah, that's when dinosaurs were. It was 1968. And it was a few weeks after the assassination of Dr. King. It was a Delta named Miss Athlon Brunford that brought her fifth grade class. And out of that fifth grade class, many of the people that are now very active as community leaders came. And so young people, Village Academy was built so that you could use that voice. I don't know if you're going to ever get them to agree with your ideas, but know that the power of the people is stronger than the people in power. Cultivate your voice. Utilize your voice to make change. You understand things that we will never see. Like, I got a phone that I can only call people on. You know how to do things that this group of wonderful people will never understand. So I want you to stand proud in your agency. I could not be more proud than to see you walk and have the conversation you just had with this body, but don't make this your last time. And in the words of the revolutionists, you want to give a shout, and that shout is, boom shakalaka. Thank you. I'm sorry. Yvonne. 3905 Lawson Boulevard. Chuck just made me do the same thing with these kids. You know, I spent all my life in this city teaching kids just like this. But it brought me back to my childhood. Eighth grade, Carolyn Sims had a contest for Miss Teen Town, and I recited the Gettysburg Address. And the rest is history. I won Miss Teen Town, and here I am. Those of you who are working with these adults know that you're doing the right thing. I had a college professor say, we might get here by accident, but we don't grow up by accident. So I just want to say I'm thrilled. Chuck, you made me remind when you said about fifth grade. I thought about my eighth grade, and the late Carolyn Sims, who poured into the young people in Boynton at the time, and Delray, and it brought back memories for me. So continue working, and I hope y'all do what these kids ask. Thank you very much. Thank you. No other public comment? Public comment, close. All right. We are motion to approve the consent agenda. Can I get a second? Second. Deputy Vice Chair Casale? Yes. Commissioner Carney? Yes. Commissioner Long? Yes. Chair Burns? Yes. And Vice Chair Margaret? Yes. Okay. We will, let me just pause a minute until the movement stops, and then we will move on. Okay. We are at Old Business. Renee? Yes. Evening, everyone. So the first item we have is the Redevelopment Advisory Committee follow-up. I was going to defer, but you know what? I want to select one of the two who served us previously. Maybe you can help. I didn't, I wasn't able to speak to them. So to serve previously, what are the sub-areas that they're coming from? I'd like to pull from a sub-area that to try and make it as even as possible in the sub-areas. So the individuals that served before, actually they've, three of them have submitted, and they're one, each of them from a different sub-area. So it's the first one, Miss Angela Hill. So sub-area four. Sub-area four, and then Christina Lebrevich, sub-area seven, and then Lucica Suarez, sub-area eight. And how many do we have in the various sub-areas? Do you have the map up? In other words, if we have none in seven, I would pick from seven. If we have one in two, I want to pick from an area, so we try to make it as even. So we only have submissions from sub-areas four, seven, and eight. So we're only selecting three people. But is it the current makeup right now? We don't have any. We have none. Right, it's nothing. Because we wanted one from each sub-area, so it's almost like resetting, which we'll do, I guess, every year. So this is a completely fresh slate. Okay. I guess I'll pick Miss Lebrevich. Lebrevich, okay. Yeah, thank you. So Renee, were you finished? Well, I was just going to kind of go through just that, just that here's the information of the individuals who submitted. And the appointments are Casal, Burns, and Carney. So we can go, based on who was appointed at the appointments from the last time we did this. So we can go straight there. That's fine. Mayor, are you? That's fine. Yeah, I mean, they've only served one year. Right. Right, so far. I mean, I really do think we should give at least two years into, you know, the opportunity to serve two years. So I'm going to appoint Angela Hill, who's currently on there, correct? Yes. Well, she was, yes. She served on this last year, correct? Right, so she'd be, so this would give her a second year. Yes, reappointed, yes, for another year, yes. So that would be my, my suggestion. Okay. And then I will, nominate Lysica Suarez. All right. Okay. Perfect. That was easy. So same, same three. So they'll serve another year. We said that they can do two two-year terms. Yeah, we had this discussion, remember, we said, let's do it for a year. So we were going to do it, thinking about doing it for two years. They said, let's, let's try them out for a year. Yes. We've done a good job working together. Yes. Initially, it was two years. We had the longer term, and then we had the one year of let's see how this goes. So this will give them another year, and then they can come back and be requested to be appointed again for another two years. Okay. All right. Thank you. Pardon me. I have to depart. The student I'm hosting is pulling in to Trinity right now. Well, you have to leave. I have to leave. I have to depart. Just checking. I'm just sitting funeral people on there. No. Bye. Thank you so much. Bye. All right. Thank you. And the second part of this item is discussing the assignments for the upcoming year. So our first meeting is in November. So I just wanted to know your thoughts on assignments for them. If you recall, this last year, 24, fifth year of 24-25, we had them discussing West Atlantic Corridor, also reviewing the conceptual plan that we had created for the six, seven, and 800 blocks of West Atlantic Avenue. So just wanted to get input. I thought that we had some idea at the last meeting, but I'm not really I can't recall what it was. Commissioner Long, you have any thoughts? I mean, these are still sort of the main issues at hand. I recall if we'd come up with any other issues. What did we come up with last time? We didn't say anything new. So one thing we could suggest is, you know, we just purchased that property in Osceola Park, 235 Southeast 2nd. So if you wanted to add that as a discussion point. Yes. So I think yes. So we can add that as the first topic for them to talk about. And then we can adjust it because I think we had our meeting schedule here. Yes. So we have our first meeting coming up on the 13th of November. So what we could do is start them off on that. If we want to add something else, we can do that in the meantime and then let them know in January. Is that the property that was owned by Mr. Thomas? Yes. That was the item that I was trying to recall. Okay, thank you. So that'll basically take them into Osceola Park because we were in the set West Atlantic neighborhood. So now this will take them over to Osceola. So we could do that and start and then see where we are in a couple of months. Okay. That works. All right. Works for me. Got it. Thank you. Thank you. And Renee, you're still on. Still on. Yes. Okay. So the next is the request for qualifications for CRA number 2025-01 Northwest 800 Block West Atlantic Ave Progressive Design Build Project. So I will have Christine start off with the background of this item and then jump in towards the end. All right. Thank you. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Christine Tibbs, Assistant Director. So if you may recall, the purpose of this redevelopment project is to activate the CRA-owned plots within the Northwest 800 Block of West Atlantic Avenue with the goal of creating a unique commercial development, commercial environment within the CRA District and the City of Delray Beach. The RFQ was issued on January 30th, 2025 with the purpose of seeking proposals from qualified proposers to provide information, qualifications, experience, and the proposed project approach for consideration to provide the necessary full-scale design-build services to the CRA. The RFQ, oops, go back one. The RFQ, this is a brief overview of what the RFQ entailed and the scope of services up on the screen right now. Thank you. So it would be broken down into two distinct phases with phase one encompassing pre-construction and design, and then with the successful negotiation of a GMP, would then go into the construction phase. So it does have full-scale architecture, project management services, project cost development, and then phase two with construction and construction management services. The proposal due date was March 18th, 2025, and three proposers submitted timely. Then on June 12th, 2025, the evaluation committee met and then evaluated the proposers based on the requirements and the criteria listed on the screen. And then you'll also see the breakdown of the scoring for the three proposers, DMR Construction Services, Hatcher Construction and Development, Waypoint Contracting Incorporated. The scores are out of 300 and in front of you is the breakdown of the scores so that you can have a closer review as well. So this was initially brought to you on the August 28th, 2025, CRA board meeting. At that time, the CRA board decided to go forth and request oral presentations from the three proposers. And then on August 7th, 2025, a CRA board workshop occurred and you all were presented with the three presentations from the three proposers. And at that time, we also said that the tabled item from August 28th would be brought back before you for consideration on October 28th, which is where we are right now. Okay, thank you. So here are the three options per the RFQ. The board has the following options to accept the Evaluation Committee scores and award Progressive Design Build agreement to the highest scoring proposer. Second option is to reject the Evaluation Committee scores, select the proposer that the CRA board believes will serve the CRA's best interest and award the Progressive Design Build to the selected proposer. Or three, to cancel the RFQ at this time and or reject all submitted proposals and or direct CRA staff to reissue the RFQ. Okay. To the board, you have, yes. Well, I would have liked these grades a little earlier. It's hard for me to look at this and give and say, oh, I want to go this way or that way or any which way. And I hate to be, I mean, I'm already on record of thinking, I really got my real doubts about this project to start with. But I certainly want to have an opportunity to understand these results better than just being given them now and then having to say, well, I either have to accept or reject. I don't know if I want to accept or reject because I haven't really read the results yet. So that's just, I mean, I hate to put things off because I don't like putting things off in this project. We know this needs to get, something needs to get done, whether it's this project or another project. It's just, I mean, whatever the board wants to do, I'm fine with. I'm just, that's my initial thought because I haven't had time to look at all these and figure out whether I agree or disagree with the analysis of it. That's where I am. Commissioner Marford? I feel the same way and the scores are very tight as well. I mean, there's not like a huge disparity. So I agree with Mr. Carney. I'd like to figure out a way that we could get a little deeper into it and just get a little more detail so we could make a more intelligent decision. Commissioner Long? You know, this is dicey. The way that we're, you know, this is how the process works. I'm not saying this is meant to indict anyone on the way we've been presented the information. I know there's been some headwinds with this and pushback from the community but this has been a long process and a long time coming and I know some of the issues were based on, you know, these being like shipping containers and having that kind of look but, you know, we saw these presentations and it did seem like now we're moving towards more modular design which I had sort of hoped would assuage some of those concerns in the community and, you know, I have to go based on the presentation that I saw and remembering that I'm kind of leaning towards the DMR project because that to me was a vision that that was the, in my opinion, the best executed vision for the community and it did feel like more modular project that didn't look like just like shipping containers which I think has led to a lot of the pushback from the community but I will say I think all three presentations were excellent. I think all three offered unique vision for the community that could certainly work and so I'm not going to complain regardless of who ends up getting selected here and I don't really know where to go from here or how to do it but I will say just based on the presentations that we saw that's the direction I would lean but again these are very tight for a reason this is a game of inches I think all three are really excellent and frankly I don't really want to drag our feet on this anymore it's been a long time and I'd like to see us moving forward on this in some capacity whatever that looks like okay I'm kind of in this same boat as Commissioner Market and the mayor here because I just would like to understand the scoring a little better and you know now that we have these numbers in front of us I can have some time to do that so I'm looking at the three choices that we have is either accept reject or cancel yes and so with three of us wanting to have more time to look at this are we looking at canceling or are we looking at rejecting there's option D which is postponing to the next meeting until such time as we've had things to review right we can table it so we can table the item so I actually sent there's a one drive folder that I sent out to everyone on October 6 that had all the files in there so I can resend that or maybe try to do it as attachments the files are so large that we can't attach it to the email so we sent this you know several weeks ago but we can postpone this our next meeting would be in November I think we have to move it but it'll be in November so if you want to we can table it again because we had tabled this prior bless you we can table it after that but I just think one extra month I'm just getting a better sense of what's for me and she said it works for me yes okay thank you so the consensus is to postpone yes we need a motion motion to table would be appropriate please I move to a table to the next meeting second Commissioner Carney yes Commissioner Long yes Chair Burns yes Vice Chair Markert yes and Deputy Vice Chair Casale and so we we're going to vote yes for her there is no new business with a speech I'm going to give her you know and so other business Renee yes thank you well the first thing I wanted to ask about I was listening to the City Commission meetings I know you amended the your rules for public comment to remove addresses so I wanted to know if you wanted us to look at that as well for ours because we have that in our bylaws and we typically follow what the City is doing so I just wanted to ask about that well I would say that if we typically follow the City that we should continue to do that way I feel strongly that we should do that I just think safety reasons alone okay so on the next agenda we'll have the bylaws updated to remove the address from our public comment request all right thank you and a couple other things so we had the Florida Redevelopment Association Conference huge success this was actually the highest registration I think we were up to like 550 down in Palm Beach County so we're very excited to have that as president this year so it was a great thing to highlight that during that term we had the highest registration and thank you Chair Burns for attending and I had a great time at that conference so thank you and to our staff we brought our whole staff there it was a really really well attended conference and a lot of positive responses was highest because Renee was hosting well she was you know oh yes oh yes we were so well represented the new president and she was hosting so yes we intentionally wanted to bring it down here when I was as president and people were kind of hesitant because of the costs are higher in South Florida but highest attendance highest registration so I think it all washed out it was a success that's great and next we have the Arts Warehouse Sparket on November 15th coming up from 10 to 3 p.m. and upcoming board meetings so this is something I wanted to ask about if you all are okay with rescheduling our November meeting to November 20th at 4 o'clock the city has a meeting that ends at 4.30 on the 19th so I think we reached out to some and got some responses but I just wanted to bring it up here and for the public as well we can get it from you later I just wanted to mention that but there is a conflict definitely on the 19th so we will have to move the meeting okay and then we'll have those tabled items and all these other things that we discussed before at that meeting on November 20th and that's it thank you okay thank you so comments by the board attorney I left my powerpoint presentation at home damn next meeting we can wait for you to go get it Rob's got plenty yeah we'll kill some time in the middle of anything nothing to report madam chair thank you thank you comments by the board mayor I have no comments okay it was wonderful seeing the kids I mean I really truly I paid attention to everything that they said and I'm going to give you a test no I'm just look I am the legacy garden group is ingrained in my fleshy portion of my heart and ear but no I think it's so great that they come up and do it and it's important that they that they participate it's just you know civic you always hear me talking about civic engagement that's civic engagement in its purest form and I think that's great that's all I want to say well I had the opportunity of going to Village Academy and speaking to that fifth grade group and the rest of their classmates about what we do up here so it was great to see them to come and see it in the flesh Commissioner Long comments yeah just just to reiterate how inspiring it was to see those those young members of the Legacy Gardeners Club come in and it really made it a special meeting I think it kind of is a callback to the legacy of community engagement in Delray Beach it was great hearing from Chuck and Yvonne Odom and that was just really special you know it is inspiring when you think about kids these days it's always like oh let us look at their screens and you hear all these kids coming and talking about gardening and engaging with the community it's pretty unbelievable so that was that was really really cool I won't say anything else about it because I know we can't talk about it but so anyway another another quick thing did we ever hear back from the school district on the I know we sent a letter to see if there was any interest in that property yes I was actually going to send an email to you all but I could just share now so yes they're the property is still there they would want a praised value which is what they wanted before great so if that's something of interest I'm going to send an email because I also wanted to look into the zoning because it's single family around so I don't know how that would work so I was actually going to ask development services and then email everyone so I can do that before the next board meeting but the last appraisal was for 18.4 million well that's promising it's the first time we've gotten a well they wanted it yeah they wanted the appraised value I think there may have been opportunities to negotiate in prior years but I think the direction that they're looking at now is they would want appraised okay so you know along those lines and I keep seeing other of our neighboring CRAs you know making some pretty large efforts in spending some funds to acquire or to sell land rather to acquire land for affordable housing I'd love to still revisit the idea the idea of analyzing that property on artist alley to see if the seller is maybe willing to go with the lower number since now we're maybe going to consider appraising something in the 18 range maybe that seller is willing to come down to something closer in that range maybe there's some opportunities for partnership there I just think that maybe it's worth revisiting just doing an analysis of it again I'll probably be long gone by the time you guys get anything actionable back I would just love since we're analyzing this property for affordable housing I'd love to see us kind of considering that option as well and then you have several different things to analyze maybe the price points are similar and maybe there's something actionable that we can do there again I just see a lot of communities around us that are making some headway on this affordable housing issue and I'd like to see us really just considering all options at this point is that something that we could get consensus to just take a look at you guys willing to what is an analysis required what does that entail do you want me to just ask him if he's willing to go lower than appraised I think speaking with the property owner and then if there's a reasonable rate there maybe just analyzing sort of what sort of density could be accomplished there how many units actually we didn't know what they could build there that was the issue we didn't know we were looking at price per unit and we never really got to that point and I think that's critical because there are density bonuses against the railroad tracks that you get exactly I mean there's live local as sort of an option there too but like I'd love to just see what the options are there you know maybe maybe it doesn't work knowing options never hurt anything that's how I see it so why don't we put this on the agenda to talk about it because we might have to hire a consultant to do that and just if we need to spend a little bit of money we have continuing consultants on contract so if we want to put it on as an agenda item so that everyone's here to talk about it and then we can look at Plamosa we weren't planning to reappraise or do anything with it I was going to just email everyone and see Plamosa is the 10 acres so that's why the numbers depending on what you could do there it's a substantial amount of land so so have we been I mean we have so we have the school board property which I think is a great I mean again I don't know what you can build there in a single I mean that's going to that's not fortunately that's going to be we've got to figure that out too they got this one is there any others that have come to us with saying we have an idea for for you know moderate income housing and that we don't know the at the time we were discussing the artist alley whether there were other parcels the one on federal I think that Cassell brought up so but there was one of my brain Brian Rosen had a property oh yeah that one yeah Brian Rosen had one he talked about south of Atlantic also I think on the railroad he has the squad yes that was over 20 million as well there's three kind of projects out there that's probably what you're right you know I'm not choosing I mean I don't know which one options are if I had the money I'd do you know everything but I mean me too just since we opened we kind of reopened the door I think it's time that we kind of look at yeah I think the Swan property is a good call so our Sally Pomosa and I just remember the discussion that one's already entitled I think yeah I think at the time we were discussing buying these or these high number lots they sent an email just saying hey well if you're considering it throw us in too because we have yeah that's what I remember they have right but it was a tail line when we kind of stopped that conversation so we can bring all three so it's Artist Alley Plumosa and Swan and just have a discussion about all of them that's cool all right that's great yep perfect so are you that's all I got then we need to actually sell some of the real estate we also we can pay for it well we're gonna have to figure that out too that's gonna be the next question DJ and I were there when this was purchased we need money so we're gonna have to find some hi just real quick I also want to congratulate the kids that got up there today I mean my heart kind of sank like I couldn't have done that as if I could not have done that as a fifth grader I George Long is nodding his head back there he he couldn't have done it either so not not even today I couldn't do it but they were they were amazing I also want to thank the teachers there's some prep time that went in there come on now and we got to thank those teachers that probably did a lot of work after school with those kids and and God love those kids for staying after school to work on this I mean that was a that was kind of a shining moment for our community so yeah and but I don't want to forget the teachers because amazing that you you were able to do that like I said I couldn't have done it and George never could have done it I mean yeah I I saw I saw him Joe I saw Mr. Long out it was about two years ago some contraption you were trying to cull some of the tree the in the garden next to the CRA building you were out there doing pruning and stuff like that I've seen him actually agriculturally engaged so I mean yes he could do it and you remember I got to see the video footage mayor I'm sorry I wish I had my I had a blackberry then so I couldn't take any pictures but I'm just telling you did you is that all I'm good thank you okay thank you all right so I just have the you know I asked that we have this educational spotlight at the commission meetings but this is exactly what I'm you know there's great things going on in our schools and we get this bad rap with these grades and testing but there's some great things going on in schools and I think that we should highlight it as much as we can so so proud of them but I wanted to find out about the the quiet what is it cone of silence cone of silence yes ma'am so how how do we handle that issue that subject going forward administratively because you can't talk about it we have to either accept or reject the proposal yep what is it 30 days 30 days yeah so there's a process if they unsolicited proposal process that we have to go through administratively first before it would even come potentially here when you when when when that's I mean I've never quite understood you so you have 30 days to look at what they've said which is to buy this piece of property for purpose of doing a garden that one not much we got but at the end of the let's make it generic please make it do okay he's asking the process process the process is a process let's not say the specifics of the end of the process they make this request so the end of the process a proposal comes in right a proposal comes in yes sir you have 30 days to review it correct you then reject it or accept it correct what if you're rejecting is easy what happens if you accept it then it comes to an agenda item then we can engage in negotiations so it doesn't have to come to we it does we also have to issue a notice of asking for competing proposals okay so we still have to do a public process yes I'm trying to see is there a yes you know a next step with yes yes I can call everyone to go over okay everything okay processes generally yes but yeah the proposals I'm not the patrol this is a city procedure I want another discussion right right it's a city yes we follow the city's process exactly okay we're going to follow the procedure we're just trying to get it right okay all right thank you all right thank you all right and that is all that I have and so thank you very much ladies and gentlemen and the meeting's adjourned all right