The Kolter Group and Phil Perko won a zoning amendment that paves the way for a Jupiter Island condo project.
The Palm Beach County commission voted unanimously Wednesday at its zoning hearing to allow property owners to apply for waivers for setbacks in the redevelopment of existing coastal multifamily buildings. The zoning amendment applies to buildings over 35 feet high, and is designed to allow for redevelopment at the same or less density. It affects just seven buildings on Jupiter Island’s coastline, according to planning documents.
One of the seven buildings is Beach Sound, a four-story, 12-unit condominium at 19930 Beach Road built in 1984. Delray Beach-based Kolter and Perko’s Jupiter-based Perko Development are in contract to buy the 1.2-acre oceanfront site from Beach Sound’s owners. The deal was contingent on the passage of this waiver amendment, something developers say is necessary to make such projects feasible. Each owner is receiving an estimated $2 million in the sale, the Palm Beach Post reported.
“Now that the text amendment has passed, we will begin putting some plans together,” said attorney Brian Seymour, who is representing Kolter and Perko’s PK Beach Sound LLC.
Seymour confirmed the developers would be meeting with neighbors and filling plans for “resilient” redevelopment with the county, but declined to comment on timing for the project.
Meeting with the neighbors may be less than pleasant for Seymour and his clients. Lawyers representing the nearby Claridge and Carlyle condominiums spoke against the zoning amendment at Wednesday’s hearing, and vowed to fight Kolter and Perko’s project until the end.
“The Carlyle plans on putting forth a vigorous opposition to the redevelopment at all stages,” said attorney Gerard Collins, who declined to comment on the condo board’s strategy for battling the project.
Both the Claridge at 19950 Beach Road and the Carlyle at 19700 Beach Road are eligible to receive the setback waiver under the new zoning amendment.
Ed O’Sullivan, a member of the Claridge’s condo board, spoke in opposition at the hearing. “Beach Sound can be restored,” he said at the podium. “You don’t have to tear it down.”
O’Sullivan noted the “milestone issue” of costly structural inspections required by Florida law for aging buildings in the aftermath of the deadly Surfside Champlain Towers collapse. The special assessments are causing condo living costs to spike across the state, and forcing owners to sell their units at steep discounts.
O’Sullivan said Beach Sound is the only Jupiter Island condominium affected by this zoning amendment that isn’t acting to meet the structural requirements.
“All six buildings are or will meet the milestone… spending from $1 million to $3 million to do that,” he said, eschewing a Beach Sound-type redevelopment.
“What happens with this process is it takes away our sunshine,” he added.