Gulfstream Work Session Public Comment August 25

I support the final items related to the Gill’s restoration of the Gulf Stream Hotel. I voted to move forward as each of you have verbally indicated you are in favor. Let your actions match your words. This project is vital to the future of the City of Lake Worth Beach.

Hello all. Erin Allen here. I hate these mass text messages but in the interest of time and efficiency I am succumbing to it.

As all of you are probably aware, tomorrow is the very final meeting of the approval of the gulfstream hotel project by the city commission. The meeting will be held at the Casino up at the beach at 6 PM. We are trying to get as many public comment cards filled out as possible in support of the project. We also would love to see a strong presence of people at the meeting because the media, TV stations will be there covering it. And we'd like to have an outward show of support for the developers, Restoration St.Louis.

Your show of support to the CRA made all of Lake Worth Beach, It is time to move forward and bring life to our city. Regarding the Gulfstream hotel, there are only a few remaining items that should be approved. Please Support the final items related to the Gulfstream Hotel restoration and vote to move this project forward as each of you have verbally indicated you are in favor. Let your actions match your words. This project is too important for us to lose ."

Thank you all for hanging in there. We are just this side of the finish line. ☺️ 🏃‍♀️🏃🏩🏩

As I native born and raised in west palm beach and a 20+ year resident of lake worth, I am 100% in favor of the revitalization of the Gulfstream hotel. My husband and I used to go there for the great restaurant that was housed there many years ago. It shows that the Gulfstream would also be an asset to locals who can enjoy its grandeur. The hotel is beautiful and needs to be saved. It has so much potential and will bring not only jobs but pride to our little town.

Please move forward and approve this project. The Gulfstream Hotel Is a beautiful historical landmark and deserves to be brought back to her glory. In addition, the local economic impact will be significant and will provide our community with jobs and economic growth. I hope the commissioners will do the right thing.Let’s get this project approved.

Though I have only lived in Lake Worth Beach for a decade, my love for this community matches that for my hometown in Vermont. We all appreciate how special our slice of the tropics is, and it shows in the passion on all sides of the issue on the table.

The dialogue in recent years regarding the Gulfstream has produced a better, balanced, and beautiful plan; everyone should be proud of their contributions to this outcome. At this juncture, however, it is my opinion that it is not only the beauty of our city in question, but our reputation for operating with integrity.

Now is the time to honor our word and vote to approve the final items for the Gulfstream restoration. Now is the time to turn our collective energies to passionately support turning a deteriorating historic building into another of the shining gems that make up the brilliant mosaic of Lake Worth Beach.

The Gulfstream project needs to be supported
The majority of voters has voted on favor
The CRA has responded and backs the project
As elected officials you must so what the majority wants and what this town nerds
VOTE YES

I support the final items related to the Gulfstream Hotel restoration.

I support Restoration St Louis’ plans to renovate the Gulfstream and urge you to do the same.
The upside to renovating and sustaining the Gulfstream Hotel are overwhelming. At long last Lake Worth Beach will have a more vibrant downtown along with significant financial benefits. These benefits include: job creation (during construction and ongoing operations), revenue enhancement (during construction and ongoing operations) and increased traffic to support Lake Worth Beach merchants.

I have been a home owner in LWB for over 20 years and I heartily endorse the proposed Gulfstream Hotel project. The city is in dire need of the revenue and jobs it would create. It is obvious that due diligence has been done during the last 3 years. I hope that you will represent the vast majority of your constituents and do the right thing by executing these final steps to put the restoration in motion.

Good Evening,
I am very concerned that the current city council is not working to improve the business corridor of the city. I enthusiastically am in favor of the Gulfstream project and want the council to approve the project.
If anyone on the council believes that a better situation for the building is a reality, then present it NOW. Killing this project, with no viable alternative proposal in hand is a dereliction of your civic duty to grow and improve the city business environment.

Please support the final items required for the restoration of the Gulfstream Hotel. The investment by the City is nominal compared to the return we will all reap. This jewel will demonstrate how a successful preservation and infill project can revitalize a downtown in a scale that works with our community character. Please uphold your pledge to make the opening of a Gulfstream a reality.

Please support the final items related to the Gulfstream Hotel restoration and move this project forward as each of you have verbally indicated you are in favor.

Let your actions match your words.

This project is too important to lose.

Please don’t let this opportunity for LWB pass!
We will never forgive you!

I am really angry with the town of Lake worth the streets are crumbling and the infrastructure is not better and we need the Gulfstream hotel !! The revenue for the hotel will help businesses in town and hire a lot of people and restore our streets. Please pass the hotel for the sanity of Lake worth because our downtown is dying .

My Name is Jonathan Nicholas and I live at 3 Auburn Drive in Lake Worth Beach. I have been a resident of College Park, LWB for over 20 years and I have never been so frustrated with a city commission that seems determined to undermine, what could be, a wonderful restoration of the Gulfstream Hotel. I would like to remind the commission that voters approved, by a wide margin, a ballot measure in 2020 allowing buildings, adjacent to the Gulfstream to meet the historic hotel's 87 foot height. In June of of 2021, the commission approved a letter of understanding with CDS Holdings and Restoration St Louis and also the Gulfstream. These agreements presumably cleared the way for the developer to push forward with the $100 Million plus renovation and construction project.

Since that time, the new commission has, at the expense of the taxpayers of LWB, hired an outside firm to evaluate the cost/benefit of the project. The results, which compared this project to others similar in the state, showed that our city would be committing the least amount of money to the project that would deliver so many positives to our city. Since the results were not what the commission wanted to hear, they then approved spending more money, that they claim we don't have, for an attorney to negotiate a "better deal". Ironically, that attorney came up with the same obvious answer and recommended that the CRA give the developer the $3M tax abatement.

Enough is enough with the delays, the citizens overwhelmingly want this project to move forward. Stop telling people that the city shouldn't have to hand over millions to millionaire developers. You all know that this is FALSE. Tax abatements and city contributions are normal operating procedure when trying to get developers to rehab historical buildings and blighted areas. I am urging you all to vote in favor of moving this project to the finish line. If you do anything contrary, you are not following the will of your constituents and merely following the loud minority who seemed to have a hold over you.

And one final note, I was appalled by the behavior of commissioner McVoy and how he treated Mayor Reisch in the last city Commission meeting. This type of behavior would be expected in a third world country, but not in ours. If he has any moral compass, he should own up to his unacceptable behavior and, at the VERY LEAST, apologize to the Mayor and to the citizens of LWB.

I support Restoration St. Louis proposal to rehab the GulfStream Hotel and build the adjacent structure. This $104 million dollar project will dramatically improve our City from a economic, social and livability stand point. This will be a major employer in our City and takes a prime piece of real estate that is blighted and turn it into go to destination place.