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LAKE WORTH, FL. — Last month the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was acknowledged by two prestigious statewide organizations due to our efforts to provide quality workforce housing in the City of Lake Worth. On October 30th, the Lake Worth CRA Consortium was named a Best Practice Award Finalist from Sustainable Florida for our recent endeavor to provide over 100 new affordable housing units within a three year timeframe. Sustainable Florida advances the vision of sustainability by identifying, supporting and communicating best management practices — those which protect and preserve Florida’s environment while building markets for Florida’s businesses by enhancing their competitive advantages today. An independent set of judge reviewed and scored numerous nominations. Judges were experienced and knowledgeable in the fields of sustainability, energy, engineering, green building, corporate social responsibility and government.
In addition, and for the third consecutive year, the CRA was recognized by the Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA) for another outstanding redevelopment achievement. The FRA presents awards annually to projects that exhibit the best practices in Florida redevelopment over the past year. The winners were announced this year during FRA’s 2013 Annual Conference held in Tampa on October 31st. Each year the FRA awards committee carefully selects the winners from dozens of entries submitted by agencies from across the State of Florida. All of the entries embody the spirit of successful community redevelopment and revitalization.
This year, the Lake Worth CRA earned the award for “Outstanding Affordable Housing Project” as a result of the multi-million dollar Urban Arts Lofts project which was completed in February 2013. The Urban Arts Lofts is a new 12- unit live/work development constructed in the heart of downtown Lake Worth. The Urban Arts Lofts is considered a signature project in the City and will act as a catalyst for the development of a true arts and cultural destination. The project was built using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act meant to clean up abandoned and foreclosed properties in our most economically distressed neighborhoods. In addition to providing quality housing and workspace for artists, this project will significantly increase the local tax-base and provide much needed revenue for the City’s General fund.
The CRA recognizes that these projects would not have been possible without the help received from our numerous community partners including: The Urban Group, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach, Housing Partnership, Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, the City of Lake Worth and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
For more information about either awards program please call the Lake Worth CRA office at (561) 493-2550 or visit: www.lakeworthcra.org ; www.lakeworthnsp.org ; www.sustainableflorida.org ; www.redevelopment.net.
The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will be hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Urban Arts Lofts (UAL) project this Friday, August 9, 2013. The UAL is a community redevelopment project consisting of 12 two-story, owner occupied live/work lofts located in the heart of the City of Lake Worth. The three essential elements of this project include: Style, Sustainability & Affordability.
The goal of the UAL is to provide workspace along with affordable housing. The development of this distinctive project showcases the talent of its residents while also setting the standard for quality housing within the City. The proximity of these particular units to the downtown and businesses along Lake & Lucerne Avenues helps to form a better synergy between the east and west commercial areas of both Avenues.
This project was made possible courtesy of the $23.2M Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP-2) grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Federal grant funds, which were used to acquire, plan, design and construct this development, were obtained to specifically rehabilitate or build new homes on foreclosed, abandoned & vacant properties. The Lake Worth CRA also chose to ensure that this new construction project would be Florida Green Building Certified (FGBC).
This development is located in an already sustainable and walk-able area, close to downtown stores, services and public transportation.
The Urban Arts Lofts would not have been successful without the perseverance of the CRA, City of Lake Worth and our NSP-2 Consortium partners.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 10:00am at the northwest corner of “F” Street and Lucerne Avenue. The public and members of the media are invited to attend this event. Parking is available along all side streets.
Nick and Ashley Nardone, standing on the balcony of their new loft, are the first owners of one of the 12 artist townhouses on Lucerne Avenue. The lofts were built as live-work spaces, with studios downstairs. “We have been here about two and half weeks,” said Nick. “We want to do it really neat and industrial.” Said Ashley: “I never thought I would have studio space. It is a dream.” Photo: Bruce Bennett
After years of planning, artists are moving into the Urban Arts Lofts – a dozen townhouses along Lucerne Avenue and North F Street that were built for artists with living space upstairs and ground-floor studios.
Nick and Ashley Nardone, just married in January, moved to Lake Worth from Broward County in early June to become the first owners of an artist loft. They paid $137,000 for their two-bedroom, 2.5-bath loft, which they say will fit their creative lifestyles perfectly.
Nick Nardone, 26, is a bass guitarist and a technician with the Apple store in Boca Raton. Ashley Nardone, 27, designs and builds displays for the Anthropologie store in Boca Raton. She’s also a photographer, graphic designer, screen printer and music video producer.
The Nardones built their own furniture for their wedding using scrap wood. A table in their downstairs studio space consists of a discarded door attached to legs made from wood scraps and parts of an old bed frame.
“We’re always working on stuff, learning things,” Nick Nardone said. “We pride ourselves on not having cable or TV.”
The Nardones plan to set up a small photo studio, a music practice space and a work bench for assembling creative works in the ground-floor studio space of their loft.
They’re looking forward to doing creative projects with friends Curtis and Annie Spoerlein, owners of the custom furniture shop Maestria Decor on North Dixie Highway. The Spoerleins are buying an Art Deco-style loft just south of the Nardones.
The Spoerleins say they plan to build the furniture for their new townhome and invite some customers upstairs to see their work.
“It’s a dream come true for us,” Curtis Spoerlein said, noting that he and his wife moved to South Florida from Chicago three years ago. “When we came to Lake Worth, we wanted a place where we could live and work.”
The Spoerleins plan to keep their garage-like studio on North Dixie Highway, but they plan to bring work home to the downstairs studio of their loft from time to time.
“We’re the type of people who, if we wake up at 3 in the morning and want to do some work, we will,” Curtis Spoerlein said.
The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency built the artist lofts using money from a $23.2 million federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant. The townhomes for artists are part of the CRA’s long-term plan to use art as a redevelopment tool.
The artist lofts are expected to help the city achieve its goal of expanding the downtown west of Dixie Highway.
To further the creation of an arts hub west of Dixie Highway, the CRA also is applying for a state grant to renovate the shuffleboard building, just east of the new artist lofts, as an art center.
City officials also are considering art-related uses for a city building on F Street north of Lucerne Avenue and for a former beer warehouse donated to the city on Second Avenue South.
WANT A LOFT?
Townhomes at Lucerne Avenue and F Street in Lake Worth are still being sold to artists as live/work spaces. Buyers must prove they are artists and meet income guidelines to buy one of the lofts. To download an application form, go to www.lakeworthnsp.org. For information, call the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency at 561-493-2550
The Coral Springs Italian restaurant Tavolino Della Nonna first opened aiming to pay homage to the memory of sitting around grandmother’s table to eat her homecooked meals. It even has a special corner filled with black-and-white family photos.
In the middle of that corner is a dining table, and a 1940s oven and sink line one of the walls. Re-runs of “I Love Lucy” silently play on a monitor screen.
Now, owner Edward Pozzuoli wants things to get a bit louder.
The West Sample Road restaurant recently expanded, nearly doubling its size to add a bar and dimly lit lounge for live music performances and stand-up comedy nights. Cocktail tables are scattered throughout, two large screens loop black-and-white videos of musical performances, and a saxophone hangs from a wall.
Steps away is the dining area that opened in 2007. It’s sound-proof to block any undesired music from the lounge.
“It’s all a matter of the old and new and blending them together,” Pozzuoli said of his 6,500-square-foot restaurant.
The new portion, “Tavolino Della Notte” or as Pozzuoli translates, “Little Table of the Night,” livens up the up-scale establishment while still honoring the concept of grandma’s table, he said.
“We don’t want to forget our loyal customers, first and foremost,” Pozzuoli said, as he routinely excused himself to hug and shake hands with customers who approached him to say goodbye after their meals.
“We want to grow together to make it right,” he said.
Coral Springs resident Rose Colbacchini said that for three years in a row, her bowling league “Coffee Cups” has been celebrating the end of the bowling season at Pozzuoli’s restaurant. This season, the group of nearly 30 ladies reserved the lounge area.
“We’ll be back next year,” said Colbacchini, 74. “It’s a special place.”
Pozzuoli said the Copacabana-like lounge is the third component his Coral Springs business needed to be successful.
“Great food, great service and great atmosphere,” he said. “When all those are working together, it’s like having the fifth Beatle, a je ne sais quoi, the home-field advantage.”
Pozzuoli’s vision of how he wanted to upgrade the restaurant helped in the development process, said Edward Cannatelli of Pompano Beach-based Cannatelli Builders Inc., which completed the project.
“It’s always nice when a client is very excited about his project. A lot of times it turns into friendship,” Cannatelli said at Pozzuoli’s restaurant. “Like this one.”
The new space took about five months and was completed toward the end of 2012, Cannatelli said.
Pozzuoli said his business, like many others, took a hit during the Great Recession. At one point he thought of selling the restaurant, but opted for investing in it instead because he believed they were still delivering quality service.
“Even in difficult times, people still enjoy quality,” he said. “That’s what we aim for.”
Tavolino Della Nonna is at 10181 W. Sample Road, east of Coral Springs Drive. It’s open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Reservations are encouraged.
For the entertainment line-up, go to tavolinorestaurant.com
mvalverde@tribune.com, 954-356-4526 or Twitter @MiriamValverde
Copyright © 2013, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
LAKE WORTH, FL. — The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the Lake Worth NSP2 Consortium have been recognized by the National League of Cities and the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) at the 2013 City Cultural Diversity Awards for the remarkable Lake Worth NSP2 Consortium Affordable Housing Program. The CRA won first place
YAHOO! FINANCE
The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency Successfully Expended More Than 100% of Its $23,237,500 Grant
Although the deadline for expending the grant funds has now passed, all income generated through the sale of units is reinvested into the City of Lake Worth.
Bios of some of the new home owners living out their dream!
Jill Karlin 219 North L Street #100
Jill Karlin is born in Boston, but found her home in Florida in the mid 1980s. A Renaissance woman, Jill is an artist, yoga instructor, cookie maker, and sales woman. Her art works have been shown and are in collections the world over, including an exhibition in New Delhi, India hosted by patron Biki Oberoi and The Oberoi Hotel.
Darryl Sturrup 219 North L Street #110
Darryl Sturrup was born in Florida and raised in Seminole Circle, a housing project in Lantana. He was raised by his mother and began developing a love for music at a very young age. Darryl moved to Canada in his early twenties and recorded his first studio single “Forever” which sold over 10,000 copies. Darryl continues to capture hearts with his song writing capabilities.
Nancy Jack 219 North L Street #104
Ms. Nancy Jack wanted to buy in Lake Worth because she loves Lake Worth’s casual, funky personality and its affordability. Ms. J ack moved here from Los Angeles and found many of the same attributes like – beach, sun and diversity – without the high prices. Lake Worth offers affordable living within walking distance of a beautiful beach, shops and restaurants . Ms. Jack was a writer in L.A. but now practices law in Florida. Ms. Jack states, “Lake Worth helps me keep in touch with my creative side.”
Anthony Reindel 111 Lake Avenue #1
Anthony just recently graduated school in Ohio with a fine arts degree. Mr. Reindel wanted to thank everybody at the Lake Worth CRA for helping to put a roof over his head and giving him the opportunity to own a beautiful home in these tough times”. A gift that is greatly appreciated by him… and his parents.
Jose Diaz 20 South D Street
Mr. Diaz is a Lake Worth local who works as automotive mechanic. He would like to become more involved with his neighborhood association and work closely with his neighbors to decrease crime in the South end of Lake Worth.
For more information or to apply for one of our homes, please contact the CRA by visiting www.lakeworthnsp.org or call
us at 561-493-2550.
Contact:
Joan Oliva
561-493-2550
For Ed Cannatelli, size doesn’t matter. But time sure does. And time has dictated how the second-generation general contractor built his business.
“I’ve been a general contractor my whole life. My dad was a builder, my uncle was,” says 47-year-old Coral Springs resident. After moving to Florida from Connecticut, he started Pompano Beach-based Cannatelli Builders in 2003. “What was unique about the Florida market was there wasn’t a lot of integrity with the companies in place,” Cannatelli says bluntly. “People would be surprised when I showed up on time.”
That punctuality and honesty ¬– “quality work at a fair price” – earned his business a lot of referrals. Cannatelli would do “a couple little jobs for people I knew,” and then get calls from their family and friends. Nine years later, Cannatelli Builders is a fully staffed, fullservice contractor. “We don’t work out of a truck,” Cannatelli says. “We have offices, a field manager, and superintendent. We have weekly job meetings, because clients find it important to be involved.”
And some of those clients have big names: Cannatelli Getting it Done built the Florida Panthers’ Den of Honor at the BB&T Center, a 5,000-square-foot living history of the team with display cases featuring old jerseys, gear, and memorabilia. (That’s about one-third the size of an NHL rink full of team tributes.)
He’s also wrapping up a $3.5 million project in Lake Worth, building 12 townhomes ranging in size from 1,900 to 2,300 square feet as affordable housing for artists. The project is called Urban Arts Lofts and is funded by a federal grant that the city’s community redevelopment agency is using to buy up and renovate or rebuild foreclosures.
But the company still takes on smaller projects, including residential remodels and additions. They also just finished an expansion at Tavalino’s Restaurant in Coral Springs. “We did the bar and entertainment area with alcove-reflected lighting, a lot of LED lighting, and an all-lit onyx bar that’s curved and lit underneath,” Cannatelli says proudly.
One of the company’s draws these days is being what Cannatelli calls “a one-stop shop kind of deal.” And that goes back to Cannatelli’s focus on time.
“Back during the boom, we had a unique experience where the architects would be so busy, and we would wait an extended period of time – and it would kill the job,” Cannatelli explained. “So we brought somebody in-house to do our own revisions and our own drawings.”
That not only sped up the process, it gave clients more control and flexibility to make changes.
“We just opened [in late November] a new showroom next to our facility and have our corporate headquarters, interior design, architecture, and general contracting services under one roof,” Cannatelli says. “A client doesn’t have to go out to find all these things: renderings, 3D drawings where you walk through the house, everything’s here.”
LAKE WORTH —
New homes are improving the look of streets in the city’s urban core as the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and its nonprofit partners make a final push to meet a mid-February deadline for spending $23.2 million in federal grant money.
With less than two months remaining, the CRA and its partners in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant have spent $17.8 million, meaning they’ll need to spend another $5.4 million to meet the Feb. 11 deadline.
With another $5.8 million obligated but not technically spent, the grant partners are expected to meet the spending deadline, said Mike McManaman, grant program administrator for the CRA.
“I don’t expect us to lose one dollar,” McManaman said.
Purchases so far include enough abandoned and foreclosed properties to produce 97 dwellings — including 51 single-family homes, nine townhomes, one condo, 12 urban art lofts (townhomes that will be sold to artists at F Street and Lucerne Avenue), nine duplexes (18 dwelling units) and one small apartment complex containing six units.
Another 11 properties will be set aside in a land bank for development within the next 10 years. The CRA also is considering plans to build apartments on a 1.8-acre tract at Sixth Avenue South and F Street that was bought with federal grant money.
So far, 25 homes have been built, sold and delivered to owners. Many were built by Habitat for Humanity, which uses home-buyer and volunteer labor to reduce construction costs.
Volunteers and paid crews are working on another 15 Habitat homes in Lake Worth that are expected to be complete by Jan. 31. They include five, two-story homes on a lot at D Street north of Third Avenue North.
Another grant partner, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, expects to complete 41 dwellings by the Feb. 11 deadline, including 24 rental units and 17 homes. Nine of the Adopt-A-Family homes have been sold.
“It’s great to see these new homes with their families moving into our neighborhood,” said Robert Elliott, president of the Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association. “The pride we can and should have is starting to spread.”
Real estate experts are beginning to see home prices rise in the city’s urban core between A Street and Dixie Highway.
The median sales price for homes in the area increased 13 percent during the past three months, to $50,000, said Steve Schmidt, manager of residential appraisal for the West Palm Beach office of Boyd, Schmidt and Brannum. The average number of days listed properties in the city’s urban core stay on the market has fallen from 104 at the beginning of this year to 85 during the past three months.
But it’s too early to tell whether the uptick in sales prices is related to the dwellings built and refurbished with the federal NSP grant money, said David Chapin, a North Palm Beach real estate appraiser.
“Whenever you put up new homes, it’s going to have a positive effect,” Chapin said. “But you can’t directly attribute increases in values to NSP homes.”
North D Street resident Charles O’Hearn believes new homes built through the federal grant program will eventually improve the value of his home. He can see a new Habitat home diagonally across the street from his house.
But O’Hearn noted that much remains to be done to improve the appeal of his neighborhood, where many small, older homes are used as rental properties. Another house across from O’Hearn’s is abandoned and sagging, a vacancy notice posted on its front door.
Besides improving neighborhoods, the grant-financed homes are providing affordable housing to people who used to be renters.
The Habitat homes are being sold at appraised value to owners who contribute at least 500 hours of “sweat equity” and buy them through Habitat with zero-interest mortgages.
The average sales price for the new Lake Worth homes is about $75,00o, said Bernie Godek, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County. The average mortgage payment for buyers of the Lake Worth homes, including taxes and insurance, is $450 a month — less than what many were paying in rent, Godek said.