With costs rising for Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment, additional financial support sought

With the estimated cost for the redevelopment of Phipps Ocean Park coming in higher than expected, the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach has asked the Town Council for additional financial support while it works to reduce expenses.

The foundation, which is spearheading plans and raising funds to redevelop the park, has raised $28 million for the project, including $23 million for construction and related costs and $5 million for an endowment, Amanda Skier, the foundation's executive director, told council members at their June 13 meeting.

But it faces a funding gap of $7 million that is needed before the project breaks ground in the first quarter of 2024, Skier said. Estimated construction costs are $30 million.

"The town's assistance in bridging this funding gap will allow the project to proceed without significant changes to the overall design and inspire more donors to support the project," she said.

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Skier asked the council to consider contributing to infrastructure-related improvements at the park, such as parking lot lighting, security cameras, perimeter walls, lift station and dumpster screening, restrooms, irrigation, and entry gates or walls.

Council members granted special exception and site plan approval for the park in December, and they approved two pickleball courts and a remodeled lifeguard station in April.

"Your assistance with funding infrastructure items will allow the park to be constructed as we have envisioned it," Skier told the council. "Our goal for this park is to make it a place of learning and beauty."

Burkhardt Construction, which is performing pre-construction services for the park's redevelopment, will provide a guaranteed maximum price for the overall project in August, Skier said, and the foundation will return to the council in September with actual costs and a request for a formal financial commitment to the project.

The foundation has asked the council to appropriate the funds for the upcoming budget year that begins Oct. 1.

Council members said they would consider that request when the budget process gets underway next month, but they cautioned that there are other projects that need to be considered for funding, including the North Fire Station renovation, the Midtown Beach seawall replacement and the town-wide undergrounding project.

Like the Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment, those projects likely are going to cost more than originally anticipated.

"I think we're showing an absolute willingness to be helpful here," Council President Maggie Zeidman told Skier. "We can't commit to a number until we see what our budget is and what's coming in terms of taxes, and also to prioritize many of the items that are already overages."

Public Works Director Paul Brazil, whose department is working closely with the Preservation Foundation on the Phipps Ocean Park redevelopment, said he believed that opportunities remain to reduce the total cost of the project without changing its character.

With the town's assistance, the foundation has "value engineered" the project to reduce the total cost estimate from $42 million to $30 million, and Skier said the foundation hopes to bring that down to $27 million in order to provide an allowance for soft costs associated with the project.

The current estimate does not include design and other non-construction costs, estimated at about $3 million.

In addition to the construction costs, the foundation anticipates spending $680,000 in personnel and maintenance costs for the park each year, Deputy Town Manager Carolyn Stone told council members.

Skier said the foundation is anticipating a grant award of $442,195 from the state to relocate the Little Red Schoolhouse. Moving the historic structure is part of the project's design.

The town will cover park maintenance and operating costs, including staffing, liability, property insurance coverage and claims, invasive species removal, and equipment.

"There's a commitment from the council on the project," Zeidman said. "There has been from the get-go."

Phipps Ocean Park, which sits just north of the Par 3 golf course in the town's South End, was donated by the Phipps family in 1948. It has not undergone a significant redesign since it opened, the foundation said.

Redesign plans call for restoring and moving the Little Red Schoolhouse to a more visible spot in the park, near the base of a 22-foot beach dune. The schoolhouse will anchor the great Great Lawn and wildflower garden to the west.

Visitors and passersby will be able to view the schoolhouse across the wildflower garden and Great Lawn.

A new feature to the north of the schoolhouse will be an outdoor classroom, which was designed in collaboration with the Garden Club of Palm Beach.

Another educational centerpiece of the park will be the Coastal Restoration Center, a nursery and propagation area for native plants that will support healthy beach dune ecosystems within the park and throughout the island.

The park’s recreational facilities will be improved with ADA accessible walking paths, spaces for the community to gather, a bespoke playground inspired by native fauna, and new cabana bathrooms and beach pavilions.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Additional financial support requested for Phipps Ocean Park redo