On Wednesday, Riviera Beach officials signed off on a nonbinding term sheet to move ahead with the potential sale of roughly 2.2 acres at 1851 Broadway to Peter Baytarian’s Forest Development. Under the outline, the purchase price would land around $4.5 million if the project comes in at 335 units, with the final number shifting to match the developer’s confirmed unit count. The framework links new housing and retail to minimum workforce housing requirements and public parking commitments as the city weighs the deal against growing worries over utility costs.
What the CRA Approved
The Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency describes the property as a three-parcel assemblage at the southwest corner of Broadway and West 19th Street totaling about 2.2 acres. The CRA has posted the proposals and evaluation materials that led staff to rank Forest as the top developer to negotiate with. Public filings show the site once held a Miami Subs and is now folded into the city’s broader Broadway redevelopment push.
Price, Unit Counts and What Staff Say
According to The Real Deal, the term sheet pegs the price to how many homes get built: $3.8 million for 300 units, $4.5 million for 335 units, and $20,000 for each additional unit up to a 500-unit cap that would push the land cost to $7.8 million. City staff say they intend to negotiate at the 335-unit level but emphasize that any final sale and site plan will still need formal approval from both the CRA board and the City Council.
Community Benefits and Parking Negotiations
Forest’s unsolicited proposal to the CRA outlines a set of community benefits that include a minimum 5 percent workforce housing set-aside, a $100,000 escrow for off-site improvements, and about 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The pitch also asks the city to provide public parking tied to that retail component, and the exact number of spaces is still under negotiation between staff and the developer. The packet submitted to the CRA highlights projected tax revenue and job creation, which city officials say will be weighed alongside the promised community benefits.
Water Bills and Neighborhood Worries
All of this is unfolding while Riviera Beach scrambles to overhaul its water system. City leaders broke ground earlier this year on a new treatment facility that the city says will total roughly $400 million once wells and operational pieces are factored in, WPTV reports. Regulators previously hit the city with about $1.2 million in fines after reporting failures, and consultants cited in local coverage have warned that the infrastructure tab could push water bills higher. According to The Real Deal, Forest’s leadership has said it would consider helping to address those concerns by contributing to a hardship fund.
Timeline and What Comes Next
The term sheet is not binding, which means no shovels hit the dirt until a lot more paperwork is signed. Staff will now negotiate detailed sale terms, and the city will still have to approve a final development agreement and site plan before any closing. The developer’s submission lays out schedule milestones, including a refundable deposit, windows for filing a site plan, and closings tied to permit approvals that would govern the project if talks are successful. Local reporting and Forest’s own materials point to the company’s nearby work on Nautilus 220 in Lake Park and its Oculina proposal in Riviera Beach as part of its track record, a factor staff say they considered in rankings and due diligence.
