Posted November 10, 2007 19:03

On Thursday, November 08, 2007 The city's redevelopment board approved builder Dan Catalfumo's site plan to redevelop the Ocean Mall on Singer Island, although it has been scaled back by $230 million. The site plan was approved 4-1 Wednesday, with Councilwoman Lynne Hubbard dissenting. Hubbard wanted the board to postpone the vote until the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council could provide more feedback. The Community Redevelopment Agency hired the planning council in September to reevaluate its $2.4 billion waterfront redevelopment plan. The council presented its preliminary findings last month but won't release a final report until December. The CRA board granted approval for Ocean Mall Redevelopment to build 60,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants on the 11-acre, city-owned site. OMRD, as the company is known, consists of Catalfumo and Boca Raton developer Norton Herrick.

The original plan,  included a 28-story condominium-hotel. Opposition to the condo-hotel sparked a referendum, in which residents voted to limit the building height to five stories. By cutting the condo-hotel from 28 to five stories, the project's value dropped to $50 million. The plan approved by the CRA did not include the hotel. Catalfumo company officials plan to build a five-story hotel and to present that phase of the project in the future. The plan now goes to the city council, which also sits as the CRA board, for approval. It's expected to vote during a Dec. 5 meeting. Construction may begin as early as March and it would take about 10 months to build the shops and restaurants. The city has been working for years to get the Ocean Mall redeveloped. Built in the 1970s, the buildings are aging and need renovations. Last year, the northern portion of the mall was razed. A few tenants remain in the mall's southern section, which still attracts locals and tourists.