Tri-Rail’s final stop north of West Palm Beach could become home to a $250 million “transit-oriented” development with condos, offices and shops that would be the first of its kind along the commuter railroad.
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has an agreement to buy a sliver of the 52-acre site that currently houses a former jai-alai fronton owned by boxing promoter Don King, so it can expand parking next to Tri-Rail’s Mangonia Park station.
The RTA plans to buy 3.1 acres from EB Developers Inc. of Boca Raton, which has a contract to acquire the entire fronton property from King for $23 million.
The RTA would pay $660,300 for the property, or about half of its appraised value. The agency in turn would add 200 parking spaces at the station, which would be available to residents who live at the development and ride the train. Residents would also be eligible for discounts on tickets.
Friday’s announcement was a major change in direction for the fronton site, which King had planned to convert into a sports-entertainment complex.
Instead, EB plans to raze the fronton and build up to 2,000 condos and 150,000 square feet of space for shops or offices on its share of the property. John Markey, EB’s senior vice president, said the entire project would take about five years to build.
EB’s portfolio includes retail-office developments at Central Boulevard and Hood Road in Palm Beach Gardens and Doral Town Center in Miami-Dade County.
Markey said 40 percent of the condos would be priced between $125,000 to $225,000 and aimed at such employees as teachers and post-college students on their first jobs.
The agreement calls for EB to create a transit assessment district, a first for Tri-Rail, which would levy each condo built on the property $15 a month. The district would raise $270,000 a year once the site is fully developed, with the money being plowed back into Tri-Rail improvements.
Tri-Rail is poised to become more attractive to riders in March 2006 when rush-hour commuter trains begin running every 20 minutes. The RTA is in the midst of a project to add a second track that would make more frequent trains possible.
Officials say they hope Mangonia Park can be a model for other stations along the 72-mile line that runs south to Miami International Airport.
Retail and offices are planned around the site of a new Boca Raton station south of Yamato Road, but the Mangonia Park station is the first transit-oriented development for Tri-Rail that will also incorporate housing.
If people live close to the stations, officials hope they will ride the trains more often instead of getting in their cars.
EB can’t go forward with its plans until it receives zoning approval from Mangonia Park officials.
The Mangonia Park station is the second busiest in Palm Beach County. The station opened in 1996 at the end of the line.
Commuters drive to the station from the north to take the train to jobs in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Students from southern Palm Beach County ride the train to Mangonia Park to go to nearby Bak Middle School of the Arts, Palm Beach Lakes High School and other schools.
Michael Turnbell can be reached at or 561-243-6550 or 954-356-4155.
