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Jupiter deal creates biotech space, offices

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, February 01, 2007

JUPITER — Abacoa will boast more biotech space in a prime location next to Scripps - and Greenwich will be able to turn condos into offices.

So goes the deal finalized by the Jupiter Council on Tuesday, the culmination of two meetings and more than five hours of debate.

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It was an exercise in careful compromise for town officials, who had to balance the concerns of a residential community with the goals of biotech success in the county.

"The council did the only thing they could do," resident Harvey Silverman said. "It was a tough call."

Silverman and about a dozen other homeowners from New Haven were protesting a proposal for the adjacent Greenwich development to convert 28 condos into offices. The plan also called for more restaurants and shops at the 14-acre site on Military Trail.

But New Haven was facing off against more than just Greenwich.

The changes there were tied to a swap of development entitlements across Abacoa. The goal was to add 226,000 square feet of "research and development" space to 30 vacant acres ideally located across from Scripps. It was a gain of more than a third of the development rights previously allowed at the site.

There was a hitch, however: The property, owned by Workplace Florida Ltd., would gain more biotech potential as long as Greenwich could change its plans.

Scott Hedge, of de Guardiola Properties Inc., which was working with Workplace on the entitlement swaps, said Tuesday the deal added a "significant" amount of development rights to the site.

"It allows us to have more land use," he said, adding there are no specific plans for the property yet.

Although New Haven residents said they supported the town's biotech project, they were concerned about Greenwich's changes.

They said as the project became more commercial, more traffic would cut through New Haven. Residents also doubted Greenwich had enough parking.

New Urban Communities, Greenwich's developer, agreed Tuesday to build a left-turn lane on Military Trail leading into the project.

It will also add 50 more parking spaces and install traffic-calming measures along Quarry Knoll Street.

New Haven resident Amy Simmonds said Wednesday that although she still had lingering concerns about how parking would work, she was happy about the results.

Now, after about three years, the project has better chances of completing construction, she said.

"I feel like it was a nice compromise," Simmonds said.

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