Ambition | Your Delray Boca

The Delray Beach Market

The Delray Beach Market is the talk of the town.

As well it should be.

At 150,000 square feet, the market is said to be the largest food hall in Florida.

It’s big, bold and brave.

It also represents a colossal investment in the future of Delray Beach so it’s audacious too. I like the audacious part. We cheer big, bold and brave bets on this blog. Small bets too. We like people who try. It’s the risk takers who leave a legacy.

Basically, the market is a food incubator enabling chef/entrepreneurs to pioneer concepts at what’s probably a reasonable cost of entry.

Downtown Delray Beach has become a foodie haven but with that success, the barrier to entry has gotten very expensive. Rents of $100 a square foot are common, build out costs can be exorbitant and competition is fierce. Atlantic Avenue has become its own ecosystem with eye popping statistics accompanying the buzz. Hand’s Stationers just sold for a whopping $1,100 a foot. That’s an astonishing number especially considering the limitations of what you can and can’t do with a building in the downtown. Let’s just say you’d have to sell an awful lot of number two pencils to make those numbers work.

Meanwhile, the new food hall allows entrepreneurs to get into business for much less than the cost of opening a full-service restaurant. It also enables them to gain exposure to the hordes of people flocking downtown these days without having to consult the Forbes Billionaires List to find investors.

I’m sure the model hopes for the vendor’s to succeed so that they can launch traditional restaurants and allow for other fresh concepts to come into the market.

We went to the grand opening party a few weeks back and couldn’t find anyone who wasn’t floored by the sheer scale of the ambition behind this project. It’s a big bet.

Subsequently, I’ve heard a range of opinions (mostly positive) but a few who are questioning how or whether this $60 million investment will work. Speculating on a business model is above my pay grade. I’ve been involved with can’t miss deals that fizzled and have also been involved with impossible dreams that turned into wild success stories including one multibillion dollar brand (Celsius) that was left for dead on several occasions and now has a market cap of $5 billion plus. Go figure.

Personally, I wouldn’t bet against Craig Menin—the developer behind the market and several other huge bets in Delray Beach including the Ray Hotel and The Linton. There’s a strategy unfolding here and it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending a little time with Mr. Menin and he’s a fascinating man. A visionary with a lot of courage.

My advice is to never bet against the innovators. Not every bet lands you in the winner’s circle and you have to have the cash to play, but the big winners in business are those who find the courage to roll the dice and think big.

What I’m seeing is a company that believes in distinctive architecture, luxury amenities and the power of food and beverage to drive value and community.

Anyway, we sure have seen a lot in Delray over the years.

Leaving the party that Friday night, I found myself experiencing a bunch of different emotions.

I thought about how much we have changed since I came to Delray in the summer of ’87.

I thought about how when we did the Downtown Master Plan in 2001, we were dreaming big. Those dreams matched or maybe even exceeded the ambitions that were attached to Visions 2000, the landmark charrette process that led to the Decade of Excellence in the 1990s. Yes, my friends, we were swinging for the fences.

Back then, we were trying to get on the map and build something sustainable—something of value.

We can and we do argue over whether what’s happened here has been good or bad. And I can argue and empathize with both sides of the growth/change divide.

But…here’s one thing I think is immutable. Change is a constant. It’s inevitable.

We can and have sought to “shape” the growth with height limits and other tools designed to maintain our scale.

Despite the rhetoric of the last election cycle, we will never be another Fort Lauderdale. We won’t even be another Boynton Beach. Both cities —and Boca too— allow much taller buildings. We will always be a three and four story town.

But I can see why some people lament the congestion and activity and what they see as the loss of the laid back “village by the sea” aesthetic, although I would argue that you can still find quiet places to enjoy.

I can also see why others are cheering what’s happening.

They like the activity.

They appreciation the vibrancy and they benefit from the value being created.

If you own a home in east Delray, your property values—often a family’s largest asset—have appreciated substantially since the days when downtown Delray was rife with vacancies. If we lived adjacent to a dead and decaying downtown, it’s doubtful we would be seeing the real estate prices we are seeing.

I get it, it doesn’t matter unless you’re selling and it stinks if you want to buy in at this high level, but I think increasing values sure beats the alternative.

Choices.

Change.

The march of time….

Cities evolve.

We can and should do our best to shape that change—incentivize behaviors we want to see, restrict those we don’t wish to experience.

But market and societal forces are strong and it might be better to recognize that and adjust accordingly. It makes for a happier village and it also enables us to exert more control.

Change is going to happen. We are going to like some things and not like others.

You can’t shape what you don’t understand. You have a shot if you meet the world where it’s heading.

Election Eve Thoughts: Non-Partisan Edition

Tomorrow is Election Day.

Yay!

Actually, it’s more like yuk!

According to a poll released last week 82 percent of likely voters are disgusted with the state of American politics as well they should be.

Much of the public craves progress and collaboration in Washington, polls say. They aren’t getting it and so we end up with the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

To steal a term from Silicon Valley, many voters want to “disrupt” Washington and many others are simply staying home and disconnecting.

The nation is divided and politicians rank close to kidney stones in terms of popularity. Sadly, many have earned that low opinion through inaction, ego, corruption and self-serving behavior.

But maybe, just maybe there is a silver lining. Maybe we had to endure the ugliest campaign imaginable—an endless, expensive, relentless barrage of negativity and vitriol—to finally declare we have reached rock bottom and something needs to change.

There are really two choices here: we continue to spiral downward or we begin to heal and demand more from those who seek to lead us.

Which path will we take?

If you believe surveys an overwhelming majority of Americans crave better leadership. They want to see problems solved, progress made and opportunities seized. They long for a safer public square that still allows for robust debate. They respect principles but also value compromise. We’ll see if we get it, but I truly believe it’s up to us to make it happen.

We the people…

Those three simple words are brilliant and profound.

We the people…have the power.

We the people…also stand for what we tolerate.

We the people…

I am 52 years old. So I’ve been voting since 1982.

Fifty-two is a great age.

Oh sure, I’d rather be 35 (and know what I know now) but I like this time of life. I’m old enough to have seen some things. Old enough to have learned a few things; I think they call it perspective. But I’m also young enough to still be (somewhat) relatable to younger people. (I am however, keenly aware that an expiration date is fast approaching).

I feel very fortunate that a few young people sometimes seek me out.

Maybe they have seen this blog, I know a few have read my book about local politics, some are digging into Delray and have heard my name or some may be running for office in another city—regardless I am thrilled when they reach out and want to meet.

We talk about business, we talk about life in these parts and we talk about politics and opportunity. I tell them what I think and I tell them I am still learning. They teach me too.

For a long time I was the youngest person in most rooms I entered. I was always a guy in a hurry—married early, had kids early, went into business as a young man and had a mortgage at an age when most people are still on their parents couch. I wouldn’t have traded any of it because ultimately it makes you who you are—and as time passes the things you once viewed as mistakes end up to be the experiences you cherish the most.

My motor still revs high—I am still ambitious, curious, searching and very passionate about life. The fire still burns– although sometimes it’s indigestion.

But the joys of having experience are balanced by that number: 52.

52 has limits…

52 gets tired…

52 doesn’t sleep well anymore…

52 understands that time is precious and is running short; especially when you still want to do so much and want to see even more.

A close friend and I now joke (sort of) that “hey, we may never go to Australia.”

Or we may, but the point is we won’t have the time to do all we want to do.

Truth is, nobody does. But at 52 I’ve become aware of that poignant fact.

Still in a way, that knowledge is freeing.

It’s time to prioritize. It’s time to chase, but also to savor.

And so, I love talking to people in their 20s and 30s. I want to encourage them to get involved.

Be the change, they want to see in their world. Such a cliché, but oh so true.

I speak to a lot of young people who are interested in the community and business. They are a little mystified by politics, some are a little scared, but all seem to understand that they better start paying attention and they might just have to get into the ring to make good things happen and stop bad things from happening.

I urge them to do so.

I tell them that politics is kind of like fire; its power for good is equaled by its power for destruction.

I tell them it’s a job to do, not a job to have. And I tell them that it’s OK to be a little bit scared of jumping in—it tells me that they have emotional intelligence and empathy. Be wary of the narcissists, the people who think they are the smartest people in the room. Embrace those who ask questions and have open minds and warm hearts.

There is a dearth of these people in public life today—at every level.

That’s what we are missing. Some call it servant leadership and I like that term. But it’s more: its heart, soul, sensitivity, empathy, gratitude and respect.

Its people willing to say they struggle too…they don’t have all the answers but they want us to join together so that we might create a better tomorrow.

We have our share of bullies and buffoons…it’s time to add truth, reason and compassion to the mix.

Big Dreams & Big Bets

Election Eve Thoughts: Non-Partisan Edition