Construction on one of the most prominent storefronts on Worth Avenue will be allowed to start earlier and finish later in the day as crews race to complete the project by Oct. 31.
The Town Council voted unanimously Oct. 14 to approve plans for the construction team working on The Worth Avenue Building at 201 Worth Ave. to temporarily close parts of the sidewalk and prohibit the use of some of the parking spots in front of the building. The council also approved work on the project from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The town’s rules allow construction only until 6 p.m. in that area of South County Road.
The historic building on the northwest corner of Worth Avenue and South County Road is in need of repairs and updates that include resealing the windows, pressure cleaning, painting parts of the exterior and replacing awnings, Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the council.
For three decades until July, 201 Worth Avenue was the home to Linda A. Gary Real Estate. Broker Linda Gary Belisle moved her agency to a smaller office about a block away in Suite 318 of 125 Worth Ave.
The significant corner space’s new tenant is Christopher King, according to town records and permits. The Christopher King brand is known for producing luxury, hand-crafted leather handbags. King through his eponymous company also offers a range of porcelain tableware.
King could not be reached for comment. But he has posted on social media about work on his new Worth Avenue shop.
Crews work on the Worth Avenue Building at 201 Worth Ave. in Palm Beach on Oct. 16. The project includes pressure washing, resealing the windows, painting the building and replacing awnings.
Christopher King’s flagship boutique opened earlier this year in a 12,000-square-foot space in Coral Gables.
Work on the project was already underway as of the council’s Oct. 14 meeting, but more needed to be completed on the two street-facing facades, to the east and south, before an Oct. 31 deadline for construction to cease for the season in that area, Brazil said. Work also needs to be completed on the other two facades, but that can be done later without affecting the right-of-way, he said.
Plans provided to the town show that contractor JB Painting & Waterproofing Inc. planned to complete the work in three phases. The first phase involved partially closing the sidewalk on South County Road next to the building for about 14 days to pressure clean, remove and replace window seals, and then prime and paint the stucco, plans show.
In the second phase, the sidewalk and parking spaces on Worth Avenue in front of the building would be closed for about 21 days, according to the plans. Crews would then pressure clean, reseal the windows and paint the stucco on the south facade, the plans said.
The third phase would involve performing the same work on the west and north sides of the building.
A painter works on the upper level of the Worth Avenue Building on the northwest corner of Worth Avenue and South County Road on Oct. 15 in Palm Beach.
“It’s necessary work,” Brazil said. “It took them longer to get through the landmark process than they anticipated. But they’ve made a good faith effort.”
In addition to going through the town’s approval process, the project also needed a permit from the Florida Department of Transportation because South County Road is also State Road A1A through that section of Palm Beach, Brazil said.
Mayor Danielle Moore said her initial feeling was that the work should have been completed in June, July and August, but she understood that the delay in finishing the work was not the fault of the contractors.
“It isn’t a matter of improper planning or last-minute, ‘I just want to do this,'” Brazil said. “They’ve been pushed into this schedule.”
Town officials do encourage people to plan ahead, Moore said. “But obviously they just got bogged down in the process, which does happen in this town sometimes.”
No one has complained about the work that has been done so far, Brazil said. If any complaints do come in, the contractor will need to adjust their schedule, he said.
Council Member Julie Araskog noted that the building is “in dire need of repair” because of leaking.
The Worth Avenue Building was built in 1958 and is owned by Lendan LLC. Other tenants include Cocoon Gallery facing South County Road, and Russeck Gallery, Marco Cimmino, LaMuse Jewelers and Giorgio’s of Palm Beach facing Worth Avenue.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Crews race to finish work on iconic Palm Beach building before season
