Chabad House proposes Bradley Place building as home to Palm Beach’s first preschool
By: Darrell Hofheinz
Palm Beach Daily News
Oct. 28, 2022
|
A rendering shows the proposed playground, without playground equipment, for the preschool under consideration at 165 Bradley Place, |
The town could see its first-ever preschool by January, if things go as planned for its organizers at the Palm Beach-based Chabad House of Northern Palm Beach Island.
The Jewish center hopes to open the preschool in a leased building at 165 Bradley Place on the near North End, said Hindel Levitin, wife of Rabbi Zalman Levitin of The Chabad House, which operates in rented space across town.
The preschool would be owned by The Chabad House and operate as the Alef Preschool Palm Beach at The Lila & Gil Silverman Early Learning Center.
The Town Council still needs to grant a “special exception” to the town code to allow the preschool to operate in the neighborhood. That item, a code-variance request and other issues related to the project could go before the Town Council for review as early as Nov. 9.
The facility would occupy a 3,038-square-foot building that was formerly home to the Old Guard Society of Palm Beach Golfers, a venerable private club. The building stands on the southeast corner of Park Avenue.
The COVID-19 pandemic — and the rush of younger families who moved to Palm Beach as a result — was the catalyst for developing plans to open a preschool on the island, Hindel Levitin said.
“In the last two-and-a-half years, because of COVID, the need to have a preschool on the island really became apparent,” she said.
Support for the proposed Palm Beach preschool
In a presentation Tuesday about the project to the Architectural Commission, attorney Harvey Oyer reiterated the notion that the time had come for a preschool on the island. He mentioned it could help ease traffic congestion by eliminating trips for parents who must drive on and off the island to take their preschoolers to facilities across the bridge.
Resident Daniel R. Benson knows about those trips first-hand, he wrote in a letter sent to Town Hall in support of the project.
“We now drive our two-year-old son over a half hour each way to a Jewish school in Boynton Beach, so Alef Preschool will be a great benefit to us, as well as to other families in Palm Beach with young children,” Benson wrote.
Nearly a dozen Palm Beach residents have written letters supporting the preschoolon the southeast corner of Park Avenue and Bradley Place.
Nearby residents raise concerns about traffic, parking
But there also has been opposition to the project from the homeowners’ associations at the nearby Parc Regent and Palm Beach Biltmore condominium buildings, as well as a some residents on Park Avenue.
Key issues for the opposition involve traffic and parking concerns related to pickups and drop-offs.
Oyer rejected those concerns at Tuesday's Architectural Commission meeting. Parents or caregivers would park onsite or on the street and then accompany the children into the building, he said.
The building, owned by Biltmore Galleria LLC, shares parking lots with two adjacent commercial buildings under the same ownership. The limited liability company that owns the properties is headed by Palm Beach resident Mahnaz Whelton, property records show.
Because of the available parking and a flexible drop-off/pickup schedule, there would be no need for car-queue lines such as those common at larger schools, Oyer said. Traffic studies conducted at the building showed the project was “compliant” with parking regulations, he said.
Oyer’s presentation included another statement addressing traffic concerns.
“Based on current inquiries (for enrollment), there is a high percentage of families requesting enrolling multiple children or (who) have a baby for future enrollment. This will result in less cars than indicated in the traffic study.”
But in their letter of opposition, Park Avenue residents Patrick and Lisa McGowan wrote that they “feel no need for a religious school to be located in an already high traffic and residential area.”
Attorney John R. Eubanks spoke to commissioners on behalf of residents at the Palm Beach Biltmore, while attorney Andrew Speranzini represented those at the Parc Regent.
“It’s not necessarily that the Parc Regent is against a preschool. We just don’t believe it’s appropriate for this location,” Speranzini said.
Palm Beach board endorses parking variance
The Architectural Commission on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a parking variance request for the preschool to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 80 to 76. Those spaces would provide space for a state-mandated playground, which would have no playground equipment, Oyer said.
Commissioners endorsed the variance after agreeing it would not have a “negative impact” on the architecture of the building.
The board also approved plans to add to the building a fire-safety exit, a security gate and the grass-covered play area next to the school. Oyer’s presentation proposed that the playing field be covered in artificial turf. But commissioners refused that request and demanded grass instead.
Hindel Levitin, who would be part of the staff, said Wednesday that the preschool ideally would open in January for an initial term to run through August. After that, the school would operate year-round. A website, AlefPalmBeach.com, is already up and running for registration.
Following the morning drop-offs between 7:45 and 9:30 a.m., she said, there would be two pickup times for children — one at 12:30 p.m. and the other at 3 p.m.
Palm Beach preschool plans began with $1 million donation
Plans for the school were jumpstarted by a $1 million donation made in 2021 by longtime Chabad House members Eric and Svetlana Silverman. The facility would be be named for his late parents.
Chabad House, which is based in Suite D at 361 S. County Road, already runs a Mommy & Me program for young children at the town’s Mandel Recreation Center, Hindel Levitin said.
Tuesday's Architectural Commission meeting was an extension of the board's Sept. 28 meeting, which was cut short in anticipation of rough weather related to Hurricane Ian. The Category 4 storm slammed into Southwest Florida on the the same day.