The Breakers’ planned replacement for its aging family entertainment center is all but constructed, after the Palm Beach Architectural Commission approved — with conditions — the proposed building’s architectural detailing and landscape.
Commissioners conditioned their July 23 approval on replacing the plan’s Jerusalem stone hardscape with coral stone or limestone and restudies of the building’s elevation and the cast stone surrounding the main entrance. Those alterations will be reviewed and approved by town staff.
Alternate Commissioners David Phoenix, Sue Patterson and Kathy Georgas voted in place of Commissioners Betsy Shiverick, Kenn Karakul and Chair Jeff Smith.
The proposed 16,674-square-foot, three-story center featuring a basement will replace the resort’s current 12,136-square-foot, two-story center.
During the Architectural Commission’s April 23 meeting, members voted to defer their approval to the July 23 meeting, citing issues with the center’s exterior detailing, and questions over the final landscape plan.
“I very much like the building, it’s just down to details,” Vice Chair Richard Sammons said in April.
At the center of the commission’s critique were the proposed starfish detailing above the arches of the arrival court’s walkway and the coral reef-inspired mosaic tiled loggia proposed for its western facade. Commissioners thought the detailing was too whimsical and “Disney-esque.”
When the project returned for the Commission’s July 23 meeting, the starfish detailing at the walkway was gone.
The loggia’s mosaic detailing also was significantly pulled back, the plans show. Instead of wrapping around the loggia walls and roof, the mosaic tiles will be limited to the structure’s columns.
Architect David Rau of Hart Howerton said unlike the previous design, the tiles will have a more muted coastal-inspired color palette.
“They’re all different in color and their content, some will be images of jellyfish, others images of octopus,” he said.
Commissioners praised the toned-down color choices, noting that it still gave the building the right amount of whimsical detailing.
“Think the color and whimsy on the columns is wonderful, it’s going to be inviting and … really shows that it is geared for families and the children,” Commissioner K.T. Catlin said.
The center’s coastal theme also extends to the main lawn’s cast stone benches, which Rau said will be shaped like seashells. Those “whispering shell” benches, located on opposite sides of the lawn, also will serve as a fun activity for kids, he noted.
“When you’re sitting on one of those shells, if you whisper the other shell will catch the sound,” Rau told the commission.
It’s just one of the various recreational features added throughout the center’s lawn, which Rau said will be spread throughout the center’s landscaping into separate other outdoor areas.
According to the design plans, those outdoor areas will feature mini golf, bocce, shuffleboard, basketball and a playground designed to resemble “Alicia,” the famed yacht owned by The Breakers’ founder, Henry Flagler.
Landscape architect James Neville said the site’s landscaping will be over 60% native species. Plaques will denote the plants and their importance to local fauna, he said.
Patterson praised the design team for incorporating the commission’s feedback.
“I wish it was around 20-something years ago when my son was little,” she said.
Commissioner Claudia Visconti said she enjoyed the design but requested that the planned gray Jerusalem stone hardscape be replaced by either limestone or coral stone, as those would complement the building’s color.
While Sammons liked most aspects of the current design, he said the arches supporting the proposed center’s bridge to the adjacent Beach Club building were too large.
He also said the cast stone design surrounding the center’s entrance door needed a restudy.
The entrance, inspired by the late Palm Beach architect John Volk, missed the gothic references found in the original, Sammons noted. Unlike its inspiration, the Breakers’ design appears flat and conflicts with the facade’s other elements, he said.
But those changes would just need to be reviewed by either the town staff or the chair of the commission, Sammons noted.
The center’s approval marks the final hurdle in a major development project that also includes a plan to replace the resort’s central parking lot with an underground parking garage and a small surface lot, which was approved during the Town Council’s April 9 meeting.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Breakers plan for new Family Entertainment Center gets final OK from Palm Beach board
Reporting by Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
