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BY MARIE PULEO | POMPANO BEACH REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORTER

MAYLA POMPANO PUBLIC ART: Mayla Pompano, the 355-unit multifamily development that broke ground in February in Pompano Beach, includes plans for a public art piece that will be the city’s largest to date. The developer of Mayla Pompano has commissioned an artwork by the same artist who created the large-scale sculpture that was recently installed in front of the Pompano Beach Cultural Center.

The Mayla Pompano development is being constructed on the parking lots behind the former Bank of America and Chase Bank buildings on East Atlantic Boulevard, which sit on opposite sides of NE 24th Avenue, just west of Publix.

The developer behind Mayla Pompano is Grover Corlew, a South Florida-based real estate investment management group. The project gets its name from the Hindi word “mela,” which in English means a “gathering” of people.

Grover Corlew is providing a sculpture, called “Gather,” to be installed in a 6,932-square-foot public pedestrian plaza the developer is building on the east side of the former Bank of America building in an area previously used for parking. The sculpture will front NE 24th Avenue, but will also be visible from Atlantic Boulevard.

The sculpture, made of bronze and stainless steel, is being created by San Francisco-based artist Michael Szabo. It measures approximately 28 feet high and eight feet wide, and weighs 1,600 pounds.

Szabo created the bronze and stainless steel sculpture that was installed at the north entrance of the Pompano Beach Cultural Center. The sculpture, which resembles a giant infinity symbol, is called “Current.” It stands 15 feet tall, weighs 1,200 pounds and cost $97,000. It is currently the city’s largest and most expensive piece of public art. The Public Art Committee selected Szabo’s design for “Current” from among 188 applications received in response to a Call to Artists.

The City of Pompano Beach has a planning and zoning internal policy that allows developers of new projects in the East Overlay District (EOD) to get a density bonus (an additional 20 dwelling units per acre) if they provide public art using one or a combination of the following strategies: pay a fee equal to 1% of the project’s construction costs or $250,000, whichever is less, or provide a piece of artwork valued at 1% of the project’s construction costs or a maximum of $250,000, whichever is less.

The sculpture that Grover Corlew is providing has a project budget of $250,000. In February, the Pompano Beach Public Art Committee reviewed Grover Corlew’s proposal and provided a letter of support for the project. The City Commission approved the artwork earlier this month.

Chris Brown of Redevelopment Management Associates, who provides consulting services to the City, said that as Atlantic Boulevard becomes developed with residential buildings, it needs a series of developer-provided public plazas with sculptures, like the one at Mayla Pompano, to “humanize the corridor” and create an art walk. He added that the sculpture selected by Grover Corlew has “raised the bar,” for other developers.

The Mayla Pompano multifamily development is currently expected to be completed by July 2023. Prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the artwork will need to be installed.

For more Pompano Beach real estate and development news and things to do in Pompano Beach read Pompano! magazine and search our website.

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