City of West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio Aims to Jazz Up Downtown

The City of West Palm Beach wants to breathe new life into an old lounge, bringing jobs and increasing property values in its northwest neighborhood.

West Palm Beach, United States – March 9, 2015 /MarketersMedia/ —

The city has been talking with the current owners of the Sunset Lounge since the end of February to negotiate a purchase price, and also wants to buy a lot to the east of the historic structure. The Sunset Lounge, once a showplace for black entertainers, drew top bands and hundreds of patrons at the height of its popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, on par with New York City’s Cotton Club and Apollo Theater. A trolley tour that went through the downtown area in February honoring Black History Month included the property, built in 1925.

“The revival of the Sunset Lounge, a long-lost crown jewel in our African-American history, will soon be the centerpiece of a major redevelopment effort in our northwest neighborhood,” said Mayor Muoio. “We are going to redevelop and rehabilitate it, and bring it back to what it looked like.”

Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton were among the performers who played the upstairs ballroom of the Sunset Lounge. At one time the ballroom had been converted to apartments, but is now vacant. A neighborhood bar currently operates on the first floor.

The money needed to purchase the Sunset Lounge would come from Palm Beach Dramaworks’ repayment of a $1.52 million loan for the 218-seat Don and Ann Brown Theatre at 201 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. The write-off for the professional, not-for-profit live theater company means that the theater company will remain a long-term downtown player.

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has applied for a state historical grant for the restoration of the 175-year-old lime green and fuchsia 14,000-square-foot building that stands a few blocks northwest of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, at 609 8^th Street in West Palm Beach.

Refurbishing the space that is zoned for a bar-night club with live music would include a new stage and balcony, based on classic photographs. Additional uses could include rental of the space for weddings, reunions and town hall meetings.

Revitalization efforts are expected to begin in the spring of 2016, with the project completed in 2017.

The Sunset Lounge Project illustrates the city of West Palm Beach’s vision to take pride in history, diversity and environment, as well as to be recognized as a model community that is a celebrated cultural and recreational destination.

The nine-year-old West Palm Beach CRA is nationally recognized as one of the most innovative in thee country, setting the standard for redevelopment.

Jeri Muoio was elected to the office of mayor in March 2011. She previously served on the West Palm Beach City Commission, having been appointed in 2006 and re-elected by voters, in 2007 and 2009. Muoio received a doctorate from Syracuse University and a graduate degree from the State University of New York (S.U.N.Y Oswego). She resides in West Palm Beach with her husband, Charles. They are the parents of a daughter and the grandparents of three children.

The City of West Palm Beach will hold a general election on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.

For more information about us, please visit http://jerimuoio.com/

Contact Info:
Name: Rick Asnani
Email: rick@CornerstoneSolutionsTeam.com
Organization: Cornerstone Solutions & Communications
Address: 6917 Vista Parkway North, Suite 1, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Phone: (561) 689-9787

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/city-of-west-palm-beach-mayor-jeri-muoio-aims-to-jazz-up-downtown/76525

Release ID: 76525