WELLINGTON, Fla. — West Palm Beach-based developer Related Ross plans to bring retail space, dining, a hotel and residences near State Road 7 and Stribling Way in Wellington.
The land is currently green space known as K-Park.
Education in Motion (EIM) officials aim to bring a private school beside the project as well.
It’s a plan many fully support, like Pastor Brian Atkins at LifeChurch Wellington. He said the project would give people more to do and would stand right next to his church.
“We have about 3,000 to 3,300 people that come to LifeChurch every week and they are all saying, ‘Hey, let’s go out to lunch, let’s go to dinner afterwards.’ It’s a great place for them to literally walk across the street,” stated Atkins.
However, the idea isn’t sitting well with everyone. Others like Jim Mantrozos, who are a part of the group "Wellington 67" wanted the area to become a botanical garden.
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“Most of the people in Wellington wanted it to remain green,” Mantrozos said. “It was voted on; polls were taken back in 2015. It was very clear we wanted it to stay green and we didn’t want any kind of concrete jungle there.”
Traffic is on many minds especially since the project would bring a private school for early childhood education to high school.
Mayor Micheal Napoleone emphasized a private school is needed in the village.
“We are a private school desert,” stated Mayor Napoleone. “There is no private school in Wellington, or nearby to Wellington, that can serve any volume of kids. Having a private school in Wellington is a great value for our community.”
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Education in Motion founders have 14 different schools across the world, and this would be the first campus in the United States.