Construction to Begin on Palm Plaza Business Center

After three years of delays, city officials have approved construction of the Bell Palm Plaza, the city’s first major redevelopment project in at least 20 years.

The City Council last week approved plans and permits for the seven-acre shopping center on the west side of Atlantic Avenue between Randolph and Gage avenues.

Palm Plaza will house the Family Bargain Center, a clothing department store; Pistol Pete’s Pizza, a pizza parlor with entertainment for children; Chief Auto Parts and J.J. Newberry, a dry goods store, City Manager John Bramble said.

He said construction should begin in September, and the plaza should be open by the fall of 1991. The Spanish colonial style center will not only provide the city with about $150,000 in sales tax revenue, but will also rejuvenate Atlantic Avenue and give the city “a new look,” Bramble said. “It’s just the shot in the arm we need,” he said.