Why is West Palm giving historic Jenkins House to a nonprofit run by a city commissioner?
West Palm Beach city leaders are moving to give a historic city property to a nonprofit led by a city commissioner.
A proposal to be considered by the City Commission on May 12 would transfer ownership of the Jenkins House, a home listed on the Florida Black Heritage Trail, to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
The foundation, which currently leases the Jenkins House for use as its headquarters, would assume ownership of the property, a two-story building at 815 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., and receive $350,000 from the city to pay for upgrades to it.
The organization has been operating in the city's historically Black neighborhoods since 1979 and is currently led by City Commissioner Shalonda Warren, its president and CEO for more than a decade.
The foundation provides support to people suffering from sickle cell disease and educational services to reduce infant mortality and assist young fathers. For more than 30 years, it had a lease to operate in a city facility on Australian Avenue.
But the city relocated the organization to the Jenkins House in 2019 as it prepared to rebuild the Australian Avenue center.
Now the foundation wants to remain at the Jenkins House, city officials said. It's a larger, dedicated space and is in the heart of the historically Black neighborhoods the foundation serves.
'It really became clear that it made sense for them to stay at the current building,' Jennifer Ferriol, the city's director of housing and community development, told commissioners at a meeting in April. 'They would be in a better position to serve our community if they were to stay in that location.'
Warren, who recused herself from a preliminary vote on the transaction in April, did not respond to messages seeking comment.
When it wants to give a local nonprofit space to operate, the city often offers long-term leases, as it did in 2023, allowing the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County to lease 1.7 acres in Dreher Park for 25 years to construct a new building.
But Ferriol said there was at least one other case where the city gave property to a local nonprofit for a base of operation: when it gave the Urban League of Palm Beach County ownership of its longtime headquarters on North Australian Avenue in 2013.
In the case of the Sickle Cell Foundation, Ferriol said the city decided to gift the property rather than lease it because it would allow the organization to take charge of fixing up the historic home.
'We thought conveyance rather than leasing really allowed the foundation to take ownership and stewardship of the property, really relieving the city of those long-term operations and maintenance responsibilities that we had for extended periods of time,' she said.
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The city still proposes to pay for renovations, however. In addition to giving up the property, the city wants to give the foundation $350,000 to cover necessary upgrades.
The foundation would be required to use the Jenkins House as a center for its services for 10 years. After that it could sell it or use it for a different purpose.
'They have to remain within their mission for 10 years,' Ferriol said. 'After that, they have the ability to provide services or go in a different direction if necessary.'
The Jenkins Home's value is appraised by the county government at $380,000 for tax purposes, and it has significant historical value. Built in 1946, it was the home of Dr. Joseph Wiley Jenkins and his wife, Roberta Robinson Jenkins, who ran a popular drug store in the city's historically Black entertainment district in the 1930s and 1940s.
Their plantation-style home, originally built on Division Avenue, was a popular meeting place for members of the city's Black society, according to the Cultural Council for The Palm Beaches.
The city bought it in the 1960s to prevent its demolition and moved it to its current location. For years, an art gallery operated on the premises. Today, it is listed on the state's Florida Black Heritage Trail.
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Warren was elected to the city commission in 2021. The foundation's negotiations over the Jenkins House began two years later, according to a city timeline presented to commissioners.
Warren did not participate directly in the negotiations, Ferriol said, which were conducted between city administrators and the foundation's chairperson and attorney.
'I want to make very clear that Commissioner Warren was not involved in any discussions or negotiations related to this matter,' Ferriol told commissioners.
When commissioners first deliberated the deal during a meeting April 14, Warren left the room and did not vote. Her colleagues gave the deal initial approval without objection.
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Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach wants to give Jenkins House to Sickle Cell Foundation
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