editor’s letter

The Price of Success

As Delray wrestles with rising prices, one group is mapping out a plan to manage its growing status as a tourist destination

Everyone says it: It feels as if the world, even in Delray, is upside down these days. And nowhere is this more evident than in the price of real estate— and rent. Randy Schultz explores this state of affairs (page 42), citing average local prices that confirm what we’ve all been seeing now for awhile: Not only was Delray “discovered” years ago, but it’s now becoming unaffordable for those of us who knew it when. I remember looking at houses in Lake Ida back in the day, and it was still kind of a “spotty” neighborhood; you can’t touch anything in there for close to a million now. And the same with downtown: Who can afford to set up shop there anymore?

All of this change roiling Delray, its rising prices and its growing population, and maybe most of all its reputation as a tourism hot spot, is altering the game here, and it prompted the formation of a tourism task force last year to determine how to manage tourism going forward, preserving our appeal while improving both the local and visitor experience. I am on that task force, and we have recommended that the city fund a strategic tourism plan (there isn’t one now), executed by a designated group, to guide our tourism efforts going forward.

It makes sense that leaders of the DDA and the Chamber would spearhead this initiative, as both have been on the forefront of this entire effort—and this is what they do. Like every day. Here’s hoping the city keeps this effort alive and allows this group to carry our plan forward, without getting bogged down in city politics or bureaucracy. It’s one chance we have to make our world a little less upside down, and a little more appealing to all of us who live here.

FIVE (MORE) THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DELRAY

[ 1 ] Talking to Bobby Wollenberg on a slow day at Nina Raynor [ 2 ] Takeout from Hunan Gardens [ 3 ] Early Christmas shopping at Spice [ 4 ] Island Fisheries conch chowder from Bedner’s [ 5 ] A slow walk through the Morikami gardens

VMA STUDIOS