Don't sell out the public when selling off Mecca

The effort to bring The Scripps Research Institute to Palm Beach County has been developer-driven from the start. Now, commissioners would cement that mistake by selling the 1,920-acre site to developers. There's no problem with seeking bids to find out what the land is worth, but commissioners are letting profits subvert the goal of economic transformation.

Not that it's so easy to argue that commissioners are competent to do the development themselves. Even on their best behavior, the commissioners' political calculations top development concerns. At their worst, they are petty and vindictive. If they sell, the public still will count on this group that has allowed the Browardization of much of Palm Beach County to restrain a developer's impulse for a quick return. The chosen developer must be in for the long haul, not the quick buck.

Commissioners allowed secret negotiations by a few select negotiators to lead them to the wrong site. It's no coincidence that the commission agreed to seek out private developers after Lennar Homes consultant Greg Fagan, who was instrumental in steering Scripps to the remote Mecca Farms grove, publicly suggested the step. One factor -- to ensure secrecy for potential tenants -- exposes an interest in limiting public scrutiny, not a good idea when the public is providing the seed money. The best argument for selling: It shifts the risk from the county to the private sector, while possibly covering the county's $60 million land investment, its $140 million commitment to Scripps and the cost of internal roads, landscaping and drainage lakes.

The key is that the commission aim high. Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti went off Tuesday on the need for a broad approach in requesting proposals from developers. He couldn't be more wrong. The county needs to narrow the request so developers know what's expected of them. It's the county's opportunity to require that bid teams include major national developers with experience in research laboratories. It's a chance to give extra points for meeting the county's design standards, including assuring a significant public space modeled on the National Mall in Washington; establishing a 247-acre flowway to move water to the Loxahatchee River; and building a "village," not another suburban office park. The county can meet one of its most pressing needs by dictating that developers finance lab space for start-up companies. Finally, the request is where the county can let builders know that this is not an opportunity to turn quick profits with gated communities for commuters. Many of the site's 2,000 homes must be priced for graduate students, clerical workers and visiting professors.

It's a seller's market. Not only are land values rising rapidly but the commission already has agreed to zoning that converts the remote grove to a downtown. That's like taking an otherwise ordinary football and getting it signed by Dan Marino and Don Shula. If the bids don't meet expectations, commissioners don't have to sell. In short, commissioners have no reason to demand anything less than the best. It's not strictly about money. The project's quality will help determine whether biotech companies will come, which is, after all, the main idea.