Can Hillcrest deal work?

The county bought the 86-acre Hillcrest neighborhood in West Palm Beach and removed the homes because of airport noise. Neighbors were offered a golf course that never came. Now, there's a promising new proposal to build ballfields for Palm Beach Atlantic University. It would be a good deal for the university, and it would allow the county to unload a burden. But the deal depends on winning over the city and neighbors.

Neighbors who didn't want an industrial park bordering their homes west of Parker Avenue, east of Interstate 95 and south of Belvedere Road are unsure of what to make of a proposal that has undergone little public scrutiny. Palm Beach International Airport bought the land for $33 million in a massive buyout of 363 properties in the flight path. Most of the area has been vacant since the early 1990s. A $3.7 million deal to bring a golf course, signed in 2000, died last year when Interstate 95 widening delayed a developer's plans.

On Tuesday, county commissioners will discuss plans to sell the land to the university, which wants a 200-seat baseball stadium for its NCAA Division II team. The county has appraised the land for recreational uses at up to $3.5 million, far below its value as an industrial park. PBAU's desire for a ballfield near its downtown West Palm Beach campus dates to 1992, when it considered the city's Howard Park. Later, it tried to link up with plans for a downtown Baltimore Orioles spring training stadium. Until the fields are ready, PBAU plans to play at the former King's Academy, now owned by the county.

The university is offering to make the complex, which would include baseball, soccer and softball fields as well as tennis courts, available to city residents. University President David W. Clark said PBAU would pay for a public walking trail and limit the complex to a single entrance. It would provide 24-hour security and extensive lighting, he said, adding, "We'll turn this into a high-quality recreational facility." While traffic has been a problem on some parts of Parker Avenue, baseball is likely to draw fewer cars than an industrial park.

West Palm Beach retains a role in deciding what happens because it owns the old residential streets that criss-cross the site. The city's first priority is to protect the needs of neighbors who have suffered long enough living next to what once was a viable neighborhood.