JUPITER — Everything from asset rights to an ancient Native American mound to the long-term of one of Jupiter’s last remaining waterfront parcels is at stake as the city council prepares to hear a developer’s appeal later this month.
Charles Modica, a longtime Hobe Sound resident and developer, purchased the Suni Sands cell home park near Jupiter Inlet for $17 million in 2013, with the goal of building a mixed-use progression with condos, a restaurant and a hotel.
The last citizens of Suni Sands were evicted in 2016. But plans to expand the property, which some make one of the most traditionally significant and archaeologically significant sites in South Florida, have yet to be approved. The expanders were rejected when they were looking for a mandatory first step.
On February 16, the Jupiter Historic Resources Board denied Modica a certificate to excavate on the property, before the progression could continue. The city council is expected to hear the developer’s appeal on July 20.
“Although it is not a burial mound, there is history underneath. There is evidence of lives beyond below,” said Debi Murray, chairwoman of the historic board of trustees and lead curator of the Palm Beach County Historical Society.
“It’s part of a larger complex that other people have been through in the past, and that’s the last part. The board made the decision that it was important enough to save her. “
Murray said if Modica needs a lasting legacy, keep the assets as a historic site.
“His call would last much longer than in a hotel,” Murray said. “It’s a shame that much of it has been excavated over decades. We’re looking to keep what’s left and make other people aware that there were other people here before. “to us.
Saved through Development: Jupiter Secures 15 Ecologically Sensitive Acres as Part of Bear’s Club Deal
The assets are home to two archaeological sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. These are the Jupiter and Lake Worth Railroad, also known as the Celestial Railroad, and the 4-acre Suni Sands Shell Midden, which emerges about 10 feet above the ground. .
Archaeologists say there is evidence at the site that there appear to be other people in the domain dating back 5,000 years, and that the black earth cluster is believed to be 1,500 years old. It includes artifacts from the other indigenous people who lived there.
The railroad operated from 1889 to 1895 and carried passengers 7. 5 miles to the north end of Lake Worth. Nothing remains of the railroad, but its 950-foot trail runs through the property from north to south.
Modica, who developed the nearby Love Street complex of four restaurants and piers with NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath, agreed to keep some ownership of Suni Sands. He called for excavating 1. 99 acres and using part of an acre for a road and tennis and pickleball courts for a total area of 2. 5 acres on the 4-acre mound.
City staff and two archaeology experts allowed the excavation of 1. 29 acres of the four acres. The remaining 2. 78 acres of Suni Sands Shell Midden were a preservation domain with a 10-foot-wide buffer zone around it.
City Hall Update: An Overview of Construction Progress for the $24. 7 Million Jupiter Building
Staff said the state’s Division of Historic Resources stated that covering a road mound was not appropriate because of the weight and effects the construction could cause.
But the Jupiter Historical Council, after hearing from members of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes who say their ancestors are likely buried there, as well as archaeologists, historians and locals, concluded that it is to properly maintain archaeological resources if any of the 10 hectares are developed.
Artifacts discovered in 289 excavation tests that the developer’s archaeologist, Bob Carr, conducted between 2014 and 2022 included 4,800 pieces of prehistoric pottery, a rare greenstone hammer and an awl head, which are evidence of exchanges with the north, such as prehistoric skeletons or fossilized human remains, adding seven human teeth and a kneecap.
Bryan Davis, a senior planner in Palm Beach County, described the assets as “the essence of Jupiter, an iconic maximum and as vital as Jupiter’s lighthouse. “
He testified that the confluence of Jupiter Inlet, the Loxahatchee River, and the Indian River, as the terminus of the celestial railroad, shaped Jupiter’s story and were to blame for the city’s historic arrangement.
Murray said that in the past, Native Americans had no say in what happened to mounds like this, now they have more political influence.
Robert Rosa of the American Indian Movement and the Florida Indian Alliance were among those who spoke at the hearings. He says the mound is a burial site that some need to downplay by saying it’s nothing more than a “pile of trash. “
“We wouldn’t go to Arlington Cemetery to see what they buried the heroes of World War II with. It’s anything you just don’t do,” he said Rosa. No DNA needs to be removed from the remains.
Josh Liller, a member of the Historic Resources Board who works as a historian and collections manager for the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, which operates Jupiter’s entrance light space, said the Suni Sands mound is one of 3 left on Jupiter. The others are in Dubois. Park with a pioneering space above it and facing the light space along the shore.
Florida Indians created mounds of shells and sand for ceremonial and practical purposes, and built them on the top floor for the rainy season. The leader spoke to the tribe from the mound.
“We don’t have a lot of surviving sites here in southeast Florida. Many were destroyed in the early days of colonization. Preserving one of the remains and putting it in context with the other two is a bigger story,” Liller said.
How Jupiter Grows: City Scuppers Public Pier Plan Behind New Waterfront Condos
“When you stand at the top of this mound, you are directly in Indian River. There’s a lot of visuals and you understand why it might have been important to Native Americans. “
Suni Sands is also called Sperry Property. La parcel, on the south bank of the Loxahatchee River, between Clemons Street and DuBois Park, is the center of industry early Jupiter.
Emily Sperry, by William Sperry of S.
Suni Sands was also a gathering place for citizens and visitors who docked their rowboats, swam and fished. The Seminoles also went there and took a picture with Jupiter’s lighthouse in the background, as it is today.
Modica told the board on Nov. 29 that when he bought Suni Sands from bankruptcy in 2013, there were 104 mobile home and RV sites that had been around for decades, and he thought about keeping it as it is, but instead expanding it. responsibly
“We hired the most productive archaeologist we could find, Bob Carr, to consult us on this property,” Modica said. “We felt it would be better to expand it and respect the archaeological facets and open the site to the public.
Modica said the city’s recommendations would further limit the amount of land that can be developed and prevent the allocation from being economically viable.
“I come to you now, asking you about the ancient facets and the desire to open it to the public, with the understanding that if we can’t build anything there, there’s no way forward. I don’t want it to stop. There is nothing left for the industry in terms of land use there,” Modica said.
Modica’s proposal calls for a 125-room hotel, 72 condominiums and townhouses, 6439 square feet of retail and 5650 square feet of restaurants. No progression has been approved and the appeal hearing will deal with the denial of the excavation certificate.
Abacoa at the Crossroads: Shouldn’t the Last Buildings in Jupiter District Have Shops?
Philippe Jeck, a Juno Beach attorney representing the developer, said that before obtaining the assets in 2013, the ownership team met twice with city staff to determine the potential for progression of the assets. They learned that progression was imaginable but subject to archaeological examination.
“We knew that upon entering, archaeological tracking was imperative to expand responsibly. That’s what he did,” Jeck told the board on Nov. 29.
“I wouldn’t possibly find any other expander who does what Mr. Modica gives him to do on this site. He needs to expand it as a legacy for the community,” Jeck said, adding that he has approached Modica several times through entities interested in buying it.
Carr discovered no burial sites or rituals in the excavation assets. If skeletal remains are discovered, Florida law will apply, Jeck said.
The city’s archaeologists, Advanced Archaeology and Commonwealth Heritage Group, disagreed, saying there was evidence of rituals and that the assets were a cemetery.
Modica plans to create a public domain along the A1A that will celebrate life beyond the domain as an advertising hub. It would also come with historical signage and preservation of the original Celestial Railroad path, as well as a small museum to demonstrate all the artifacts found in the construction.
Jeck said a progression known as Jupiter Oxbow, approved not yet under structure along the A1A mounds. In addition, the Celestial Railroad once passed through Inlet Waters, a progression of townhouses just south of Oxbow.
“They had no structural constraints. They paved it and built buildings on top of it. An excavation certificate is not required,” Jeck said of Inlet Waters.
Native Americans, adding Betty Osceola, president of the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida, the sacred Suni Sands Mound. The tribe respects the graves of their ancestors and said they deserve not to be disturbed or excavated. The teachings of the tribes warn that disturbing the rest The laying of the ancestors would bring sickness and bad luck to the spirits of the ancestors.
Jessica Namath, Joe Namath’s daughter, is a resident of Tequesta and Native American president of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Jupiter Lighthouse Chapter. He said it’s very good to keep the mound and teach other people about the past.
“People can come from all over to see the existing mound and receive more information about the culture. There are so many things we don’t know,” Namath said. We have the most productive piece of an incredible puzzle, and we do it. “Don’t take the time to find out. “
Rosa of the American Indian Movement agrees.
“Imagine if they left it as it was. People can come and visit. They already have hotels in the area. People can come and be informed and sit at the water’s edge, which was a green space. It would be much more pleasant for the city than more people.