Delray Beach's Fifth Avenue Is Building Its Fall Around What Already Stands

"It was a safe haven." That's how Cheryl Pompey-Howard described Pompey Park to WLRN this September. She is the only child of educator and civil rights leader Charles Spencer Pompey, the man the park is named for. She was talking about relay races, Girl Scout meetings, church activities and retirement parties, all held in a park that opened when Black residents were barred from many public beaches, parks and pools in Palm Beach County.

She spoke at the park's groundbreaking on Sept. 10. That ceremony kicked off a busy few weeks in The Set, the historic neighborhood along NW and SW 5th Avenue. The common thread this fall is simple. Every new project here is built around something that already stands, and none of it requires the old thing to close. A century-old house is hosting the party. The park is rebuilding while its current building stays open. The newest storefronts sit in a building whose owner set it up to keep rents low for years.

A House That Has Stood Since 1926 Hosts the Party

The Spady House at 170 NW 5th Ave was built for educator Solomon D. Spady and his wife, Jessie. According to the Spady Museum's history, construction began around 1925 and finished before July 1926. Back then the address was 170 Blackmer Street. The house is a two-story Mission Revival home.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m., the museum is holding a free open house for the house's 100th anniversary, with music, art and light bites. RSVPs are taken through the museum's events page.

It's actually a double anniversary. The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum opened in the house in July 2001, so 2026 is its 25th year as well. "We are excited about the 100th and 25th anniversaries of both The Spady House and The Spady Museum," Museum Director Charlene Farrington said in the museum's February announcement of its 2026 celebrations. The museum preserves local Black history through archives, exhibits, bus and walking tours, commemorative events and youth mentoring.

You can also visit on a regular day. The museum's visitor page lists hours of Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission is $10, and members and children 12 and under get in free. Enhanced admission is $20 and adds a guided tour and one extra activity. That page doesn't show a publish date, so check hours and prices before you go.

The Storefronts Up the Street Were Built to Stay Affordable

From the museum, it's a short walk south to 98 NW 5th Ave, home of the Edmonds Baine Building. The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency built it to provide affordable commercial space in the district. The CRA also owns the building, which it says "will ensure its affordability for years to come."

Ownership matters here. The building isn't a pop-up or a short-term lease meant to fill empty space. Rents are set by a public agency whose stated goal is to keep them affordable, so the businesses moving in have a reason to stay for the long term.

The newest tenant is Allure Beauty, a salon and boutique owned by Delray native Renee Grant. It held its grand opening Aug. 12 and offers salon services, beauty products, fashion and accessories. It shares the building with Atlantic Current, the free local print magazine and media agency. Its permanent office there was featured by the CRA in March 2026. StellaMix, a full-service podcast studio, is in Suite 103.

When the CRA picked its first tenants in 2024, Atlantic Current founder Dustin Wright explained why the building mattered to him. He started the magazine in 2012 in his Delray Beach apartment, before he graduated from FAU. "I've been looking for some time, but the rents have gotten so crazy that it's hard to justify," he said. "Having an affordable office space to call our own in the town where I started the business is truly a special opportunity."

So the house that has stood here for a hundred years now has neighbors with a practical reason to stay too.

One Thursday Evening, From One End of the Block to the Other

Sounds of The Set returns on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event runs along SW 5th Avenue, starting at Libby Wesley Plaza at 2 SW 5th Ave and ending at The Hive at 34 SW 5th Ave. Expect live music from J Sharp Band and local small-business vendors from Blackmer's Market. The Set, The Coalition and the Downtown Development Authority present the event. The same listing already shows the next date, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2027.

The stop at the end of the block isn't a shop. The Hive is an outdoor nature space developed by The Coalition of Delray, Village Academy, Soil & Soul and other groups. It hosts gardening, composting and nature activities, including a fall family mindfulness program. On Sounds of The Set evenings, Blackmer's Market brings local small-business vendors to the same stretch, so the shopping and the garden are both part of the walk.

A little farther along the same avenue, the blank wall at 95 SW 5th Ave is set to become a community-designed mosaic and ceramic tile mural. The CRA chose artists Sonata Kazimieraitienė and Symphonii Smith-Kennedy to lead it. As of the CRA's Aug. 27 announcement, the dates for community outreach and the final design were still to come. Once the CRA posts those dates, residents will have a chance to help shape what goes on the wall.

Pompey Park Stays Open While the New One Goes Up

Pompey Park at 1101 NW 2nd St follows the same idea on a bigger scale. About 100 longtime residents, city commissioners, CRA staff and developers attended the Sept. 10 groundbreaking. WLRN put the city's investment at about $59 million to rebuild the park completely. Plans include a 54,000-square-foot recreation center, two new pools and a playground.

City officials told WLRN the existing facility will stay open until the new recreation center is finished, which is targeted for 2028. The full park renovation is expected to wrap up in 2029. Those are targets, not guaranteed dates. Still, a rebuild that keeps the old building running until the new one opens means the gatherings Pompey-Howard described have no gap in between.

She described what the groundbreaking meant to her this way: "To know that for the next 50-plus years it will continue — I know he's smiling in heaven."

The city hasn't said which specific courts, fields or pool areas stay open at each stage of construction. Call the park before you plan around one of them this fall.

October on and Around Fifth Avenue

Most of this month's dates fall within a short walk of each other. A few nearby downtown events land the same weeks.

The GreenMarket's 31st winter season brings more than 70 local vendors to Old School Square every Saturday through May 22, 2027, and accepts SNAP. Fall Fest admission is $25, and children 12 and under get in free. Bake-sale proceeds support the Historical Society's educational programs. The Halloween schedule starts with the Witches of Delray ride from 8 to 11 a.m. Trick-or-treating runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the parade from Federal Highway starts at 1 p.m., and Kidsfest goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. These event pages don't show publish dates, so confirm times closer to the day.

The Set's own events sit at the top of the table. The Spady House centennial on Oct. 17 and Sounds of The Set five days later both happen on a few blocks of Fifth Avenue, and the park's current building stays open throughout.

At The Homeseeker Group, we follow the places that hold Delray Beach together, from a 100-year-old house on NW 5th Avenue to a park being rebuilt for the next 50 years. If you're curious how projects like the Pompey Park rebuild might shape the blocks around your home, schedule a consultation with Stacy and our team.