Tag Archive for: office space

Downtown West Palm Beach Booms With New Development

heavy machinery silhouette against sunset_canstockphoto22611529 770x320

Two massive towers are rising in West Palm Beach, reaching 426 feet high to clutch the tile for the city’s tallest high-rises.

They’re just the latest sign of the expansive growth as the downtown lures more businesses and residents.

The 30-story mixed-use complex, titled One West Palm, will contain 326 luxury residential units, 200,000 square feet of Class A office space, a hotel and a long list of amenities, including a fitness club, spa, movie theater and indoor tennis courts.

“These aren’t just the tallest,” One West Palm developer Jeff Greene said. “They’re certainly going to be the iconic landmark buildings in the skyline of West Palm Beach.”

One West Palm sits at 550 N. Quadrille Blvd. in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15. Developer Jeff Greene said the project will be completed some time next year. (PHOTO CREDIT: Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Residing at 550 N. Quadrille Boulevard, the 426-foot behemoths could fit the length of nearly one-and-half American football fields. They may be the buildings closest to the sky in West Palm Beach, but the project is certainly not the only one in the works.

The “Wall Street of the South” has become a magnet for developers, especially as people migrate from the cities south of it and move from states in the Northeastern United States.

‘The Most Exciting Thing ’

Construction on One West Palm began more than four years ago, and delays pushed completion to 2024, Greene said. But his excitement for the project remains, especially as it will now join other newly developed current and future projects.

“We started out with a kind of out-of-the-way location that really was across from a bunch of boarded-up buildings in Palm Beach,” Greene said. “And now we’re sitting kind of dead center in the middle of the most exciting thing happening in all of South Florida. So it’s really an exciting time for our project.”

The AKA Hotel is at 695 S Olive Ave. in West Palm Beach, seen here on Sept. 15. This luxury hotel opened last year. (PHOTO CREDIT: Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Greene said his vision was to create something the city did not yet have. While One West Palm will tout the title of highest buildings in the city, the surge of development in the area has produced several projects, some of which were recently completed, some of which are under construction and some of which were recently approved.

Among those projects are:

  • 360 Rosemary, a nearly 300,000-square-foot office building at 360 S. Rosemary Ave., Suite 1100. This project was completed in 2021.
  • AKA Hotel, a luxury hotel at 695 S. Olive Ave., recently opened last year.
  • One Flagler, a 25-floor Class A-office building with luxury amenities at 154 Lakeview Ave., is under construction.
  • Olara, a luxury waterfront residence at 1919 N. Flagler Drive, is under construction and expected to open in the next few years.
  • NORA, a mixed-use district featuring casual to high-end dining, desserts, coffee shops, boutique fitness spots and retail, will open its first phase in 2024. Its first food and fitness tenants were recently announced.
  • Transit Village, a mixed-use transit-oriented development with residential units planned for 150 Clearwater Drive and 203 S. Tamarind Ave.
  • 515 Fern, a 25-floor mixed-use building expected to become the largest office building in downtown West Palm Beach at 515 Fern St.

Unlocking A Formula

“Those years of great planning and foresight and investment into the city are now bearing fruit by the private sector recognizing that this is a great place,” said Christopher Roog, the executive director for West Palm Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency. “The growth is occurring in a managed but high-quality way that is benefiting the residents.”

Roog said the city has unlocked a formula for creating places people want to work and live, leaning into the ever-popular ‘Live, Work, Play’ concept so many other cities, such as Boca Raton, are adopting.

“We’re intentionally building our built environment, like our streets and our sidewalks, to make them so comfortable and so inviting that it makes it very easy for that ‘Live, Work, Play’ concept to happen,” Roog said.

“More than 10,000 people now live in downtown West Palm Beach, and even four years ago, the population didn’t hit anywhere close to that,” said Diane G. Papadakos, the city’s director of communications.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from, you can live in the city of West Palm Beach and thrive here,” Roog said.

Growing As A Destination

The flocks of developers, Northeasterners and companies moving to the area is accelerating West Palm’s trajectory, said Jaime Sturgis, the CEO and founder of Native Realty, the real estate firm behind the AKA Hotel and other West Palm Beach projects.

“When a number of these really large funds or private equity groups or even development companies have moved down here, they want to build things that are in their backyard,” Sturgis said. “With all of that wealth that’s migrated down here, there’s also been a tremendous demand to build projects to support the people that are coming. A company coming from Manhattan, for example, is accustomed to state-of-the-art facilities and rental properties to support the company’s workforce.”

For the past 10 to 15 years, West Palm seemingly stalled behind cities such as Miami in “urban core development,” Sturgis said, meaning a lack of construction, new office buildings, retail and multifamily residences.

“The urbanization of formerly industrial neighborhoods, which we’ve seen take off on a massive scale in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, right through Wynwood and through Flagler Village, has been very successful,” Sturgis said. “And now West Palm is doing that with Nora, which I think is phenomenal. … It really starts to become like a true urban core.”

While not entirely new, the Brightline station in West Palm affords more flexibility for people who live in the city but work elsewhere, Sturgis said. And with more than $70 million in Tri-Rail funds for updated coaches, accessible transportation continues to play an integral role in not only taking people to West Palm Beach to enjoy a night on Clematis Street or a day walking in The Square, but keeping them there and turning them into new residents, too.

Rapid growth, especially when coupled with the arrival of large, successful businesses to an area still coming into its own, could create an environment where standalone spots are swallowed whole by chains. But Sturgis does not feel this threat looms over West Palm Beach or anywhere in South Florida for that matter as he watches communities rally around small businesses.

“We’re still seeing a desire for local and regional tenants,” Sturgis said. “A local coffee shop, or the owner of the local bakery where the husband and wife are working there each day, that sort of thing.”

‘Unique Environment’

Clusters of new buildings popping up in a city are not enough to support people’s desire to visit or stay, no matter how nice they may be. Take it from Jordan Rathlev, a senior vice president of Related Southeast, the real estate company behind West Palm’s 360 Rosemary, One Flagler and 515 Fern.

The ability to cultivate a desired lifestyle, whether that revolves around golfing, beach access, walkable downtowns, outdoor restaurants or all of the above, is an important factor in the decision to move, Rathlev said, which is why Related considers those aspects when deciding where and how they want to move forward with particular developments.

“We start to recognize if people want to come and be successful in South Florida, there’s a lot of critical infrastructure pieces that we’re looking to address because they come to these cities, they expect some of the same amenity base and offering that you would have in some of the other world class cities around the country,” Rathlev said.

West Palm’s planning department, which Rathlev said is “very progressive” in encouraging a variety of architectural types, helps achieve that goal. But the city also remains sensible. Developers aren’t constructing buildings 100 stories in the air, he said.

“I don’t think you will ever see West Palm evolve to the scale and density of a Miami and New York, and frankly, I don’t think we personally want it to,” Rathlev said.

 

Source: SunSentinel

Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency Could Partner With Developer To Build Mixed-Use Project

partnership_168097042_l 770x320

The Westgate/Belvedere Homes Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) could partner with a developer to build a mixed-use project about 10 blocks north of Palm Beach International Airport.

The Palm Beach County Zoning Commission will consider plans for Westgate Terrace on Feb. 2. It would be located on the vacant site of two acres at the southeast corner of Westgate Avenue and Seminole Boulevard. The CRA owns six of the seven parcels there. The remaining parcel at 2634 Westgate Ave. is owned by Danza of Westgate LLC, managed by Charles Lesnick in Wellington.

“The CRA wants to redevelop the Westgate Avenue corridor by cleaning vacant lots and demolishing dilapidated buildings to create a safer and more vibrant area where people can live and work,” said Elizee Michel, executive director of the CRA. “It is a mixed-use mixed-income proposal that provides office space, workforce housing and modern architecture to lift up the area economically and esthetically.”

Rising four stories, Westgate Terrace would feature 46 apartments, a 5,600-square-foot office for the CRA and 5,015 square feet of medical offices. Michel said that would include 10 apartments for workforce housing, with two of them set aside for disabled veterans.

“The developers are currently working on financing the construction,” Michel said. “Depending on the amount of government funding they receive, the majority of the units will either be affordable or workforce housing. The units, even if they are not all income restricted, will be made affordable to middle-class earners to help address the shortage of affordable housing in Palm Beach County.”

The developer is seeking a waiver to allow an entrance into the project from Nokomis Avenue with a 40-foot right-of-way, instead of 80 feet as required by county code. Aaron M. Taylor of Belle Glade-based Arc Development Global represents the CRA and the developer in the application.

 

Source: SFBJ

Overlooked Downtown West Palm Beach Area Poised For Redevelopment Anointed As The Nora District

downtown west palm beach 770x320

Downtown West Palm Beach’s growth has caught the eye of developers and real estate investors, but one district has been left out of the activity.

Now, this is poised to change. The city, working with NDT Development and Place Projects, wants to implement a set of building regulations aimed at breathing life into the area anointed the Nora District.

A rendering of the Nora District Redevelopment (IMAGE CREDIT: ArquitectonicaGEO)

Stretching between Quadrille and Palm Beach Lakes boulevards and from Dixie Highway to the FEC Railroad tracks, the area is poised to be redeveloped in a manner reminiscent of Miami’s Wynwood Arts District.

Commissioners just took the first step by voting unanimously on to change the comprehensive plan, a blueprint for growth and development, for the Nora District. Next, the state plans to review the tweaks, and if it approves them, the commission is expected to take a final vote on Feb. 7, 2022. In the meantime, the city also is working on zoning and land development rules for the Nora District.

“NDT and Place Projects, which together own 13 acres in Nora, approached the city in 2019 to discuss how to breathe new life into the district,” said Joe Furst, founder and managing principal of Place Projects. “The city had tried before to encourage other development in the area that had not come to fruition,” referring to regulations implemented over a decade ago.

Despite that effort, 39 percent of properties remain vacant, even as roughly 211 residential units and 50,000 square feet of commercial space have been built annually over the past 15 years in the rest of downtown, according to the city.

A rendering of the Nora District Redevelopment (IMAGE CREDIT: ArquitectonicaGEO)

The vision for Nora is to create a multi-section neighborhood, where towers would rise in some places, and existing buildings would be preserved or renovated in others. The northern section, with mostly vacant lots, is expected to see buildings of up to 20-stories at the corner of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and the train tracks, scaling down to 15 stories on lots to the east along the boulevard, according to the city. The height that is currently allowed is two stories along Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and five stories along Dixie Highway.

“NDT and Place Projects, which own most of the vacant lots in the northern Nora area, envision a multifamily project and potentially offices,” Furst said. “The maximum proposed heights would be allowed through the transfer of development rights, including from historic buildings elsewhere in downtown. Transferring development rights means developers also would have to include affordable and workforce housing.”

But the big projects won’t be the first step by NDT and Place Projects. Instead, they would start with infrastructure improvements and repurposing the mostly vacant buildings they own along Railroad Avenue, the future main street in Nora.

Aerial of the Nora District Redevelopment (IMAGE CREDIT: ArquitectonicaGEO)

The mid-section of Nora, roughly between Eighth and 10th streets and home to single-family houses and duplexes, will be preserved. The southern section along Quadrille Boulevard could see buildings up to 10 stories, double the currently allowed height, according to the city.

NDT and Place Projects have put roughly $40 million into property acquisitions and other costs associated with drawing the Nora vision, according to Furst.

“Ultimately, the Nora District could bring in other developers as well,” Furst said.

Based in West Palm Beach, NDT’s other recent ventures include buying a West Palm Beach office tower in July with three other partners for $60.7 million. The firm is led by Ned and Sam Grace, as well as Damien Barr.

Miami-based Place Projects has ventures in Brickell, Wynwood and St. Petersburg, according to its website. It was a development partner in the 545 Wyn office building in Wynwood.

In another part of downtown West Palm Beach, Stephen Ross’ Related Companies has amassed the majority of the office towers in a bet on financial firm influx to the area. Its latest downtown project is the One Flagler office building, dubbed in real estate circles the “hedge fund tower.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

 

Boynton Beach Mall Could Face Overhaul With New Apartments, Hotel And Offices

boynton beach mall

Boynton Beach Mall could have half the square footage for retail businesses once it’s redeveloped, but it might add apartments, a hotel and offices.

The plans reflect attempts across America to transform malls as fewer people go there to shop. Apartments also are planned at the Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs and at the former Fashion Mall in Plantation.

The Boynton Beach Mall once had tenants including Burdines, JCPenney, Jordan Marsh and Lord & Taylor. But like other malls facing less in-store shopping and an increase in online shopping by consumers, retail tenants have dwindled over the years, with new types of tenants coming in.

“According to city documents, 30 percent of the mall is now vacant, and its proposed redevelopment would not only stabilize it, but make it a desirable destination once again,” said Bonnie Miskel, a lawyer representing primary mall owner Washington Prime.

The proposal would reduce the existing mall square footage for retail from about 1 million square feet to 482,750 square feet, and build separate, mixed-use buildings with retail use on the first floor and residential units above. Developers also would add up to 1,420 residential apartments on the site, along the north end and southwest side of the mall property, and inside the new mixed-use buildings. The redeveloped mall would include a 400-room hotel, 65,000 square feet each of medical office space, and general office space, and 35,000 of new restaurant space.

The master plan and rezoning request for the 116-acre site was filed with the Boynton Beach City Commission, which gave initial approval, but meets again on the plans Jan. 21. Some Boynton Beach residents expressed concerns on the NextDoor app about mounting traffic off Congress Avenue near the mall and that mall redevelopment plans didn’t seem to include any new entertainment venues for the community, such as a park, bowling alley or sports center.

The plan doesn’t affect Macy’s and JCPenney, the two major department stores remaining at the mall, which are owned separately, and Christ Fellowship Church, owner of a former Dillard’s department store space in the mall. The redevelopment would happen over five phases, with the first phase removing the former Sears buildings and adding a 400-unit apartment building, Washington Prime said.

In its proposal for redevelopment, Washington Prime says that “the current use of the property as an aging mall is in steady decline as it no longer meets the needs of the community and is slowly becoming a source of blight in the city.” Occupancy at the mall has dropped by 11.5 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to documents submitted to the city to justify rezoning.

 

Source: Sun-Sentinel