West Palm Beach Development News

[Dale]

That's WAY too interesting to happen in Florida.

[lizayuen]

Picture is really look good and the city looks amazing. Nice shots man.

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roulette reaper

[Jan280]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/fs...e-1408390.html

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Jan280

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/fs...e-1408390.html

[JohnMilisitz]

Originally Posted by renner01

Deal on Opera Place height said close

Pat Beall
Thursday, July 29, 2004



WEST PALM BEACH -- Developers of the ultra-high-rise Opera Place, city planners and Mayor Lois Frankel appear to have found middle ground on building height.

"We had a very good meeting," said Willy Bermello, president and CEO of BAP Development Inc., developer of the proposed 31-story project. "I think we will have a compromise this month that everyone will be happy with."

But he stopped short of offering details of the deal.

The property is bounded by Okeechobee Boulevard to the south, Quadrille Boulevard to the west, Dixie Highway to the east and Iris Street to the north.

Bermello is so pleased with the progress of the talks that his firm is considering buying the adjacent city-owned property -- dubbed the tent site -- once it comes to market.

The properties have been described as "premier locations" by Frankel, who first broached the idea of piercing the widely accepted 20-story height limit in that area.

A loophole exempts both sites from a 10-year-old master plan clamping a lid on building height. Still, the city's planning department rejected a 31-story design, as did the planning board.

Plans for the soaring building drew raves for artistry, but its height was more than twice that of surrounding structures.

"It was a very, very good-looking project and innovative as well," said attorney Ken Spillias, chairman of the city's planning board.

A 20-story version generated less enthusiasm. "It was clearly not as attractive," Spillias said.

Bermello said plans continue to include a stage and related space for Florida Stage, the Manalapan-based theater troupe. In one design the building rises to 25 stories, with another building on the north side rising to eight stories, sources close to the project say.

Even going back to the drawing board a third time, Bermello said, the project remains on track for timely completion. That news should be welcomed by early fans of the yet-to-be-designed condominium tower: Sixty condos have been sold already.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localne...de19b00d8.html

These are beautiful plans. THis is going to look great.

[Dale]

A new tallest then ?

[Miami High Rise]

That's from 2004.

[Dale]

Whatever happened with Frankl's plans to build an 'iconic structure' ? Did she screw that up ?

[South Florida]

Related planning 500-unit condo towers in West Palm Beach
.South Florida Business Journal
Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 2:51pm EDT
.
.Related:Residential Real Estate, Economic Snapshot .....View photo gallery (2 photos) Jorge Perez's Related Group is looking to build 500 condos in West Palm Beach

.. ..The new Related projects would be north of the Rybovich Marina.

.In 2006, The Related Group had been working on the 150-unit luxury waterfront condo at 4308 N. Flagler Drive with Donald Trump called ICON Palm Beach. That plan dissolved as the real estate boom faltered.

Related now proposes two towers, at 4308 N. Flagler and 4416 N. Flagler, one of them 22 stories tall, the other, 23, according to the Palm Beach Post. Whether the new project just north of the Rybovich .Rybovich Latest from The Business Journals Palm Beach job growth for Olympusat, RybovichRybovich unveils M mega yacht hubContentious Riviera Beach marina mega yacht facility back on table Follow this company .Marina still has the ICON name is unclear.

The project would have 506 units, priced from the low $200,000s to just under $1 million, as well as a 713-car garage and seven townhomes.

Jorge Perez’s Related Group has announced a few new condo projects, including My Brickell in Miami, despite a market where mortgage-financed is not common. He has bought distressed property, the Business Journal reported.

He has also created an alliance with residential broker International Sales Group to advance his development strategy as he deals with the weight of past projects that were negatively impacted by the economic meltdown. Related Group has turned over CityPlace South Tower in West Palm Beach, two towers of Icon Brickell in Miami and Trump Hollywood to lenders

[Dale]

So much for the recent Herald article which projected no new projects in Palm Beach county for several years.

[DShoost88]

So the fate of the Palm Beach Mall has been determined:

Fashion outlets on their way to neglected Palm Beach Mall, developers say

By EMILY ROACH
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

WEST PALM BEACH — The Palm Beach Mall will be redeveloped as the Palm Beach Fashion outlets, bringing construction and ultimately hundreds of jobs to the mostly shuttered retail center.

Once revamped, it will offer an open-air outlet center beside a shopping center, according to a news release from New England Development, Eastern Real Estate and Lubert-Adler, all of which partnered to buy the 80-acre property.

Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and other luxury retail outlets have shown early interest in the location, New England Development Chairman Stephen Karp told The Post earlier this year. Marketing materials released at a retail conference showed premium outlets, including Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdale's Outlet Store and Neiman Marcus' Last Call.

That scope of project could become a shopping destination for people from outside the county, said Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.

"If it's anything like what we've seen in other parts of our state, it really is an attraction for people to come and visit," she said. Those shoppers tend to spend an overnight or weekend, and money could trickle into West Palm Beach's CityPlace and Clematis Street corridor, she said.

Mayor Jeri Muoio said the developers have worked with the city as they explored concepts. She was unsure how soon construction would begin. "I think they're trying to decide to rehab it or start from scratch," she said.

The fashion outlet center is expected to open in 2013.

Palm Beach Mall was the first regional mall in Palm Beach County and has some of the best interstate access in South Florida, as it is easily seen off the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard exit of Interstate 95.

The deal - which includes purchase of the majority of the mall from ORIX Capital Markets and parcels owned separately by Macy's and Dillard's department stores - was initially reported in a news release as worth $40 million. The representative who released the information, however, later backed off of that figure. Neither Karp nor representatives from Eastern Real Estate and ORIX returned messages today to provide more information.

Multiple owners had been considered an obstacle to pulling the main property out of foreclosure, filed in April 2009 on $55 million in loans.

The court-appointed receiver, Madison Marquette's Chuck Taylor, was traveling today and unavailable to comment, but his assistant said the property was still under contract and had not closed. Wells Fargo Bank financed the acquisition, according to the news release.

Dan Lynch, managing partner of Atlantic Retail Properties' Jupiter office who brokered the deal, said J.C. Penney Co. would be "part of the future of the project." The retailer, as well as George's Music, stuck it out at the mall, even posting a sign earlier this year that says: "Here to Stay."

Once construction starts, whether it's demolition of the million square feet of space opened in 1967 or renovation of the existing buildings, Muoio said city leaders and neighbors will be relieved to see the "dead space" revitalized.

Palm Beach Lakes South association President Bernard Macon said a new mall will bring back jobs for young people in his neighborhood, which lies just to the west of I-95. And it will give people, young and old, a place to go again.

He and his wife used to walk at the mall, Macon said.

"There's nothing exciting in there," Macon said of the mall now. "You want to see things to make the walk interesting."

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Alexandra Clough contributed to this story.

[Andyxox]

West Palm Beach officials have a suggestion for Palm Beach mall developers: add West to the name

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/w...37998.html?005

WEST PALM BEACH — City leaders are urging developers of the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets to consider a name tweak to acknowledge the proposed retail complex's real home.

"I think the naming of the mall, West Palm Beach Fashion Mall, is a real important issue," City Commissioner Sylvia Moffett said, and she's pushing for the change.

It's just a suggestion, city Planning Manager Rick Greene told the development's designers, architects and lawyers assembled Wednesday for a meeting. But he told them to expect to hear it again.

Project planner Ken Tuma of Urban Design Kilday Studios and developer's representative Tom Carabine of Carabine and Associates - clearly the head guys at the meeting table - both said that kind of decision would be made up the ladder. New England Development CEO Stephen Karp didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Replacing the aging and mostly vacant Palm Beach Mall with a completely rebuilt center is a big score for the city. New England Development, a Massachusetts-based real estate firm, partnered with Eastern Real Estate and Lubert-Adler to buy the 80-acre mall in October for $35.5 million and the rebuild could add $150 million to the price.

Mayor Jeri Muoio said she's not concerned about the shopping center's name, because it will make a huge financial impact and bring back jobs. "I'm just happy they're here," she said.

In addition to keeping JCPenney, the lone retail chain holdout, and George's Music, developers are expected to bring in other major retailers, possible big-box chains and outlet versions of major retailers. What tips the excitement level is the luxury outlet lines expected to join the complex, such as Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdale's Outlet Store and Last Call by Neiman Marcus. No outlet stores have been announced.

Wednesday was the first public airing of the fashion outlet plans, a review by a committee of city staff of the master plan and design guidelines and replatting of the property.

Some of the issues raised were broad ones, like the name. But a more urgent issue with city officials seemed to be the placement of the buildings.

Greene said the city would like the mall to "engage" Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard more than the preliminary site plan shows.

"We don't want to see a sea of parking," Greene said.

Tuma said after the meeting that he had just heard the suggestion for the first time, so he had no comment. Different layouts have different advantages, he said.

As tentatively proposed, a row of stores would capitalize on the interstate frontage for the view of motorists.

Most of the issues raised Wednesday were nuts-and-bolts needs, like making sure city police have access to the construction site and that it is well-lighted and secure.

Carabine said he hopes to start removing lead paint and asbestos in April so demolition can start soon . The plan is to build around existing businesses and move them later in phases.

Developers want to start construction in the fall and open a year later, Tuma said.

"We need to get everyone excited about this," he said.

Saw this in the above article that I hadn't seen before...

[Andyxox]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/bu...t-churc/nPtgk/

Luxury condo towers to rise on First Baptist Church’s waterfront site

By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — In a deal that would bring major changes to First Baptist Church’s downtown campus, the church has agreed to sell its Chapel By The Lake property for $23 million.
The developers who submitted the highest bid for the site plan 100 high-end condos in two towers and an 85,000-square-foot medical office building east of Flagler Drive.
First Baptist Church would use $10 million to $15 million of the proceeds to spruce up its property on the west side of Flagler. The church proposes demolishing a dozen old buildings and adding landscaping.
“We want there to be a sense of spectacular,” said Kevin Mahoney, associate pastor at First Baptist Church.
The church signed a contract last week to sell the property to a development team that includes office developer Allan Adelson of Palm Beach Gardens and condo developer Golub & Co. of Chicago.
Adelson met last week with city commissioners to tell them of his plans. Church officials told members of the agreement during services Sunday, and Adelson and pastors met this morning with The Palm Beach Post’s editorial board.
The sale won’t close until the city approves the project. The developer needs a land use amendment and zoning approval, said Kerry Kilday, an urban planner working on the project.
The approval process could take a year or two, and Adelson said he’ll aim to appease city officials and neighbors.
“I want to build to the code as much as possible,” Adelson said. “I don’t want to ask for any wild variances.”
Not everyone is happy to see the Chapel By The Lake disappear. First Baptist Church built the outdoor sanctuary in 1963 after creating the property by filling in the Intracoastal Waterway.
When the church asked members in 2010 to allow a sale of the property, 247 congregants voted in favor and 216 voted against. Some church members have had “mountaintop spiritual experiences” at the outdoor chapel, said Senior Pastor Jimmy Scroggins, and they don’t want to sell it for any price.
“Understandably, people have emotional attachments to that property — strong emotional attachments,” Scroggins said.
But Scroggins said the chapel is used only twice a year, once for a sunrise service on Easter Sunday and once for fireworks on the Fourth of July. Selling the site is the best way to raise cash for improvements to the rest of the church’s property, he said.
“It’s just going to take us a lot longer to raise the money another way,” Scroggins said.
The proposed condos would sell for $4 million to $6 million apiece, Adelson said. He envisions 5,000-square-foot units that would appeal to ultra-wealthy buyers. The units would be much larger than the spate of condos that went up downtown during the real estate bubble.
Adelson said the condos will be on the market in two to three years, and he expects the economy to be stronger by then.
“I’m betting that the world will be better, that the economy will be better,” Adelson said.

[DShoost88]

Exciting news for West Palm!

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_...-train-station

After 8 years, county OKs mixed development near West Palm Beach train station

WEST PALM BEACH —A massive “transit village” of condominiums, hotel rooms and offices near the Tri-Rail station in downtown West Palm Beach will be allowed to rise on roughly six acres of county-owned land, Palm Beach County commissioners said Tuesday.

...

Developer Michael Masanoff plans to build 300 condos, 375 hotel rooms, and 400,000 square feet of office and commercial space on the property.

[ftlauddude]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

Exciting news for West Palm!

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_...-train-station

GREAT NEWS! I've always thought WPB has had a better vision with regards of planning. The intermodal center at the Tri-Rail Sta has increased ridership for sure; and this will increase it even more.

[skyscraperhighrise]

West Palm Beach is bigger than ever.

[Hand Banana]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ne...l-of-co/nSrtc/

[ftlauddude]

Found some renders of this transit oriented station in WPB. SFRTA has entered into an agreement with the developer to purchase 250 parking lot spaces. Anyone knows anything about the stage of this project?

http://www.sfrta.fl.gov/docs/BoardMe...FINAL%20cb.pdf

page 58

[Andyxox]

The proposal was deemed too dense for its site, and it has since gone back to the drawing boards. As far as I know (last heard from the guy in November) they still want to go through with plans of creating a large TOD on the site.

[Andyxox]

West Palm narrows hotel project to two contenders for old city hall site

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ne...enders-/nWMCJ/





By Andrew Abramson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — City commissioners have narrowed their search for a downtown waterfront hotel developer to two finalists and will begin negotiations with both.
Only one project meets the city’s five-story height limit for buildings on Olive Avenue between Okeechobee Boulevard and Seventh Street. The developer of a proposed 12-story building says he will pay for a campaign to convince voters to give the site a height exemption.
The city’s choices are:
— The team of Navarro Lowery Properties of West Palm Beach, Hyatt Hotels and Concord Hospitality’s offer of up to $6 million for a five-story 260-room Hyatt hotel.
— The team of Crocker Group, Song + Associates and the Carlton Fields law firm’s offer of up to $15 million for a 12-story building with 200 hotel rooms operated by an undetermined hotelier, upscale rental apartments and lobby retail space.
In December, city officials released a poll showing that fewer than 40 percent of residents supported a hotel that exceeded the height limit. But at Monday’s special commission workshop, Tom Crocker, managing partner of The Crocker Group, said he will finance a campaign to convince voters to build high.
“At the end of the day, if you present something that makes economic sense and looks right, feels right in the city … , they’ll vote for the thing that’s best for them,” Crocker said. “That’s why we’d be willing to mount that campaign and spend the money to get it done — because we know we’d win.”
Frank Navarro, president of Navarro Lowery, continued to pitch his project as the most realistic, with a hotelier already lined up and the majority of the project focusing on the hotel and not a residential component that could take years to develop.
But commissioners and Mayor Jeri Muoio, who want a taller building that will generate more tax revenue for the city and stand out as a signature project, pushed Navarro to consider going taller than five stories once negotiations begin.
“Six, seven, eight stories, we could be OK with that,” Navarro said. “But we want it to be something that the public will get behind. I really don’t want to build a project that will be a lightning rod for a lot of controversy.”
During Crocker’s presentation, Commissioner Shanon Materio left the meeting with a concern over a potential ethics violation. Materio said she was surprised to learn Clint Glass was part of the Crocker group.
Glass is the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beaches’ Political Action Committee which is deciding between endorsing Materio or Gregg Weiss in the March 12 commission race. He was part of a five-person team who interviewed Materio on Friday.
Materio said Glass asked her about a potential referendum and the old city hall site. City Attorney Claudia McKenna said that because Materio doesn’t have a financial relationship with Glass or Crocker, “you don’t have an issue here.”
But Materio said she wanted to err on the side of caution and will try to get an opinion from the county’s ethics commission before participating in discussions about the project.
“The reality is (Glass) did not identity himself as being on that team and I truly wish he had,” Materio said.
Glass after the meeting denied speaking about the old city hall site. He said he only asked a hypothetical question about CityPlace.