Related Group Dealt Setback On Plan For West Palm Beach Condo Tower
West Palm Beach officials pushed back Tuesday on a plan from Related Group to build a 25-story condo tower on a waterfront parcel near a historic neighborhood.
The city’s planning board voted Tuesday to recommend that the city commission reject the Miami-based developer’s proposal to build a 287-foot-tall condo tower at 4906 N. Flagler Drive.
Related Group is seeking to rezone the property and secure eight waivers to build a 46-unit project called Apogee on the site. West Palm Beach’s development services department recommended that the planning board reject the proposal because it didn’t comply with development rules — city staff at the meeting cited concerns about the project’s height and setback.
City staff said Related Group, led by Jorge Pérez and his sons, Nick and Jon Paul, would have to reduce the project’s unit count to 43, increase its setback by 3 feet and lower the building’s height to fit within zoning rules. Patrick Mayfield, a board member, agreed with that assessment and brought a motion to reject the proposal.
Brian Seymour, a Gunster attorney representing Related Group on the project, said the proposal should be afforded similar waivers to those granted to Alba Palm Beach, a 22-story condo tower with 55 units being built a few blocks away at 4714 N. Flagler Drive.
City Planner Kevie Defranc said the Alba developers, Miami-based Blue Road and BGI Cos., should have only been allowed to build 44 units on the site and described the waivers as “a mistake on the city’s behalf, staff’s behalf.”
The West Palm Beach City Commission will ultimately decide whether to approve the project, and Related Group can amend its plan before going to the commission.
The developer, which didn’t respond to Bisnow’s request for comment, acquired the two single-family homes on the 1.5-acre site last year for $16M, property records indicate.
The project has been the subject of consternation for residents. A half-dozen residents of the nearby Northwood Harbor Historic District spoke or submitted public comments at the meeting recommending that the waiver requests be rejected, citing concerns about the project’s height and three-year construction timeline.
“The proposed development is clearly incompatible with our neighborhood,” Angela Ogburn, the president of the Northwood Harbor Neighborhood Association, told The Palm Beach Post. “Our stance is not against building but in favor of a growth that enhances and preserves the unique character of our community, rather than risking its destruction.”
The planning board approved plans for three other developments at the meeting, The Real Deal reported.
Related Cos., led by Stephen Ross, won a recommendation for approval for two office towers in The Square, the 35-acre mixed-use development that the New York-based developer began redeveloping in 2017.
The towers, located on the northeast corner of South Rosemary Avenue and Hibiscus Street, would replace an AMC movie theater, parking garage and restaurant with a combined 740K SF of office space. The 24-story and 22-story towers would include 64K SF of retail, a six-story parking garage and 21K SF of green space.
Billionaire Jeff Greene also received the blessing of the planning board for a planned condo project designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron. Greene was seeking nine variances to build a pair of 350-foot-tall towers across from Currie Park that would have 152 condos connected by a two-story podium with 5K SF of retail space.
A workforce housing project on city-owned land at 8111 S. Dixie Highway also secured a recommendation for approval. West Palm-based Flagler Realty and South Carolina-based Woodfield are planning 90 apartments at the property with rent restrictions at between 60% and 100% of area median income, which was $98K as of July.
The city paid $2.9M for the site in 2012 and the joint venture has the property under contract for $10.5M, TRD reported.
