Stet NewsThis month marks two years of the newsletter you are reading now. Thank you to supporters who were with us in February 2023 and to everyone who joined us along the way.
For you today: Look up in the sky, it’s more West Palm condos, Vanderbilt’s lush campus vision, Safe Harbor to expand in Riviera Beach, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s fairy godmother and locals play at ArtiGras.
⬆️ Look up: North Flagler condo boom
One night last month, developers celebrated the formal start of sales for one newly approved North Flagler Drive condo project, the Ritz-Carlton Residences, and pitched plans for another, a 32-story tower by Toronto-based Great Gulf.
Why it matters: There’s a waterfront high-rise boom in the once-sleepy north end of West Palm Beach.
Catch up quick: If developers have their way, 1,200 condos and apartments will rise along Flagler from 17th Street to 54th by 2031. And that’s not counting the long-stagnant properties owned by billionaire Palm Beach investor Jeff Greene.
What they’re saying: “Other than having the county’s largest sundial across the street from my home, I do like the footprint,” neighbor Steve Fleming said of the Great Gulf tower proposed for 5400 N. Flagler.
Zoom in: Already occupied, Related Group’s Icon Marina Village brought twin 24-story towers with 399 rental units to 4334 N. Flagler.
That’s where Related’s Jorge Pérez, with sons Jon Paul and Nick, greeted real estate professionals poolside Jan. 29 at the Icon’s Cove Club.
They celebrated the start of sales at the Ritz project, which has the green light to offer 138 units on 27 floors at 1717 N. Flagler Drive.
- Total project value could reach $400 million, Related Group President Jon Paul Pérez said. Sales could total $650 million to $700 million.
In his view, he said in an interview last fall, “that whole corridor should be high rise.”
Neighbors aren’t so sure.
“We don’t want to be a wall of condos,” said Angela Ogburn, president of the Northwood Harbor Association, at Great Gulf’s presentation a few blocks away in the gymnasium of the Florence De George Boys & Girls Club.
For years residents have pushed back against proposals for upscale high-rises, fearing they will bring too many newcomers to their narrow streets, block views, add to flooding concerns and accelerate the loss of the small-town feel along North Flagler.
Yes, but: Some hope the influx of upscale residents will spur a reduction in crime.
Zoom in: Great Gulf’s project adds only 25 new units, since it would replace 72 low-rise rentals with 97 condos.
- It raises concerns that its height will be precedent setting.
When a resident asked the Toronto-based developers if they faced any lawsuits, an executive said no, prompting a member of the audience to add: “Not yet.”
Less than a week later, residents at Great Gulf’s recently completed La Clara, 1515 S. Flagler, sued over what they called the developer’s failure to deliver on construction promises, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Read more: Joel goes deep on the North Flagler condo boom here.
– Joel Engelhardt
🎓 Vandy’s lush dream campus
Vanderbilt University unveiled renderings Monday that call for light-filled atriums, exposed timber and an arboretum of native plants at its planned West Palm Beach campus.
Why it’s important: The Nashville-based school wants to build excitement for a $300 million fundraising goal set by its board.
Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston is the lead architect. The company’s late co-founder Howard Elkus designed CityPlace.
Catch up quick: Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach have granted Vanderbilt 7 acres between Fern and Datura streets east of Tamarind Avenue.
- The campus would serve about 1,000 graduate-level students with programs in business, finance, engineering and computer science, including artificial intelligence.
- A Vandy study shows the campus will inject $520 million into the local economy.
What’s new: The renderings show two buildings and lush natural surroundings.
- An executive education and lifelong learning building, the centerpiece of the proposed campus.
- An academic and innovation building designed to draw startups, investors and established businesses.
- The envisioned arboretum would echo the plant conservatory on the Nashville campus, which dates to the university’s founding in 1873.
What they’re saying: “The images show that we are planning a unique learning and research environment that nurtures collaboration and innovation and is sustainable in all senses,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in a statement.
Of note: Land owned by Palm Beach investor Jeff Greene is shown as landscaped but with no Vanderbilt buildings on it.
What’s next: Besides the fundraising campaign, the release said Vanderbilt is developing curriculum and will seek secondary education accreditation for its programs.
See all the renderings Vanderbilt released here.
— Carolyn DiPaolo and Joel Engelhardt
🛟 Safe for Safe Harbor
It’s clear sailing for the Safe Harbor Rybovich superyacht repair yard in Riviera Beach.
Months after the city rejected the marina giant’s rezoning, Safe Harbor won approval last week for a “significantly reduced project.”
- Neighbors, once stridently opposed, embraced the plan.
Why it matters: Marinas, yachts and repair yards are big business in Palm Beach County, particularly along the deep-water waterfront east of Broadway. But they’re industrial, making it hard to live next door.
- Safe Harbor, owned by Dallas-based Sun Communities, paid $369 million for Rybovich’s century-old boatyard on North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach and the Riviera yard in late 2020.
- The company, billed as the world’s largest marina owner and operator, paid $9 million last year for a former bank building west of its property on Broadway, converting it to offices.
A petition submitted by neighbors triggered a requirement last year that Safe Harbor’s rezoning proposal obtain a council supermajority. It needed four votes but got just two.
- This time the changes passed unanimously.
Of note: Council Member Tradrick McCoy, who voted against Safe Harbor in September, suggested dropping the supermajority provision tied to petitions but he couldn’t get another council member to second his motion.
What they’re saying: “They realized they weren’t going to get everything they wanted,” said Brandy Davis-Balsamo, president of the Lakeview Area Neighborhood Association.
Also of note: Safe Harbor and Davis-Balsamo praised the intervention of Council Member Glen Spiritis, who helped both sides put aside differences and forge an acceptable plan.
- The project stops at East 22nd Street rather than the boundary closest to Lakeview Park at East 22nd Court. Instead of a trash compactor and fuel tanks, neighbors will border a vacant, landscaped strip.
- Safe Harbor would advocate that the city spend the $1.7 million generated by the deal, mainly from the abandonment of a roadway, on neighborhood improvements. Residents have long complained of crumbling seawalls, poor drainage and pothole-laced streets.
- A 15,000-square-foot building would bring many boatyard operations indoors, consolidating outdoor work areas and reducing noise.
What’s next? With council approvals on second reading, Safe Harbor expects the work to be done in a year.
— Joel Engelhardt
🎭 Millions for the Maltz
Last month, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre took a giant step toward elevating its education programs when Roe Green, a philanthropist and Jupiter resident, handed Artistic Director Andrew Kato a $2 million check.
Why it’s important: The gift means $4.8 million of the $5 million needed for upgrades to the Goldner Conservatory has been raised. The conservatory is devoted to teaching children and adults about the performing arts in afterschool, weekend and summer programs.
Who she is: In Cleveland, they call Green the fairy godmother of the arts. She was the only child of federal Judge Charles B. Green, whose investment fortune passed to her. After the death of her parents, Green launched a foundation in 2003 that has supported theaters like the Maltz.
Why she gave: Green has a personal philosophy involving oranges: “If I have five oranges, I eat one, I save one and I give the other three away. And everything I give away comes back tenfold.”
But the Maltz is special, Green said. “I adore Andrew, and I love the theater. He takes things so seriously and he cares about the legacy. The theater is doing well, and he has a good team in place. He listens to suggestions and pays attention.”
Read more about Green’s life and her gift to the Maltz here.
— Janis Fontaine
🍊 The Juice
🎓 It’s Adam Hasner. Florida Atlantic University trustees selected GEO Group executive and former Republican state House leader to be its new president, two years after the departure of John Kelly. (The Palm Beach Post $$$; Feb. 7 student protest, University Press)
🚃 The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority reported that Tri-Rail carried 4.4 million riders in 2024, marking the first time since 2019 that the system exceeded four million annual rides. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🐊 State audit finds more than $300,000 in University of Florida money was used to charter flights with no business purpose.
- The audit also raised concerns over the university’s decision to let former UF President Ben Sasse keep his $1 million salary for a continued role as a professor and adviser. (The Independent Florida Alligator)
🪂 Vanity Fair parachutes into town and pronounces us the center of the universe. Lots of wow moments. (Vanity Fair)
🎨 561NSIDER: Meet ArtiGras’ locals
Among the hundreds of exhibitors at the 40th annual ArtiGras Fine Arts Festivalthis weekend in Palm Beach Gardens, is Paul Herber, aircraft designer by day, day-glo artist by night.
Herber’s paintings appear to glow. The acrylic paint mirrors the colors as he sees them, capturing the wild, natural world of Florida. He also produces fluorescent, black-light art.
- In the daytime, he designs engine parts at Chromalloy in Palm Beach Gardens. Years ago, he worked on the B2 stealth bomber in California.
Herber is one of four local ArtiGras exhibitors who met last month with the public at a reception at the Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center.
The backstory: The four are among 250 artists selected from 600 applicants for the festival, presented by the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce and Tampa General Hospital.
- The festival is open 10 am to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday at the Gardens North County District Park. Tickets at the gate are $20. Nearby parking costs $15 but free offsite parking, with a shuttle, can be found here.
The festival could draw 40,000 snowbirds, tourists, visitors and full-time residents.
What they’re saying: “If you get accepted to ArtiGras,” Herber said, “it means you’re an accomplished artist.”
Of note: This year’s ArtiGras poster creator is Palm Beach Gardens artist Sarah LaPierre. Her painting, “Local Legacy,” is a mixed media work that includes found objects and items from Resource Depot in West Palm Beach. See the poster here.
Read more: Meet the local artists here.
— Erik Kvarnberg and Joel Engelhardt
Along with ArtiGras this weekend, there’s the 50th St. Catherine Greek Festival Friday through Sunday at 110 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach. Read more at ByJoeCapozzi.com.
Two years in, how are we doing? Write to us at stet@stetnews.org or reply to this email.
