Joel EngelhardtJosh Simon buys Holiday Inn Express, The Fish House but shows no inclination to redevelop the sites at Juno Beach’s main intersection.
As Juno Beach wrestles with the future of its main intersection — the so-called Four Corners at U.S. 1 and Donald Ross Road — a new property owner has entered the picture.
Companies led by Josh Simon, a former owner of Abacoa Town Center, paid $13.5 million in May for the Holiday Inn Express and $2.6 million in October for The Fish House restaurant, giving him 4.5 acres on the southeast corner of U.S. 1 and Donald Ross Road.
Why it matters: With three Town Council seats up for election in March, divisive debates over recent developments and the town embroiled in master planning to shape the future of the Four Corners, officials are wary of developers seeking to take advantage of the boom in value for residential development.
What they’re saying: Simon told Stet News he has no plans to redevelop the properties a block from the ocean and is happy to allow the 108-room hotel and popular restaurant to continue operating. “Just investing,” Simon said. “Boring stuff.”
Zoom in: The town, still stung by criticism of Caretta, a 94-unit, four-story residential development rising on the northwest corner of the Four Corners, is concerned that its zoning code gives owners of older commercial centers an incentive to convert to residential.
- Town rules allow 75% residential development on commercial property as long as 25% remains commercial.
“You’re going through a transition now where you’ve been discovered,” master plan consultant Dana Little of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, told town officials at an Aug. 6 workshop. “And you’ve been discovered at a period of time when your land values are increasing dramatically and you’ve got developers who are very interested in being here because they’re running out of land everywhere else.”
Zoom out: Simon is asking Jupiter on Tuesday to let him convert to residential 34 acres of a 58-acre industrial property northeast of Interstate 95 and Indiantown Road.
- His company, FLF ATC owned Abacoa Town Center from 2015 to 2019 and he continues to own commercial properties in Abacoa, part of more than 500,000 square feet of commercial property, vacant land and multifamily units under management.
Of note: The buyers in Juno, Simon corporate entities 13950 US1 LLC and 13980 US1 LLC, list as their address the Hobe Sound office of developer Charles Modica. Modica, the developer of Suni Sands and Charlie & Joe’s Love Street restaurant in Jupiter, did not return a phone call to discuss the investment. Simon said he does not identify his partners.
Juno residents are already on edge by the potential for residential development to take over the 10-acre Plaza La Mer, just west of Caretta. Bucksbaum Properties of Chicago bought the center for $27 million in September 2023 but has shown no desire to rebuild. The center recently lost longtime tenant County Line Pizza.
A master plan proposal showing 184 residential units on the site, as allowed by its commercial zoning, drew protests from residents who fear traffic and the loss of stores and restaurants.
Across the street, on the southwest corner, Pulte is building 40 townhomes on what used to be the Christmas tree lot behind Juno Square, home of the Juno Beach Cafe and Thirsty Turtle restaurants.
The intersection’s northeast corner features a CVS drugstore.
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
