The Dirt: El Niño is blamed for low home sales in Palm Beach and stealing land from Kid Rock
Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.
A partnership bloomed like a bougainvillea vine (thorny and liking a little shade) between Palm Beach County's oldest Jewish organization and the mega-developer Related Cos. on the new Shorecrest luxury condominium project on Flagler Drive.
While not mentioned in promotional material, Temple Israel will occupy the first two floors of the boutique waterfront building that was definitely not in the works in September but already has drawings of a 28-story tower that someone said looks like a checkerboard silo. It's actually called a "mosaic" design and it is quite modern and chic. Suits me. (Confession, I called it a checkerboard silo, and I apologize right now for my lack of tact and taste.)
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In other real estate news, El Niño is taking the blame for just about everything this year — gloomy skies, erosion, kids eating Tide pods — and now it's ruined home sales in Palm Beach! Will the devastation never end! Next thing we know the periodic weather pattern will announce it's "sober curious" and start knitting hats for dogs.
But seriously, it is washing Kid Rock's Jupiter Inlet Colony house into the ocean.
Related Cos. dips its toe into the residential side of West Palm Beach real estate
What's that you say? You thought Miami Dolphins owner and real estate mogul Stephen Ross only built office towers? Well, it's just not so. His Related Cos. is awash in residential projects including the ultra-luxury South Flagler House, and now the Shorecrest condominium.
And Ross is savvy. You don't get to be a billionaire without some savviness. When a synagogue happened to be on land that would be just peachy for the Shorecrest, his firm negotiated a deal to incorporate a new synagogue and school into the luxury residence that worked for both sides, but maybe not so much for a neighboring condo.
Go away El Niño! But please come back for hurricane season
When a private jet is at your beck and call, weather is not a problem. Snowy in New York? What about South Florida? Rainy in South Florida? There's always St. Croix/Virgin Islands/Barbados (insert tropical destination of your choice here).
But the cloudy skies have dampened real estate sales in Palm Beach with people canceling trips to the island when inclement weather threatened. A return of sunny skies this week will hopefully boost sales but we'll miss El Niño this hurricane season. Well, those of us without private jets will miss El Niño because we'll be stuck here dealing with whatever Mother Nature has planned for us.
Kid Rock loses sand and land from his Jupiter Inlet Colony property
Evidence is mounting that maybe El Niño does have it in for the rich and famous. Repeat cold fronts this winter backed by northerly winds have stolen sand from coastal Palm Beach County including out from under singer Kid Rock's home. From the looks of it, he lost part of a checkerboard patio (checkerboard is in!) and some land.
Sadly, Rock, whose real name is Robert J. Ritchie, is mourning his father this week. Bill Ritchie died Feb. 15 at the age of 82.
West Palm Beach's south end would like a boutique market with its 8-story apartment building
There has been overwhelming support at West Palm Beach city meetings for an 8-story apartment complex on a vacant lot at 8111 S. Dixie Highway. The apartments will include much-needed workforce housing and the developer has agreed to spruce up the C-51 canal with landscaping and a kayak launch. Not everyone is on board. It's rare to have everyone on board.
An elusive grocery store at the site has been teased for two years with no deals finalized. But now the developer said a lease is being negotiated and the anticipation is building! He can't say who it is, of course, but fingers crossed it goes through this time because I really like the Omega Trek Mix.
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: El Niño is blamed for low home sales and stealing land from Kid Rock
