Related Cos., Frisbie Group working on major residential project for Palm Beach bank site

Two prominent developers are partnering on a project that might one day bring single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses to several acres of prime Palm Beach land now occupied by parking lots behind the landmarked Wells Fargo Bank buildings on South County Road.

Still in the discussion stages, the ocean-block project would be a partnership between The Related Cos. — the mammoth New York company headed by billionaire and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, a seasonal Palm Beach resident — and the Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group real estate investment firm, according to representatives of both companies.

If built, the Midtown project — stretching between Royal Palm Way and Seaview Avenue — would rank among the largest new residential areas to be developed in Palm Beach in at least three decades.

Formal plans for the project could be presented to Town Hall staff in early December for review as part of a development application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to Frisbie Group. Some town officials told the Palm Beach Daily News they have been generally briefed about the concepts behind the project but have not seen any specific details.

Other than the bank-owned buildings, the project would not include any new commercial components, such as retail or office space, Frisbie Group Project Manager Robert Frisbie Jr. said in an email he sent on behalf of the company in response to questions from the Palm Beach Daily News.

Courthouse records indicate that Wells Fargo still owns the 5.78-acre property, which could sell for between $100 million and $150 million and perhaps, more, based on informal estimates given to the Palm Beach Daily News by several Palm Beach real estate agents.

Plans for the sale of the property and its redevelopment have been in the works for at least 18 months, after Wells Fargo solicited offers to sell the property through a commercial real estate brokerage, according to promotional materials reviewed by the Palm Beach Daily News.

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“I’m told that everyone in the world was interested in a property of that size in Palm Beach,” said Town Councilman Ted Cooney, who was briefed by members of the development team months ago about the project when it was still in the preliminary idea-generation stage.

A digital sales brochure reviewed by the Palm Beach Daily News early last year described the site as “one of the last and possibly best underdeveloped sites in Palm Beach” and “one of the most valuable corners in the country.”

Frisbie Group and The Related Cos. appear to have entered a bank-sanctioned agreement to buy and develop the property, with Frisbie Group overseeing design and construction, people familiar with the project have told the Palm Beach Daily News. The sale’s closing may be contingent on the town approving the proposed development, sources said.

No new commercial use is planned for Palm Beach site, developer says

The development, real estate observers say, could help fill the demand for new homes from those who want to move to Palm Beach but have been stymied by the limited housing inventory, which has never fully recovered from the real estate rush sparked by the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.

The project also would most likely require the town to approve a zoning change on the property, because about two-thirds of the land is zoned solely for commercial use.

The development would “significantly” reduce the commercial square footage on the site, Robert Frisbie Jr.’s email said. It described the project as a “revitalization” of the property and said it “would prevent future redevelopment on the site that might seek greater commercial density and traffic.”

The email added: “We believe this is an opportunity to de-intensify the traffic on island. We seek to eliminate over 200 car trips per day.”

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If built, the development is projected to produce at least $16 million in new property-tax revenue, Frisbie Jr.’s statement added.

Details of the project are still being finalized, including the number of single-family houses and other types of residences that could be built on the property, according to sources familiar with the proposal.

But the design of the homes would complement the overall architectural character of Palm Beach, the landmarked properties on the site and the historic Phipps Plaza commercial-and-residential development immediately across South County Road from the bank buildings, Frisbie Jr.’s email said. The bank-owned buildings were designed or remodeled by first-generation Palm Beach architects Maurice Fatio, Marion Sims Wyeth and John L. Volk.

Early Palm Beach maps show houses once occupied at least part of what is today the bank’s parking area, just north of Royal Palm Way and east of South County Road.

“We are referring to this project as a large-scale preservation effort, as we are not only preserving the Fatio, Volk, and Wyeth facades along County Road, but we are also restoring the residential fabric originally intended for this location as outlined in the early-20th-century planning,’” Frisbie Jr.’s email said.

Both development companies have deep ties to Palm Beach

Under the town’s preservation ordinance, almost all of the exteriors of the buildings on the site are protected from alteration unless the changes are approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Related Cos. founder and Chairman Ross is certainly familiar with the town’s historic properties and its laws to protect them. He owns a landmarked seasonal home on the North End.

Ross’s company has transformed much of downtown West Palm Beach with new developments over the past 30 years, including The Square, the mixed-use development formerly known as CityPlace. The company also has developed the downtown Hilton hotel and office towers and is now pursuing residential buildings, according to reporting by The Palm Beach Post.

The Related Cos. also has had recent business dealings with the Frisbie Group, which is run by the Frisbie family.

In August, The Related Cos. paid the Frisbie Group a recorded $195 million for South Flagler House, an in-the-works project for a pair of ultra-luxury condo towers spearheaded by the Frisbie family at 1355 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.

The Palm Beach Post also has reported that The Related Cos. and Frisbie Group are in talks about jointly developing two residential towers on land owned by Family Church in West Palm Beach at 1101 S. Flagler Drive.

Regarding the proposed project in Palm Beach, a spokesman for The Related Cos. said in an email that Ross “cares deeply about this community and we’re excited that this project is focused on architectural preservation and maintaining the character that makes (Palm Beach) so special. The Frisbies have an incredible track record of development in Palm Beach and we’re proud to be financial partners with them on this project.”

Wells Fargo is also enthusiastic, bank spokeswoman Gabriela Lambertus said: “We support this project and are excited for the development as a great opportunity for the Palm Beach community. Since 1927, when our predecessor bank first opened its doors in the neighborhood, we have been at this location supporting our local customers. We are looking forward to continuing to do so for years to come.”

In Palm Beach, Frisbie Group has built and sold luxury homes, developed the Via Flagler By The Breakers mixed-use project on Royal Poinciana Way, and invested in commercial properties. The latter include a stretch of office and retail buildings near the Wells Fargo site along South County Road on the south side of Royal Palm Way. All but one all of Frisbie Group’s principals have homes on the island.

Frisbie Group also recently entered a contract to buy land owned by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Rooney family at the Palm Beach Kennel Club near the Palm Beach International Airport. The company has plans to develop a mixed-use project there with up to 2,000 housing units, the Post reported.

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Some Palm Beach officials briefed on early versions of the plans

Back in Palm Beach, the development team has already begun preliminary community outreach efforts to inform neighbors of the property about the proposed plans and garner feedback, Robert Frisbie Jr.’s email said.

Residents along Seaview Avenue and at a nearby condo building at 100 Royal Palm Way have reviewed a preliminary site plan of the project, according to sources familiar with the effort. The Palm Beach Daily News has not seen a copy of that document.

In addition to Councilman Cooney, council President Margaret Zeidman and Councilman Lew Crampton told the Daily News they had each met privately months ago with members of the development team — at the team’s request — for briefings about the proposed project. Mayor Danielle Moore said she met with them about the property when the idea of selling it was first raised, “about 18 months ago.”

The council members said they expressed no opinion about the project during their briefings.

“I’m reserving my judgment,” Zeidman told the Palm Beach Daily News. “I can tell you that people have a right to develop what they own. But it has to be within the confines of our comprehensive plan and our ordinances.”

Crampton said in his meeting with the development team, it was clear they “were feeling around. They were making a real effort to find out what the town can accommodate.” He added: “The density and the intensity of the use is still to be determined. … It’s a huge site. It’s a parking lot — I don’t think that it’s the ‘highest and best use’ of that property.”

In any event, the developers, Crampton said, “will have to do a lot to ameliorate the impact on the fairly large houses on Seaview (Avenue).”

Councilwoman Julie Araskog said she had not met with the development team, as is her custom regarding projects that may eventually come before the Town Council for review. “In a quasi-judicial hearing, we have to look at all the evidence before us and hear from the public,” she said.

But Araskog said many residents in town are wary of new development projects — especially sizable ones. “People just want to keep our town smaller,” she said.

Palm Beach parking lots have multiple zoning designations

Through a progression of acquisitions and mergers, a predecessor to Wells Fargo took over the property’s ownership in 2002. 

The property includes three parking lots and the block-long stretch of restored buildings that originally housed The First National Bank of Palm Beach, the first bank on the island. The streetside facades of those buildings at 239, 251 and 255 S. County Road were landmarked in 1991. A major project to restore and update the buildings was completed in late 2017.

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The parking lots are bordered on the west by the bank buildings, on the north by houses on Seaview Road, on the east by homes and a commercial building fronting South Ocean Boulevard and on the south by Royal Palm Way.

The parking lots have three different zoning designations. The northern lot nearest Seaview Avenue is zoned solely for “residential low-density” use, according to town zoning maps — a designation that would accommodate single-family homes. The southern lot, however, is zoned only for commercial offices. One of the buildings, at 251 S. County Road, carries a different commercial zoning designation.

Frisbie Jr.’s email used the term “downzone” to describe how the proposed project would eliminate commercial uses on the parking-lot property.

“The majority of the site, as it exists today, is zoned in a manner that promotes and legalizes non-residential, regional-attractive, and commercial uses,” the email said. “Our team plans to downzone the majority of the site to allow for only residential uses coupled with one non-residential use (reserved) for the existing user of the site, Wells Fargo, in a reduced format/footprint.”

Any zoning change for the area would require the approval of the Town Council.

Palm Beach project likely would include single-family homes, condos, townhouses

New two-story, single-family homes would most likely back up the ones on Seaview Avenue, according to a source familiar with the project. Pending Town Hall approval, three-story residential buildings, similar to the height of portions of the landmarked buildings, might rise on the lot facing Royal Palm Way.

Some space in the landmarked buildings on the site might also be repurposed as townhouses or condos, again pending Town Hall approval.

Frisbie Group's founders and principals include three brothers — Robert Frisbie Sr., David and Rick. The list of founding principals also includes Suzanne Frisbie, who is married to David Frisbie and is a real estate agent with the Corcoran Group. Several other second-generation members of the family, including Frisbie Jr., hold management roles in the company.

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Two developers are eyeing nearly 6 acres for new homes in Palm Beach