The Dirt: Related Cos. of New York pitches WPB hotel to attract bigger convention center clients

Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·3 min read
Rendering of proposed new Hilton Hotel at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. Related Cos. plans to build another 400-room hotel at the center.
Rendering of proposed new Hilton Hotel at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. Related Cos. plans to build another 400-room hotel at the center.

Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.

There's nothing like a good real estate showdown to get the week started and that's just what's happening in West Palm Beach as Related Cos. of New York pitches a new 400-room Hilton hotel to cater to the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The county, however, wants at least 600 rooms and not a Hilton.

Not that the county has anything against Hilton, but a little competition never hurt anyone, and, maybe some people want the one-touch pancake machine at Holiday Inn Express's continental breakfast. What? Not highfalutin enough? How about a one-touch crêpes machine?

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With West Palm Beach growing like the line at the Dune Deck Café on Mother's Day, it's going to need to update its century-old water system that was originally designed by railroad tycoon and hotelier Henry Flagler. But it's not going to be cheap.

Also, you think you get irked when your neighbor parks too close to your driveway or facing the wrong direction? Imagine if you were dealing with hundreds of tractor-trailers? That's what the folks in The Acreage were facing until a recent county commission vote. But where's a trucker to go? And more apartments are on the way for Palm Beach Gardens

One hotel to rule them all

Aerial view of new 400-room Hilton hotel planned by Related Cos. of New York at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach.
Aerial view of new 400-room Hilton hotel planned by Related Cos. of New York at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach.

The debate over who gets to build the next hotel in downtown West Palm Beach could be resolved in several ways. Those include just letting the county's request for proposals to run its natural course and the best pitch wins, or, and really more entertaining, would be a battle in the Thunderdome. No? What about UFC's Octagon?

OK, OK, we'll do it the old fashioned way, which is to say all sneaky and behind the scenes. (This is a public service announcement that this newsletter contains sarcasm.)

Big-rigs get the boot in The Acreage amid cursing accusations

Several tractor-trailers are parked on the south side of 100th Street South near the intersection with US Highway 441 in unincorporated Palm Beach County, on November 24, 2023. The side of the road is not a designated parking area.
Several tractor-trailers are parked on the south side of 100th Street South near the intersection with US Highway 441 in unincorporated Palm Beach County, on November 24, 2023. The side of the road is not a designated parking area.

It's not final just yet, but Palm Beach County Commissioners are leaning toward barring big-rigs from The Acreage where code enforcement began citing them for parking about two years ago. I know, I know, code enforcement = snooze😴. But this particular issue comes with allegations of a public speaker being cursed at by a pro-trucker contingent, and getting an escort to his car by law enforcement where he was cursed at again.

It's more Sopranos than Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous but that's Palm Beach County for you. A little bit of everything.

West Palm Beach considers desalinization to keep up with growth, battle algae

Water flows in from Clear Lake to the water treatment plant in West Palm Beach, Florida on June 3, 2021.
Water flows in from Clear Lake to the water treatment plant in West Palm Beach, Florida on June 3, 2021.

If you hadn't noticed, West Palm Beach has added a few people since the pandemic and they all think they're entitled to clean water (sarcasm again). To keep peoples' thirsts quenched, and that includes the towns of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach, the city may have to dip into the brackish Floridan aquifer.

Right now, the city relies mainly on surface water, which can get mucked up by chemical-laden runoff and the occasional toxic algae bloom. 🤮 The South Florida Water Management District is considering the proposal now.

Building 13 and Building 14 in Palm Beach Gardens need better names

A new eight-story apartment building under construction on 3 acres at PGA Station in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on January 10, 2024.
A new eight-story apartment building under construction on 3 acres at PGA Station in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on January 10, 2024.

Palm Beach Gardens' transit district could see two new 13-story buildings with a total of 620 apartments following a thumbs-up from its planning board this month. The apartments are going to have something for everyone with two pickleball courts, a running track and a bocce ball court.

But the buildings, dubbed 13 and 14, need better names. Maybe the developers don't want to jinx the plan by naming them too soon? Maybe they're still looking for a marketing team to vote on names? How about the Taylor Swift at Transit Village? That will get it some attention. You're welcome.

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: West Palm Beach could tap salty aquifer for water supply as growth continues