Twin City Mall: North Palm clears way for redevelopment, taller buildings at landmark site

NORTH PALM BEACH — The former Twin City Mall, northern Palm Beach County’s first mall which opened 52 years ago but whose site has been an eyesore for years, is one step closer to redevelopment.

The North Palm Beach village council approved land-use changes last week for the site at Northlake Boulevard and U.S. 1.

Plans for the mixed-use project slated for the 13 acres have not been submitted yet, and construction likely will not begin before 2025. Conceptual drawings show a transformational development including 100,000 square feet of restaurants and retail on the first floors of multifamily buildings.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, the project could take the place of weed-infested vacant land and a few older buildings that would be demolished.

Residents have voiced concerns primarily about the height and density of the development, which could include at least one residential building as tall as 14 stories on the site’s interior.

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Thursday's two 4-1 votes — on changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning changes to the 17-acre C-3 business district that the parcel occupies most of — have paved the way for the approval process to begin.

Vice Mayor Susan Bickel cast the dissenting votes. “I think it is far too dense and far too tall for our community," she said.

Bickel said she supports the majority of the project but feels that a 14-story building would change the look and feel of the area and is concerned more high-rises would crop up along U.S. 1.

Nader Salour, principal partner at Cypress Realty in Palm Beach Gardens, said Friday he plans to submit a master plan within the next couple of months. It will show where the buildings and a community gathering place will be.

If approved, that move will be followed by a site plan application that will show details such as the residential units’ layouts, colors selected and handrails. Then the permitting process would begin.

“It is a classic redevelopment site,” Salour said. “It had a use when built. It doesn’t anymore.”

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The property is owned by NP Devland LLC, made up of the same principals who were involved in developing the Abacoa neighborhood in Jupiter.

“The 14-story buildings are not on the street, like some people were saying,” Salour said. “We are limited to nine stories along U.S. 1 and Palmetto.”

The buildings will have big setbacks with plenty of room for landscaping, and additional setbacks will be required above the fourth floor.

Residents have mentioned the Nautilus 220 complex — two 24-story condominium towers under construction to the south in Lake Park — and said they don’t want anything like that.

Salour said the Nautilus is much closer to the road than the buildings at the Twin City site will be, and any 14-story buildings approved at the site will not be anywhere near the street.

“We are limited to nine stories along U.S. 1 and Palmetto,” Salour said.

Large setbacks will allow plenty of room for landscaping.

“People are visualizing something that will not get built,” Salour said. "The buildings will be anywhere from one to 14 stories. It will not look anything like the Nautilus.”

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Council member hopes project can make North Palm 'fun again'

Mayor David Norris agreed. “The Nautilus does look ridiculous. We will make sure this does not look like that," he said.

Norris said the land-use changes were not for any specific project. However, he is confident that Salour and his team will create something that fits in with the village.

“Until we actually see what they submit, we are not talking about any particular development,” Norris said.

Four requirements, such as enhanced landscaping and enhanced pedestrian amenities, must be met for a 14-story building to be approved at the location, and the council could add more.

“No developer is going to be able to come through and say, 'I met those four thresholds so now I get 14 stories,' ” Norris said. “We will have the authority to determine whether we want 10, 12, 14 or eight stories.”

Council member Mark Mullinix said he hopes the Twin City project revitalizes North Palm Beach.

“I grew up here. I remember when the Twin City Mall was built. We thought we had arrived. It was so exciting. Over time, it failed. That property has sat and sat and sat," he said.

“We want to be fun again. We want to have that vibrancy, that excitement. We want to reinvigorate it. This does that. You can’t get transformational development better than something like what we have been presented,” Mullinix said.

Mullinix said that the people who will live in the high-rises will have the disposable income to support nearby businesses such as the Brass Ring Pub and Frigate’s.

“We have to pay for police and fire and all the things we are as a community,” Mullinix said. "I love North Palm Beach. I want to see good change. I think this is the right change. I think this is the right person for this job.”

Council member Deborah Searcy emphasized that no project has been approved, and the votes were about zoning changes. A long process when the project will be scrutinized lies ahead.

“We have thousands of residents who live in high rises,” Searcy said.

North Palm Beach has high rises such as Old Port Cove and The Water Club at its northern edge, and Searcy said a high rise at the south end will serve as a “lovely bookend.”

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Residents like project but wary of 14-story building

Residents have weighed in at various meetings over the last couple of years, and Thursday was no different.

Shawn Woods said she is in favor of the project but thought there was a four-story height limit and is opposed to a 14-story building.

“I lived in New York City for five years, then here. I came to really appreciate the open sky,” she said. “We’re different. We’re the Village of North Palm Beach. We are not Palm Beach Gardens.”

Mary Phillips, another resident who also is against the high rise, said the village should not create a “heat island” like those in built-up cities such as Dallas, because it will be especially hot during heat waves.

“Please do not make it worse than it has to be for noise and light pollution here in the village,” Phillips said.

Resident Lisa Interlandi said she looks forward to spending time at the development with her family, but that she is worried about how the height paired with the state's new Live Local housing legislation will work.

“You all should take an honest look at it, a real honest look, and look very closely at whether approving this development on that site will take us down the road to allow higher density high-rise development along the U.S. 1 corridor. That is a serious threat to the village,” Interlandi said.

Susan Thomas, a resident who owns a real estate company in West Palm Beach, said she is for the project and that the area needs to be revitalized. The project will bring in an estimated $750 million in property taxes.

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Twin City Mall was North Palm's retail anchor in 1970s, 1980s

The Twin City Mall opened as northern Palm Beach County’s first mall on July 21, 1971. With Sears & Roebuck as its anchor, and more than 30 other stores, plus a movie theater, it drew thousands of people.

The shopping center straddled the village of North Palm Beach and the town of Lake Park — hence the Twin City moniker. Eventually, it had more than 50 stores.

When The Gardens Mall opened in 1988 and Sears left for the mall on PGA Boulevard, the Twin City Mall began to fail. It was torn down in 1997.

Salour said that with 13 acres, there is enough land to do something special that will be a successful project.

“We thought long and hard about what we could do there,” Salour said.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: North Palm Beach OKs changes to allow Twin City Mall redevelopment