Two towers could be built on prime church land in downtown West Palm Beach

Family Church in West Palm Beach is poised to lease more than half of its downtown campus for redevelopment into two residential towers, a blockbuster deal that would net the church about $100 million.

The transaction, quietly in the works for weeks, could further transform the downtown from its historic landscape of low-rise buildings into a dense district of high-rise towers. During the past five years, hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the downtown has catapulted the mid-sized city into a national destination for companies and residents, sometimes to the chagrin of longtime residents.

The deal also would give Family Church a huge infusion of cash. With it, the church plans to build more Christian schools, buy more property for new churches and provide services in languages other than English throughout South Florida and the Treasure Coast.

On Feb. 5, church members will vote to lease 4.6 acres of its prime 9.7-acre site at its land at 1101 S. Flagler Drive to Frisbie Group, a Palm Beach-based real estate company with a growing presence in West Palm Beach.

The price for the Family Church land: $90 million to $120 million for a 99-year lease, according to a presentation made to church members on Jan. 22.

Any new development would not touch the iconic church sanctuary on the site’s northern edge. But the rest of the campus, which is mostly surface parking lots, would be transformed into the two residential towers.

A parking garage would replace the lost surface parking spots. In addition, the church’s existing educational building, home to the Palm Beach Christian Academy, would be torn down and rebuilt.

If members approve the lease to Frisbie Group, the church’s leadership would begin contract negotiations.

Frisbie Group managing partner Robert Frisbie Jr. confirmed the company’s recent selection by church officials.

“We are the successful suitor,” Frisbie said in an interview on Jan. 24. “It’s an incredible piece of property that fits into our thesis of trying to create value through positive transformation of our community.”

Frisbie acknowledged that renowned architect Norman Foster is being tapped for drawings of the two towers.

Frisibe Group already is seeking to build another twin-tower condominium complex just south of Family Church, at 1355 S. Flagler Drive. The complex, known as South Flagler House, clocked an eye-popping half a billion dollars in buyer reservations in 2022. But Frisbie Group is locked in litigation with a rival developer over the site, putting a freeze on the project's construction, according to recent filings in a federal court case.

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When queried about the possible lease deal with Frisbie Group for the Family Church land, Lead Pastor Jimmy Scroggins provided a written statement.

Scroggins said the church had been approached by parties about development of a portion of the downtown campus. He said the church is having "conversations," but he did not specify the developer or the plans being weighed.

Scroggins did note the issue would be brought before members for consideration.

“Family Church has had a presence in downtown West Palm Beach since 1901 and our goal is to be here loving this city for generations to come,” Scroggins said in the statement.

Real estate sources said Frisbie beat out Related Cos. of New York, developer of The Square mixed-use center and many other projects downtown; and Al Adelson, developer of The Bristol condominium at 1100 S. Flagler Drive, across from Family Church.

Related Cos. officials declined to comment.  Adelson also declined to comment.

From downtown outpost to growing real estate, worship powerhouse

The pending transaction marks the latest real estate play by Family Church, formerly First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach.

The church's downtown campus is on waterfront land on Flagler Drive just south of the Royal Park Bridge and Okeechobee Boulevard.

In recent years, Family Church has been on a mission to expand its presence outside the downtown area.

Sometimes, the church buys existing churches in other cities and rebranded them as Family Church. Other times, as in the newly created city of Westlake in western Palm Beach County, Family Church buys land with plans to build a house of worship.

Today, Family Church has a dozen neighborhood churches in cities ranging from Lake Worth Beach to Port St. Lucie.

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The next step in Family Church's growth: building more churches, adding Christian schools at the neighborhood churches and offering more church services in languages other than English.

To do this, Family Church plans to use money raised from the downtown land lease to finance new buildings.

Although Family Church has an existing budget of $36 million to finance its current operations during the next two years, it needs another $24 million to meet its goals during this period, according to a Jan. 22 presentation to West Palm Beach congregants.

"There is a chance that we may lease a portion of our property downtown for a significant amount of money," Scroggins said in a video included in the presentation.

A deal on the downtown land is moving swiftly toward the next step.

A question-and-answer session with church member is set for Feb. 2, and a membership vote is slated for Feb. 5. If the members approve a land lease to Frisbie Group, the church's executive team then can move to firm up a contract with the company.

Church sold its beloved Chapel-by-the-Lake

This isn't the first time Family Church has tapped its valuable downtown property to seed its growth plans.

In 2010, the church stunned West Palm Beach residents, and some of its own members, when it proposed selling off its Chapel-by-the-Lake, an open-air worship space directly on the Intracoastal Waterway along Flagler Drive, across from the church sanctuary.

Scroggins urged the land’s sale, which he said was needed to fuel an expansion of the church’s presence throughout the county.

But the land’s proposed use as a luxurious high-rise condominium was controversial and opposed by some city residents. They feared its large size would block views, create traffic and open the door to more big towers along the waterfront.

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After years of debate and even lawsuits by some city residents, the disputes eventually were settled, and the ultra-luxury Bristol condominium was built. The property was the most expensive condominium ever built in Palm Beach County, and gained international attention when a Palm Beach philanthropist paid more than $45 million for one floor. In 2021, six years after sales began, The Bristol sold out for just under $600 million.

The condo's success did open the door to construction of other residential towers projects on South Flagler Drive, including La Clara, Forte and the proposed South Flagler House condominiums.

Word that more development might be built along South Flagler Drive alarmed at least one West Palm Beach community leader, who said residents are being overwhelmed by the downtown’s rapid development.

“Our neighbors are already overstressed with the traffic and the parking problem that we have,” said Karen Steele, co-president of the El Cid Historic Neighborhood Association.

Alexandra Clough is a business writer at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Family Church weighs land deal with Frisbie Group in West Palm Beach