West Palm Beach historic neighborhood opposes waterfront condo by Related Group of Miami
A century-old West Palm Beach community is rallying to fight a multibillion-dollar developer who wants to build a high-rise tower on land home to a 1949 Mediterranean-style estate.
The Northwood Harbor Historic District is across the street from where the 25-story condominium is planned in an area north of downtown that is newly attractive to builders looking for waterfront lots.
The Related Group, led by CEO Jorge Perez, bought the property at 4906 N. Flagler Drive last year for $16 million. With about 100 feet of Lake Worth Lagoon frontage, his proposal calls for a sleek 287-foot condominium with 46 units and a two-level parking garage.
Pinched between the 1940s-era private Flotilla Club to its south and single-family homes to its north, the developer is asking for the land to be designated a Residential Planned Development, or RPD, and given eight waivers to bypass construction restrictions.
The project is scheduled to go before the West Palm Beach Planning Board on Dec. 19. Its name, Apogee, means the highest point, or culmination of something.
Concerns by the historic district have been outlined in colorful flyers and on a large sign erected near the property. Neighbors say Apogee is too big for the 100-foot-wide lot, too tall and “not aesthetically pleasing.”
“It’s a monstrosity. It’s not good,” said Steve Annabel, who has lived for 28 years across the street from the densely landscaped property. “People are not very happy with the whole overdoing of the waterfront.”
Related Group, which is not affiliated with Related Cos. led by Miami Dolphins billionaire owner Stephen Ross, says in its justification statement for the project that despite being on the Intracoastal Waterway, the north end of West Palm Beach’s waterfront has been largely ignored.
“However, a renewed interest has occurred in recent years and new developments are creating a synergy,” the Oct. 30 statement says.
In just more than a half mile between 4200 N. Flagler Drive and 5800 N. Flagler Drive, seven new towers have been approved for construction and four built, according to the statement. That includes two 24-story luxury apartment towers with 399 units that recently opened at the Icon Marina Village, which is also a Related Group project.
In August, the 22-story Alba Palm Beach broke ground at 4708 N. Flagler Drive as the first direct waterfront condominium in West Palm Beach to launch since The Bristol started construction in 2016. The 55-unit condominium is being built by BGI Companies and Blue Road Group.
"This area is a perfect storm that has been undersupplied for the past 18 years," said Alba developer Kenneth Baboun in an August interview. "We believe so strongly in this market that we are actively looking at other options."
In a statement about Apogee, Related Group President Jon Paul Perez said “community input is an integral part of our process.”
“As such, we’ve been actively engaging with local residents over recent months,” the statement said.
Want to get The Dirt?
Stay up to date on South Florida's sizzling real estate market and sign up for The Dirt weekly newsletter, delivered every Tuesday! Exclusively for Palm Beach Post subscribers.
Northwood Harbor Neighborhood Association Vice President Tatiana Michalenko doesn’t believe Related or the city is being inclusive in the process. That includes concerns that the Dec. 19 Planning Board meeting is happening when people may be busy with Christmas plans or travel.
Michalenko has owned a home across the street from 4906 N. Flagler for 27 years and worries infrastructure will be overwhelmed with so much waterfront development.
"The proposed development is clearly incompatible with our neighborhood," said Angela Ogburn, the association's president. "Our stance is not against building but in favor of a growth that enhances and preserves the unique character of our community, rather than risking its destruction."
Related is asking the city to rezone the 1.45-acre lot from multifamily to a Residential Planned Development because the intent of an RPD is to encourage innovative building by awarding incentives such as height waivers, increased density and permitting changes.
Heights at the site are restricted to 40 feet. The land area required for an RPD is 10 acres, but Related says another city rule requires only 2 acres. Either way, the site at 1.45 acres "does not comply with either provision" the justification statement says.
Related said it is reducing impact on the neighborhood by setting the tower at the water’s edge so that people on the sidewalk won’t see it. The parking garage will also have lifts to stack cars on top of each other to reduce the height to 36 feet as well as the footprint of the overall structure. The construction will also incorporate mature buttonwood and live oak trees that are currently on the property.
High-end in West Palm Beach: New luxury waterfront condominium selling units for $2.5 to $10 million
West Palm Beach City Commissioner Cathleen Ward, whose district includes Northwood Harbor, said she had “no comment right now” about the project.
Although the Northwood Harbor Historic District, which stretches from 45th Street to 59th Street between Flagler and east of Broadway Avenue, is protected by preservation rules governing whether homes can be demolished or changed, the waterfront is outside the historic district.
The home at 4906 N. Flagler was previously owned by Wolfgang Von Falkenburg, a longtime Palm Beacher who is infamous for a deathbed wedding to an oil heiress and having two fatal drug overdoses at the estate dubbed The Flagler House.
If walls could talk: Miami developer buys infamous Florida home tied to money, glitz and overdose deaths
Pamela Schwind, whose home was built in 1921 and is less than a half block from 4906, said she’s concerned about her house being damaged during construction of the condominium.
“I feel like people don’t care about neighborhoods anymore,” she said. “There are going to be repercussions.”
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: Northwood Harbor says condo by Jorge Perez Related Group of Miami too big
