It was an evening dedicated to the pluses and minuses of high rises on North Flagler Drive.
Next to the twin towers of the Icon Marina Village that opened in 2023, partiers in cocktail attire sipped champagne and gorged on sushi last month to celebrate the official start of sales for the Ritz-Carlton Residences to be built by Miami’s Related Group.
A few blocks away, in the gymnasium of the Florence De George Boys & Girls Club, Great Gulf builders from Toronto told nearly three dozen worried neighbors of their plans to knock down 72 low-rise rental apartments and replace them with 97 condos in a 32-story building.
“We have the skill set to bring a high rise to life,” said Neil Vohrah, president of Great Gulf High Rise.
If the city approves, it will be five years before condos would open.
“Other than having the county’s largest sundial across the street from my home, I do like the footprint,” neighbor Steve Fleming said.
North Flagler hotbed
Sundials are sprouting along North Flagler like never before.
More than 1,200 new units rising 20 stories or more have been proposed or approved in the once-sleepy waterfront stretching north from Good Samaritan Medical Center to 54th Street.
The city planning board approved the 21-story Apogee at 4906 N. Flagler Drive, also by Related Group, on Jan. 22. If city commissioners go along, it would replace a single home with 39 condos.
A few blocks south, Alba I, 21 stories and 55 units by BGI Cos., is under construction and Alba 2 (officially Alba Reserve) is requesting commission approval for 87 units in 31 stories.
Related’s Ritz-Carlton Residences, with 138 units rising 27 floors, would go up at 1717 N. Flagler Drive, two blocks south of Related Ross’ Shorecrest, with 199 units and 28 floors.
Olara, developed by New York-based Savanna at 1919 N. Flagler — next door to Shorecrest — is under construction with 275 units and 26 stories.
And of course Related Group’s Icon Marina Village, twin 24-story towers with 399 rental units, recently opened on the waterfront at 4334 N. Flagler.
A $400 million project
That’s where Related’s Jorge Pérez, with sons Jon Paul and Nick, greeted real estate professionals poolside Jan. 29 at the Icon’s Cove Club.
Ritz-Carlton pricing starts at $2.5 million with corner units of 2,800 square feet priced at $8 million. Four penthouses haven’t been priced yet.
Total project value could reach $400 million, Related Group President Jon Paul Pérez said. Sales could total $650 million to $700 million.
“It sets a new standard of luxury for this market,” he said in an earlier interview with Stet.
In his view, he said in an interview last fall, “that whole corridor should be high rise.”
‘Wall of condos’
Residents aren’t so sure.
“We don’t want to be a wall of condos,” said Angela Ogburn, president of the Northwood Harbor Association.
When a resident asked the Toronto-based Great Gulf developers if they faced any lawsuits, an executive said no, prompting a member of the audience to add: “Not yet.”
Less than a week later, residents at Great Gulf’s recently completed La Clara, 1515 S. Flagler, sued over what they called the developer’s failure to deliver on construction promises, The Palm Beach Post reported.
But Great Gulf’s project is seen as less of a threat because it adds just 25 additional units over what is there now and, at 3 acres, is a bigger site than most.
For years residents have pushed back against proposals for upscale high-rises, fearing they will bring too many newcomers to their narrow streets, block views, add to flooding concerns and accelerate the loss of the small-town feel along North Flagler.
Ogburn praised Great Gulf for meeting with the community.
“Not everybody is as thoughtful as you are being,” she said. “Your project is actually giving us that feel of open space.”
Still, she worries that its height will set a precedent.
On 3 acres, including 0.8 of an acre of submerged land, Great Gulf has a larger footprint than many. The builder bought the site last year for $28.5 million and has hired architect Moshe Safdie to design the building.
“We’re not about doing the ordinary,” said Anthony Fanelli, director of high rise development.
The building will be set back 183 feet from Flagler Drive but it will need waivers allowing 29-foot setbacks on the north and south sides. While one part of the code requires only 20-foot setbacks another part requires 160 feet.
If the City Commission approves the project this year, existing rentals would be emptied and demolished by year-end, construction could start in 2027, with completion in late 2030, Great Gulf said.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
