The developer of a luxury condo tower in West Palm Beach, Florida, is planning another nearby, hoping to capitalize on a wave of development designed to transform the city into a luxury destination.
Al Adelson's The Berkeley Palm Beach is set to break ground in June and open in 2028 at 550 S. Australian Ave. in West Palm Beach. Prices in the 25-story, 193-unit tower range from $2 million to $10 million, with 20% of the units presold, the developer said.
In 2019, Adelson built The Bristol, a 68-unit building at 1100 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm. That project is sold out, according to the developer.
“With The Berkeley Palm Beach, our goal is to elevate high-rise living once again, just as we did with The Bristol,” Adelson said in a statement.
Developer Stephen Ross, owner of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, has recently turned his attention to West Palm Beach. Ross previously told Homes.com affiliate CoStar News that he has billions of dollars' worth of development underway with plans to help West Palm Beach become one of the "greatest places in this country."
Still, luxury homebuyers moving to South Florida have long preferred Miami and Fort Lauderdale, while West Palm Beach is still evolving as a go-to market, analysts say.
What's more, The Berkeley will be nearly triple the number of units as The Bristol, so finding enough well-heeled buyers willing to own in West Palm Beach rather than in the tony town of Palm Beach is no sure thing, said Jack McCabe, a longtime South Florida housing analyst for McCabe Research & Consulting.
"It sounds like that could be a bit of a challenge for West Palm Beach," McCabe told Homes.com.
Adelson announced this week that Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, a division of the Douglas Elliman brokerage, will handle sales at The Berkeley.
The Arquitectonica firm will design the building that will offer easy access to Interstate 95, Palm Beach International Airport and downtown West Palm Beach, the development team said.