The Breakers is planning an eight-story, 155-unit apartment complex in West Palm Beach to house its workers.
The iconic Palm Beach hotel has seen the writing on the wall about the lack of affordability in Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach Post reported. City officials are calling it the first employer housing development of its kind in the county, another marker of the region’s rapid change in recent years.
The building is planned for the 2.5-acre site at 2410, 2460 and 2058 North Australian Avenue, which a Breakers affiliate bought for $2.3 million in December, according to property records. Plans include a pool, sports field and shuttle services, the Post reported. The design team includes West Palm Beach-based Spina O’Rourke & Partners and Tyler Woolsey of Urban Design Studio.
The West Palm Beach Planning Board unanimously approved the project at its July meeting, but the project still requires final approval from the West Palm Beach City Commission.
“I love that they’re creating a place for their employees to live, especially given the unaffordability of workers’ housing in West Palm Beach,” board member Will Corrente said at the July meeting.
Employment with the Breakers will be a requirement to live in the complex, which will primarily serve the hotel’s temporary workforce.
The hotel was founded in 1896 by Henry Flagler and is owned by the heirs of his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler, through the entity Flagler Systems. With more than 2,400 employees, it is one of the largest employers in Palm Beach County. The hotel relies on hundreds of foreign workers, and was last year approved to hire 249 workers with H2-B visas, the Post reported.
The Breakers has been adjusting to Palm Beach’s growth in recent years. In December, the hotel bought the former Palm Beach Post Office from billionaire Jeff Greene for $28 million.
— Kate Hinsche
