Billionaire developer Jeff Greene filed suit against West Palm Beach, alleging the city has improperly stalled approvals for his planned luxury condominiums.
The developer said he believes Mayor Keith James is delaying the project as retaliation for Greene’s opposition to a city land deal with billionaire Steve Ross.
The suit, filed this week in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, seeks to force approval for Greene’s Herzog & de Mueron-designed condos planned for the 4.5-acre site at 2175 and 2251 North Flagler Drive, court filings show. The twin towers are slated to each span 30 stories with 76 units, and will include 5,100 square feet of commercial space.
It’s been two years since Greene received approval for the project from the West Palm Beach Planning Board. But since then, plans have been stuck in bureaucratic limbo, according to the suit.
Representatives for the city declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
At the heart of the conflict is a land deal between Greene and the city. Greene had agreed to pay $6 million and swap land with the city to connect Northwood Road to the soon-to-be redeveloped Currie Park.
“I’m not really hung up on whether I get a few dollars more or less for my land, but the city was totally unresponsive,” Greene said. “They just dragged their feet, dragged their feet.”
The 2023 approval mandated the developer and city close the transaction before a building permit is issued, the suit shows. In communications between Greene’s representatives and the city, city planners argue the land deal is a condition of final approval, not just a condition of issuing the building permit. The city also did not recognize Greene’s request for an extension when the planning board’s approval was set to expire, the complaint shows.
In recent weeks, Greene received a letter from James stating the city would withdraw its height allowances for the planned 350-foot tall Herzog & de Mueron-designed condos, capping the height for each at 111 feet, Greene said. He requested meetings with James, but the mayor canceled.
“He was at my son’s bar mitzvah, he’s been to my home in the Hamptons,” Greene said, describing a years-long relationship with James.
Greene is not absolutely certain why the mayor would seek to punish him, but he suspects it has to do with Greene’s opposition to an effort to sell Steve Ross 55 acres at a steep discount for the purpose of a school. In April, the West Palm Beach City Commission voted to begin negotiations with developer Ross, chairman of Related Ross, with a proposed sale price of $6.6 million. Greene said he found the sweetheart deal offensive, given his own investment into the Greene School and Bill Koch’s $100 million donation to start the nearby Oxbridge Academy.
“It doesn’t look very kosher,” he said of the Ross land deal. “This mayor is just using his power to go after me.”
Greene said he hopes his towers ultimately win approval, but if not he could pursue up to $1 billion in damages from the city. He also sees waiting as an option.
“What we would do is leave it empty and wait till there’s another mayor,” he said. “If this mayor wants me to just be a land banker and not build anything, I won’t build anything.”
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