Forest Development’s Peter Baytarian can move forward with plans to build a pair of 25-story mixed-use condo towers in Riviera Beach.
The Riviera Beach City Council Wednesday evening unanimously approved a pair of resolutions tied to the project, called Oculina, to be built at 3700 Broadway.
Designed by Palm Beach Gardens-based Insite Studio, the Oculina project will be up to 300 feet tall and include 399 units, 17,120 square feet of restaurant space, 11,000 square feet of offices, and 9,680 square feet of retail, according to a city memo and a Forest Development spokesperson.
As part of its approval, Riviera Beach agreed to replat the former 3.4-acre Winn-Dixie site at 3700 Broadway. Riviera Beach officials had rezoned the site for high-rise development last year.
In exchange for extra density and height, Forest Development agreed to pay $4.9 million to the city’s affordable housing fund, as part of the city’s Minority Employment and Affordable Housing Opportunity Program.
In addition, the Forest Development agreed to assemble a construction crew that is at least 20 percent from minority populations (Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American). The agreement further stipulated that first preference for jobs will be given to Riviera Beach’s Black and Hispanic residents. Black and Hispanic residents living elsewhere in Palm Beach County will be given second priority.
The Forest Development spokesperson said a timeline for sales and construction of Oculina “will be forthcoming in the next few months.” When completed, the project will include “resort style amenities, a cafe, fast casual and fine dining restaurants, retail and office.”
Silver Beach Road Partners LLC, headed by Baytarian, acquired the development site for Oculina for $7.3 million in December 2021, records show. The former Winn-Dixie property is less than 1,600 feet away from the site where Forest Development and Dan Kodsi’s Royal Palm Companies are building Nautilus 220, a twin 24-story condo project at 220 Lake Shore Drive in Lake Park.
Riviera Beach has attracted increased interest from developers in recent months. Among them, Miami-based Related Group teamed up with BH Group and Tezral Partners to build a 20-story building with 418 market rate apartments near Riviera Beach’s Marina Village. Related Group’s affordable housing arm, Related Urban, is also teaming up with Tezral to build an eight-story apartment building with 149 workforce housing units at Marina Village.
Meanwhile, Riviera Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency has renewed its search for developers willing to build new restaurants and hotel amenities on publicly-owned waterfront land at Marina Village.
