The Riviera Beach City Council unanimously approved zoning changes that will enable SobelCo to build a 1.2 million-square-foot project near the Port of Palm Beach.
Council members voted 5 to 0 on first reading Thursday night to rezone the 4.3-acre parcel at 1117 Broadway from Downtown Core District to Inlet Harbor Center-Planned United Development. Because the zoning change is an ordinance, it requires a second reading vote.
The zoning change will clear the way for Boca Raton-based SobelCo to build four buildings on what was once a boat yard with a total of 508 condo units, 10,000 square feet of retail, 1,081 parking spaces, and a ninth-floor amenity deck with pools, spas, grilling stations and other features.
The condos, which will include 246 one-bedroom units and 262 two-bedroom units, will be marketed to young professionals interested in living near West Palm Beach, SobelCo vice president Tirso San Jose told The Real Deal. The units will be priced at just under $1 million.
It’s planned for a site next to an expanding workforce townhouse project called Villa L’Onz and near Marina Annex, a 175-unit workforce housing project with a 15,000-square-foot community center proposed by a development team led by New York-based O’Connor Capital Partners.
The SobelCo development site is also across the street from Marina Village, a 90-acre area adjacent to the Port of Palm Beach that Riviera Beach officials want to redevelop to attract more jobs and revenue. It’s on a portion of Marina Village where the Related Group’s affordable housing arm, Related Urban, recently broke ground to build the Residences at Riviera Beach, a 149-unit workforce housing project after securing $100.3 million in construction financing. The Related Group, BH Group and Tezral Partners also intend to build Gallery at Marina Village, a 20-story market-rate apartment project, next door.
The city also issued a new bid for developers interested in building hotels, restaurants and entertainment on another 12 acres near Marina Village’s marina area.
Farther north, at 3700 Broadway, developer Peter Baytarian of Forest plans to build two 25-story mixed-use condo towers called Oculina.
About a half-dozen residents spoke in favor of the SobelCo project, including former Riviera Beach Councilwoman Julia Botel. Botel said the development will be the first thing people will see when driving over the bridge from West Palm Beach.
“Instead of vacant lots and underutilized land, people will see new life and new energy and beautiful construction that reflects the promise of Riviera Beach’s future,” Botel said.
