Billionaire developer Jeff Greene faces a $5 million penalty if he doesn’t complete his long-delayed One West Palm project by the end of 2027.
He’s not too worried about the deadline.
“I’ve built over 100 buildings,” he said. “There’s always trouble.”
Greene agreed to finish the two-tower, 30-story mixed-use One West Palm in an agreement with the West Palm Beach City Commission that was approved at its Feb. 2 meeting. In the same meeting, the city approved an agreement with other Greene entities to support the improvement of Currie Park, the 13-acre park adjacent to many of the West Palm Beach properties Greene owns and plans to develop.
Construction started on One West Palm in 2019, with the expectation that it would be completed in 2022. Greene purchased the 3.3-acre development site for $10 million in 2014, according to property records.
Designed by Arquitectonica, the towers are set to include 326 apartments, 201 hotel rooms, 200,000 square feet of office space, and amenities like a fitness club, spa, movie theater, pools and indoor tennis courts.
But construction was mired in squabbles with the city and legal fights with the contractor from early stages. In 2020, Greene threatened to halt construction entirely if West Palm Beach didn’t grant him a requested zoning change.
The agreement between Greene and the city to finish One West Palm puts a wrap on a legal spat that started in the fall. Greene sued West Palm Beach in October, alleging the city was improperly stalling approvals for a separate condominium project, a pair of Herzog & de Mueron-designed buildings slated for his 4.5-acre site at 2175 and 2251 North Flagler Drive.
Now he’s agreed to a land swap and to pay $6 million for the city to connect Northwood Road to Currie Park. With the dust settling, he can move forward with the Herzog & de Mueron condos, which still need final approvals, he said.
“Once we have those done and we get approved, then we’ll be in a position to start marketing these condos,” he said. But, “That’s probably six months away until we can open a sales office.”
