West Palm Beach commissioners balk at Greene proposal

City commissioners on Monday shot down developer Jeff Greene’s initial plans for twin 30-story towers on the north side of downtown West Palm Beach.

Greene’s team had prepared to present renderings of the 3.3-acre site to the commission, but the officials said that they had too many questions regarding the project to see “pretty pictures.” They told the billionaire to return to their June 16 workshop.

Greene’s Harvey Oyer III said the property is permitted for 829,000 square feet of development across two 15-story buildings, according to the Palm Beach Post.

“We could break ground tomorrow” on the 15-story configuration, Oyer said. Greene hopes to build much higher – up to 30 stories.

“The higher you go, the more interesting the architecture is, the more sculpted the skyline, the more view of the Atlantic Ocean,” Oyer said.

But the commissioners balked.

“Other people have built other projects under the rules,” Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell said. “They could argue it’s unfair to grant it (a waiver) to somebody else.” [Palm Beach Post] – Christopher Cameron