West Palm “tent site” valued at $15 million

An appraisal values the city-owned “tent site” in downtown West Palm Beach at $15 million.

That’s a $5 million increase from an appraisal completed four years ago. Developer Michael McCloskey is proposing a large medical campus with 13 and 15-story towers totaling 500,000 square feet. McCloskey said he received letters of interest from potential partners including New York-based Mount Sinai Health System, Miami Children’s Hospital and Jupiter Medical Center.

West Palm Beach commissioners are expected to discuss the potential development on Aug. 4, according to the Palm Beach Post. They listed to proposals for the 2.4 acres at Okeechobee Boulevard and Dixie Highway during the commission’s July 7 meeting. During that meeting, commissioners – by a 3-2 vote – approved a 90-day negotiation period with McCloskey and a site appraisal.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency gave the site to animation firm Digital Domain in 2010. The company gave it back to the city two years later, when it filed for bankruptcy. The tent site nickname originated early last decade, when International Pavilion operated a tent-shaped structure on the land. [Palm Beach Post] — Eric Kalis