The Warehouse District aims to bring new life to aging industrial complex in WPB

West Palm Beach will soon welcome a new commercial retail project called the Warehouse District, with a chef-driven food market, distillery, craft brewery, boutique fitness studios and more.

Johnstone Capital Partners LLC, a Palm Beach-based real estate investment firm founded in conjunction with Edmund Hunter Beebe, managing principal for Healthcare Real Estate Capital, is currently developing a 6-acre property in West Palm Beach set to become the site for the innovative, mixed-use industrial retail complex.

Johnstone Capital purchased the property at 1220 and 1250 Elizabeth Avenue for $850,000 in October 2015. The aging industrial complex was built between 1925 and 1968, and last traded hands for $550,000 in 2013, property records show.

According to Johnstone Capital spokesperson William Earl, each of the property’s six historic warehouses will be renovated to preserve their original charm.

“Each building offers its own authenticity and character,” Earl told The Real Deal. “From loading docks and columns to original domed wood trust ceilings, these buildings are works of art, and part of the fabric of West Palm Beach’s industrious past.”

The Warehouse District spans several blocks, located south of the CityPlace and the city’s downtown district, and close to West Palm Beach’s major cultural attractions including the Norton Museum of Art, Armory Arts Center, and Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, and Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.

The Warehouse District project broke ground 18 months ago. When complete, it will include a multi-unit warehouse complex with about 85,000 square feet of retail space, with the first space expected to open in February.

The Warehouse District spaces

The project offers a total of 13 separate industrial spaces that will range from a pop-up retail marketplace and chef-driven food market/event space to a distillery, craft brewery, and boutique fitness studios. Confirmed tenants currently include the Plank Factory, Steam Horse Brewing Co., Kofski Antiques, Grain and Barrel, and the Palm Beach Squash Club.

The property also features more than 700-feet of abandoned rail lines which will become a pedestrian-friendly walkway with murals, art installments, and landscaping, Earl said.

For now, the district’s primary food and beverage component is being dubbed Grange Hall Market, a community of 10-12 independent vendors that will include a coffee shop, produce market, butcher, pizzeria and more. Fran Andrewlevich, owner of Tequesta-based Tequesta Brewing Co. and Twisted Trunk Brewing in North Palm Beach, will open Steam Horse — third Palm Beach County craft brewery — as part of the Warehouse District later this summer.

“We set out with an objective to build a cool, hip community in West Palm Beach that really captures the creative spirit in this town,” Earl said. “It’s going to be unlike anything else in the area.”