Developers pay $41.5M for bayfront condo towers dev site in West Palm Beach

Hines, Frisbie Group plan pair of 28-story buildings with 89 units combined

A photo illustration of the South Flagler House in West Palm Beach (The Boundary with Noe & Associates)
A photo illustration of the South Flagler House in West Palm Beach (The Boundary with Noe & Associates)

UPDATED, July 26, 6:08 p.m.: Hines and Frisbie Group paid $41.5 million for the waterfront West Palm Beach development site for their planned South Flagler House luxury condo towers.

Flagler Towers Project Dev bought the 3-acre property on the northeast corner of South Flagler Drive and Diana Place from Palm Beach Atlantic University, according to records. The buying entity took out a $33.5 million loan from the seller.

Flagler Towers Project Dev appears to tie to both developers. State corporate records show it is an affiliate of Houston-based Hines, and a filing by Palm Beach Atlantic University attached to the deed says the board of trustees had voted in 2019 to enter into a contract with Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group.

The property currently houses two university dormitories constructed in 1964 with a total of 35 units, property records show. The buildings are vacant.

The pair of planned 28-story South Flagler House buildings will have 89 units, combined, consisting of three-bedroom to six-bedroom condos, townhouses, penthouses and one seven-bedroom townhouse, according to an April news release from the developers announcing the sales launch. The site address is 1355 South Flagler Drive.

The Robert A.M. Stern Architects-designed South Flagler House will offer amenities common in private membership clubs, such as a golf simulator lounge, indoor pickleball court and several pools, the release says.

Condo prices start at $10 million, and the two duplex penthouses start at about $75 million, according to the release. Suzanne Frisbie and Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group are leading sales and marketing. Suzanne Frisbie is with Corcoran and a member of the family that founded Frisbie Group.

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The other founders are Dave, Rick and Robert Frisbie Sr., the company’s website shows. Robert Frisbie Jr. and Cody Crowell manage the firm.

Frisbie Group has been active in the Palm Beach market. In April the firm sold a spec five-bedroom townhouse it completed last year for $27.8 million.

Hines, led by co-CEOs Jeffrey Hines and Laura Hines-Pierce, also is betting on Fort Lauderdale’s growing FATVillage neighborhood. In October, it paid $57.4 million for property between Fifth and Sixth streets, west of North Andrews Avenue, where it plans a seven-story office building as part of a larger mixed-use development.

West Palm Beach is quickly redeveloping with South Flagler House rising near Two Roads Development and Alpha Blue Ventures’ 24-story Forté condo development with 41 large units at 1309 South Flagler Drive.

Farther north, downtown West Palm is experiencing a building boom. Arnaud Karsenti’s 13th Floor Investments, Wexford Real Estate Investors and L&L Holding Company plan the 25-story Residences of Palm Beach West apartment building with 372 units and a grocery store between Fern and Gardenia streets, and between Quadrille Boulevard and South Dixie Highway.

A joint venture between Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners and Wheelock Street Capital is developing the 300 Banyan office building at 300 Banyan Boulevard. The partners are also renovating the historic office and retail building at 111 Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach.