Developers want to build a 25-story apartment project in downtown West Palm Beach, marking a continued wager on the area’s residential market.
An entity tied to John Hoecker of real estate firm Jupiter Realty and Norbert Kent Wilmering propose a 190-unit building on nearly an acre at 315 South Dixie Highway and 411 Fern Street, according to city records. Jupiter Realty, which Hoecker founded in 2002, is an investment and development firm that also offers brokerage services.
The land now has a two-story, 50,000-square-foot commercial building completed in 1966, property data shows. About 9,400 square feet of retail space at the existing structure will remain as part of the project, according to the proposal.
Hoecker and Wilmering’s entity paid $4 million in 2001 for the development site, records show.
The pair are joining a growing number of developers who plan to build residential units in downtown West Palm.
In April, Estate Companies, led by Robert Suris and Jeffrey Ardizon, scored city approval for two eight-story buildings with 321 apartments, combined, at 520 North Rosemary Avenue. The project marks South Miami-based Estate’s first multifamily development in downtown West Palm.
Arnaud Karsenti’s 13th Floor Investments and Wexford Real Estate Investors plan a 25-story building with 372 apartments and a 28,200-square-foot grocery store between Fern and Gardenia streets, and between Quadrille Boulevard and South Dixie Highway. The site is across the street from Hoecker and Wilmering’s proposed project.
Just outside downtown, Frisbie Group and Hines plan the pair of 28-story South Flagler House buildings with 82 condos and seven townhouses at 1355 South Flagler Drive. The development site used to be a Palm Beach Atlantic University dormitory that the developers started demolishing last month.