Al Adelson and the Morrison family’s Sympatico Real Estate scored a $62.5 million pre-construction loan for their planned West Palm Beach condo tower, the Berkeley, The Real Deal has learned.
The developers secured the financing from New York City-based JVP Management, according to a press release. The firm’s head of credit strategies, Anthony Shaskus, said they hoped to also provide construction financing for the project, the release shows.
The developers launched sales for the Berkeley, a 25-story, 193-unit tower planned for 601 and 621 Clearwater Park Road, in December. Floorplans range from two- to five-bedrooms, and the tower will have four penthouses, according to the release. Arquitectonica is the architect and prices range from $2 million to $10 million. Adelson and his partners opted for an in-house sales team, which is led by Joe Conwell, the project’s website shows. Adelson confirmed the project is between 12 percent and 15 percent presold.
The project is near the sites for the planned Vanderbilt University graduate school campus and Cleveland Clinic. With this proximity, as well as walkability to the planned office towers in downtown West Palm Beach, Adelson said he believes the tower will be a draw to buyers looking for convenience. He also expects about a third of the buyers to be snowbirds and retirees, he said.
Construction is slated to begin in June of 2026, he said. But Adelson also acknowledged the slowing market could disrupt his plans.
“The market in South Florida has slowed down a bit, I think anyone you talk to will tell you that,” he said, adding that he expects interest rates to come down in the near future and boost the market. He also pointed to a possible Zohran Mamdani-related migration wave from New York.
Adelson is known in West Palm Beach for building the Bristol, the city’s premier luxury condo building. He and Gene Golub completed the 25-story, 69-unit building in 2019, making it the first new condominium in the city in more than a decade. Last year, a penthouse in the tower sold for a record $28 million.
Now, the Berkeley is one of more than a dozen condo projects in the city’s development pipeline. This loan brings the pipeline’s financing total to $1.4 billion.