Suit Over BH Group, Related Group’s Transit Village Settling

Long-stalled plans for nearly 1,000 residential units plus hotel rooms and commercial space near a West Palm Beach transit hub are back in motion.

Attorneys for the developers behind the $1 billion Transit Village project are in discussions to settle the lawsuit against Palm Beach County over the sale price of the 6.6-acre county-owned site, avoiding a February trial, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Court filings point to Palm Beach County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo, appointed last year to the job, for helping thaw the stalemate over the sale. The opposing sides “began working together in good faith to try to amicably resolve this matter,” the developers’ attorneys wrote in filings.

The Toledano family’s Aventura-based BH Group, the Pérez family’s Coconut Grove-based Related Group and Michael Masanoff plan the 1.3 million-square-foot Transit Village at 150 Clearwater Drive in downtown West Palm. The project would rise atop a major city bus station and next to a transit hub for Tri-Rail and Amtrak trains and Greyhound buses.

Transit Village had been in the works for 15 years when Masanoff won a city solicitation to redevelop the property. After stalling for years, it finally picked up momentum in 2021 when Related, BH and Sagi invested in the project.

In 2022, West Palm approved the development with three 25-story buildings with 986 residential units, a fourth 25-story building with 108 hotel keys, and 180,000 square feet of offices. The project will include micro-units, workforce housing units, retail and an elevated podium.

But then Transit Village hit another hurdle when the developers sued the county in 2024 over jacking up the site’s price to $35.5 million, nearly 10 times more than the $3.6 million agreed on in 2012.

In court filings, the county said it wanted nearly $3 million in Federal Transit Administration grants repaid. But the county said the FTA wanted it repaid based on current property market values that put the amount owed for the grants at $35.5 million. Transit Village has argued the FTA never asked for the money back and the county contract never included a requirement to pay back the federal agency.

Reasons for previous delays prior to BH, Related and Sagi’s investment are unclear. A source previously told The Real Deal it had to do with numerous amendments to agreements with government agencies due to plan changes.

Attorneys for the developers and a county spokesperson declined to comment to the outlet.

A settlement would require approval at a public county meeting.

–– Lidia Dinkova