West Palm Beach Residents Decry Related Ross Nomination

The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and the city of West Palm Beach drew resident opposition recently over the potential appointment of Jordan Rathlev, an executive vice president at Related Ross.

Rathlev is among the candidates vying for one of four open seats on the DDA’s seven-member board.

Rathlev’s nomination by Mayor Keith James was delayed from the June 22 city commission meeting, and a city spokesperson told The Real Deal that the nomination was postponed because Rathlev was out of town.

However, city commission rules do not require board appointees to attend meetings during consideration of their nominations. The nomination was rescheduled for July 6.

A Related Ross spokesperson emailed an exclusive statement to The Real Deal supporting Rathlev’s nomination, a 10-year resident of West Palm, and indicating the company’s downtown properties are projected to generate nearly 25 percent of the DDA’s private property tax revenue this year.

Related Ross owns 2.8 million square feet of office space in downtown West Palm Beach, including 360 Rosemary, 477 Rosemary, Phillips Point, One Flagler, One Clearlake, 1100 Banyan Boulevard and the Esperante Corporate Center. The North end of CityPlace, which includes retail tenants Pura Vida, Salty Donut, Venetian Nail Spa, Maman and ESPN, also fall within the DDA district, along with The Laurel apartments and The Ben hotel, which Related Ross acquired in February.

Community concerns draw scrutiny

The opposition against Rathlev’s nomination started from the Downtown West Palm Beach Neighborhood Association, a group incepted by the DDA nearly 20 years ago that has previously received funding from the agency. In a June 11 letter to the city commission, association president Sitima Fowler raised concerns that alleged “taxation without representation” because Rathlev and a majority of other board members are not residents within the DDA’s boundary.

His appointment would make him the second Related Ross executive on the seven-member board.

According to the DDA board qualification rules, a board member must reside, own property, or be employed at a business within the defined DDA boundary. Under these guidelines, Rathlev would qualify because Related Ross’ main office at 360 Rosemary falls within the district.

Fowler’s letter alludes to board member Bernardo Neto, who is not an employee of Related Ross, but serves as the general manager of Ross-owned The Ben hotel.

Fowler did not immediately respond to The Real Deal’s request for comment. Several other downtown residents spoke against the appointment, making similar arguments.

City Commissioner Joseph Peduzzi acknowledged in the meeting that the DDA board should reflect the residents and businesses it serves, but that it shouldn’t exclude a major landowner or developer.

“I would think a developer or a major landowner downtown would have just as much of a reason to want to make sure that the residents are safe and the streets are clean as a downtown resident or business owner would,” he said.

What authority and influence does the DDA have?

The authority is an independent taxing district funded primarily through property tax increment revenue generated within its boundaries. Its $11 million annual budget pays for downtown safety, maintenance and marketing, but the agency has no authority over zoning, incentives, permitting, public property sales or leases, or development proposals.

Any security and improvement initiatives must abide by zoning and permitting regulations. While the agency has no authority to change those rules, it can act as a liaison between businesses, residents and City Hall when businesses or residents request changes, advocating on their behalf and using DDA funds to support approved initiatives.

For example, during the pandemic the DDA urged city commissioners to temporarily modify zoning and permitting rules to allow restaurants to expand outdoor seating after restaurant owners raised concerns about operating under restrictions that limited indoor dining to 25 percent capacity because of social distancing requirements.

The DDA’s marketing efforts are confined to the residents, businesses and events within the downtown district, unlike the county’s Business Development Board, whose “Wall Street South” campaign aims to recruit companies and executives from outside the region.

Executive Director Teneka James-Feaman oversees the day-to-day operations of the DDA, including supervising the operating budget.

Board members have a three-year term limit unless they step down or are reappointed by the mayor and city commission. Decisions on initiatives are made by a majority vote of at least four of the seven board members.