Luxury living in hot homes

It’s already hard to remember when West Palm Beach was a little dirty behind the ears — known for its dog racing track and college bars. But the transformation of the city is nowhere close to over.

There are roughly a dozen projects with 682 condos,1,414 apartments and 727 townhomes under construction in the city, according to The Real Deal. Much of that development is laser-targeted at luxury buyers, who expect designer star-power.

That’s why the biggest players in West Palm are tapping brand-name architects. Just look at Related Companies’ waterfront South Flagler House: It launched sales last month, with a design by the lords of limestone, Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

Its two 28-story towers ensconce 108 two- to five-bedroom homes, priced from $5.9 million to $72.5 million.

The towers are classic RAMSA, with setbacks and a light Art Deco influence that would look at home in Manhattan. And when it’s time to go to the office, South Flagler House residents can head to One Flagler, a 25-story, Class-A office building by One World Trade Center architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It will have 270,000 square feet of office space, sprawling retail and over 11,585 square feet of upscale dining.

For true architecture junkies, One Flagler comes with a hidden treat: It will preserve the neoclassical First Church of Christ, Scientist — one of West Palm’s most significant historic structures designed by Julian Abele in 1928. Meanwhile, another office project by Related is mixing iconic Miami flair with Big Apple style at the aptly named East Tower and West Tower in the Square (a downtown mixed-use hub also developed by Related). The East Tower, which will rise 24 stories with 500,000 square feet, is designed by South Florida icon Arquitectonica.

Meanwhile, the 22-story, 480,000-square-foot West Tower was drawn up by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the NYC-based firm behind One Vanderbilt and the masterplan for Hudson Yards. Speaking of Arquitectonica, they’re behind a number of other major projects in the area. They’re helming the forthcoming, $300 million Mr. C Hotel & Residences West Palm Beach by Terra.

The 25-story tower will have 110 hotel rooms and 146 branded residences asking $2 million to over $10 million. Construction kicks off next year. The firm is also behind the clean and modern aesthetic at Olara, a 26-story mixed-use tower currently under construction with 275 condos also starting at $2 million.

“Working in tandem with Bernardo Fort-Brescia [co-founder of Arquitectonica] has been an inspiring experience,” says Andrew Kurd, co-chief investment officer at Savanna, Olara’s developer. “We shared a similar design vision to seamlessly connect each residence to the outdoors. It’s representative of the future of West Palm Beach architecture.”