Halfway through a decade that is redefining West Palm Beach's skyline, developers have more than a dozen condo projects in the pipeline totaling more than 2,000 units, according to an analysis by The Real Deal.
Construction loans for four projects total nearly $1.4 billion, and developments that launched sales early on are completing construction. Two Roads Development and Alpha Blue Ventures began closings for their Forté on Flagler tower at 1309 South Flagler Drive earlier this summer, which topped $289 million in presales.
In recent years, planned condos, once concentrated to the city's core, have stretched farther north. At least nine projects are now slated for the neighborhoods north of Flagler Memorial Bridge.
"They are testing the North Flagler market," said Gary Pohrer, an agent with Serhant. He is a fan of the neighborhood, and pointed to the Nora District as an attraction, but called the area "unproven."
It's a rapid growth spurt for a once sleepy city that has captured the imagination of billionaire developers dreaming of Wall Street South. Titans like Steve Ross, Jeff Greene, David Martin and Jorge Pérez are leading the charge, devout believers with billions of dollars invested in the West Palm Beach of tomorrow. But are buyers believers?
Market insiders say yes - but units aren't flying off the shelves.
"It's not the Miami pace that you sell half a building in one year, it's a more patient market," said Kenneth Baboun, the founder of BGI Companies and developer of Alba Palm Beach. "We don't have the investor market that Miami has, we have an end user market."
Developers are betting big on the future of West Palm Beach. The stakes are high, and projects' sales performance and construction timeline can cut through the marketing fluff to paint a more accurate picture about the developments' progress.
Of the dozen-plus condos currently in development, only seven have launched sales, and only three confirmed their presales for this story.
Baboun's Alba is more than 60 percent presold, he confirmed. He and his partners landed a $95 million construction loan from Kriss Capital in 2023, and are set to finish construction in the spring of 2026.
Mr. C Residences West Palm Beach, the Terra and Sympatico Real Estate's Cipriani-branded project, is 70 percent presold, a spokesperson confirmed. The developers scored a $285 million construction loan from Tyko Capital last month.
Related Group and BH Group's planned Ritz-Carlton Residences, West Palm Beach is nearing 50 percent in presales and is expected to start construction in the first quarter of 2026, a spokesperson confirmed.
"We were not expecting sales in July and August," yet the sales office stayed busy, said Chris Leavitt, a member of the Ritz-Carlton's Douglas Elliman marketing team.
While Related Ross declined to comment on sales figures for its planned South Flagler House, sources say it is near 50 percent presold.
New York firm Savanna's Olara is also around 50 percent presold, sources say. That's underwhelming to some brokers. "You would expect to have better sales or sales further down the road at this point in Olara," said Erin Sykes with Sykes Properties.
Other sales efforts have stalled, victims of "false starts," said Baboun, who pointed to Related Ross' Shorecrest. Sales launched last year, and the project has since been redesigned twice.
"Early on there was some conversation, and they did host a big broker focused event at Harry's [Bar & Restaurant]," Sykes said. "Once you make a lot of changes... the changes became the topic of conversation, and not the project."
The market's velocity isn't inspiring to Greene. He is waiting to launch sales on his Herzog & de Mueron-designed towers, which he says will compete at the high end of the market with the Bristol and South Flagler House.
"If Olara was at 75 percent, and South Flagler was 80 percent sold, of course we would just do whatever it takes [to launch]," he said. "We're not in any hurry. I don't think there's enough buyers right now."
Greene blames high interest rates, but he also says pre-development sales are a new concept to the area's buyers. "West Palm Beach has never been a pre-buy market," Greene said. "West Palm has never been that robust of a market. People don't really get the idea of buying a condo until they see it being built."
It also doesn't help that buyers are seeking immediate gratification in their purchases, making a yearslong wait for construction an unappealing proposition.
"They want new, and they want now," Baboun said.
Alba Palm Beach 14714 North Flagler Drive | BGI Companies, Blue Road
BGI Companies and Blue Road secured $95 million in construction financing for their planned Alba Palm Beach condos in 2023. The 22- story, 55-unit waterfront tower is now nearing completion, with construction set to wrap in early 2026. The design team includes architecture firm Spina O'Rourke + Partners and landscape firm Schmidt Nichols. The developers launched sales in 2022 with Douglas Elliman, and tapped One Sotheby's International Realty to take over in 2024. The project is now more than 60 percent presold, and prices for remaining units range from $2.5 million to $7 million.
