Crime & Public Safety
County OKs purchase-leaseback for second hotel near West Palm Beach convention center
Palm Beach County commissioners approved a $26 million agreement to acquire and lease back a 400-room hotel adjacent to the Palm Beach County Convention Center in downtown West Palm Beach. The item passed in a 6-1 vote and would place land currently owned by an affiliate of Related Ross under county ownership, with the developer operating the hotel under a long-term lease that includes renewal options up to 97 years.
Under the approved structure the county would initially provide a $5 million deposit and pay the remaining $21 million later after the developer secures financing, permits and construction milestones. County staff projected the public-private partnership would generate more than $1 million a year in guaranteed rent, plus additional revenue from parking and hotel operations; once complete officials estimated the property could be worth nearly $350 million.
County presentations tied the project to efforts to expand convention business, saying the new hotel could support roughly 650 permanent jobs (about 255 hotel positions and 400 tied to increased visitor activity) and help recapture business lost because of insufficient nearby hotel rooms. Staff cited an estimated 20,000 lost room nights and about $15 million in lost economic impact from events that chose other destinations and estimated the additional hotel inventory could increase convention center economic output by about 57%.
Opponents raised procedural and neighborhood-impact concerns after the agreement was added to the agenda as an emergency item, saying residents had limited time to review voluminous documents and voicing parking and spillover concerns for nearby historic neighborhoods. County officials and staff maintained the county met public-notice requirements and argued the adjacent parking garage and visitor behavior would limit traffic impacts. The commission-approved agreement remains intended to move forward; staff said construction could be completed within about three years and preliminary renderings for future convention center expansion may be released later this year.
More Palm Beach County news · Request a correction or case update
All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.