CityPlace in West Palm Beach opens

CityPlace, a 72-acre, $550 million development in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida, opened October 26th and is already bustling with activity. The project includes 600,000 square feet of retail space, with a mixture of national, regional, and local merchants, 10 restaurants, a multiplex cinema, and a cultural center. The 570 residential units include townhomes, condominiums, apartments and rental flex-space lofts above ground-level retail. The main plaza wraps around a renovated 1926 church, a Spanish Colonial Revival structure which now serves as the cultural and community center. CityPlace’s streets connect to the city’s existing grid, and all parking is absorbed in four-story structures or by on-street parking. CityPlace blocks are each fronted by one large building with facades articulated to suggest individual buildings. The architecture is Mediterranean influenced. Ninety-six percent of the retail space has been leased, and townhomes and garden condominiums are sold out. A 300,000-square-foot convention center and 350-room hotel are also planned, as are three office towers. The site is positioned at the intersection of two major thoroughfares. The Palladium Company is the developer of the project, and Elkus/Manfredi Architects designed the plan.