Today, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board will review a term sheet for tax increment financing (TIF) from WPB Fern Holdings LLC. This developer, a partnership between Miami-based 13th Floor Investments, West Palm Beach-based Wexford Real Estate Investors, and New York-based L&L Holdings, is seeking up to $10.6 million in incentives to include affordable and workforce housing in their mixed-use project in downtown West Palm Beach.
Fern & Gardenia. Credit: Arquitectonica.
The proposed development, designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica, will cover a full block (2.64 acres) at 401 S. Dixie Highway, plus 418 and 464 Fern St. It will feature 340 apartments, 19,474 square feet of commercial space, and the preservation of a historic building from 1925.
City rules mandate that 20% of additional residential units obtained through TDRs must be affordable/workforce housing. This translates to 22 units for people making 60% or 100% of the area median income.
Fern & Gardenia. Credit: Arquitectonica.
In exchange for keeping the 22 units income-restricted for 40 years, the developers are seeking a TIF deal from the CRA. Under this arrangement, the CRA would forgo 45% of its property taxes from the project for 20 years, with a maximum value of $10.6 million.
Rendering: Fern & Gardenia. Arquitectonica.
The median household income in Palm Beach County is $90,300. The developer has proposed six apartments at 60% of the area median income, five apartments at 80% of the area median income, and 11 apartments at 100% of the area median income.
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