Tag Archive for: northbridge centre

Palm Beach County Suburban Office Market Heats-Up

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Downtown West Palm Beach’s office market is thriving—but rising rents are making it harder for some longtime tenants to keep a foothold in the city core.

The surge is largely fueled by billionaire developer Stephen Ross, whose aggressive investment and development strategy has helped transform downtown West Palm into one of South Florida’s most competitive office markets. His projects have drawn a steady stream of high-profile tenants and helped accelerate the city and county’s long-term growth vision.

That momentum, however, has driven rents sharply higher across downtown, including in buildings Ross does not own. As a result, some established tenants are being priced out and are relocating to suburban areas of Palm Beach County, where new office development is beginning to follow demand.

One notable example is law firm Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, which last year moved most of its operations from the Northbridge Centre in downtown West Palm—where it had leased space for roughly 40 years—to Palm Beach Gardens. The firm cited renewal proposals that were several times higher than its previous rent, reflecting what some tenants describe as unsustainable downtown pricing.

According to local brokers, asking rents in excess of $100 per square foot are prompting more companies to explore suburban alternatives. That shift is helping spark new office construction outside the urban core.

In Palm Beach Gardens, Gatsby Florida—an affiliate of Gatsby Enterprises—is planning The Modern, an eight-story, 220,000-square-foot office building with a six-story parking garage at 11200 RCA Center Drive. The project, expected to deliver in 2027, is being positioned in part to attract out-of-state firms and executives relocating to South Florida. Gatsby acquired the site for $17.5 million in 2022.

Meanwhile, in Boca Raton, construction is underway on The Aletto, a two-building office campus totaling 140,000 square feet that is already approximately 60 percent pre-leased.

Developers and brokers say these projects reflect growing demand for high-quality suburban office space that offers modern amenities without downtown pricing.

Ross, who launched Related Ross after stepping back from New York-based Related Companies in 2024, has made downtown West Palm the centerpiece of his development focus. His portfolio includes roughly a dozen office buildings in various stages, along with residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects.

By leveraging longstanding relationships—particularly within the financial services sector—Ross quickly filled many of his office properties with out-of-state tenants. More recently, his firm has also pushed to position Palm Beach County as an emerging technology hub.

While downtown West Palm continues to gain national attention, the ripple effects of its success are reshaping the broader county office market—creating new opportunities, but also new challenges, for tenants navigating the region’s rapid growth.

JLL Arranges Eight Leases Totaling More Than 46,000 SF At Northbridge Centre In WPB

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JLL announced the completion of several new leases, including new-to-market, expansions and renewals, at Northbridge Centre in Downtown West Palm Beach that drive total occupancy in the trophy office complex to 95 percent.

Situated at 515 North Flagler Drive in the city’s urban core, the four story, 294,493-square-foot trophy office property will see new and existing tenants ranging in size from approximately 1,800 to over 13,300 square feet.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Kevin Probel and Kevin McCarthy along with Sales Coordinator Leigh Lingo represented the building’s ownership group, Vanderbilt Office Properties, who recently invested over $18 million into capital improvements, including multi-tenant floor renovations, speculative suite buildouts, elevator and lobby renovations, and exterior upgrades.

“Palm Beach County remains a hotspot for corporate headquarter relocations and expansions due to its growing and highly educated labor force, unmatched quality of life and economic strength,” said JLL’s Probel. “With only a handful of available spaces left, Northbridge Centre remains the premiere choice for companies looking to expand or enter the region and take advantage of the property’s employee friendly amenities and strategic location in the heart of Downtown West Palm Beach.”

Among the new additions to Northbridge Centre’s distinguished roster of tenants are:

  •  Duracell Distributing, which offers office administrative and support services, is expanding from 1,955 square feet to occupy 6,113 square feet of space. Duracell Distributing was represented by Mitchell Millowitz at Newmark.
  •  General Services Administration (GSA), an independent agency of the United States government established to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies, will occupy 13,135 square feet. GSA was represented by Scott Powell with Public Properties.
  •  Serengeti Asset Management, a New York-based boutique financial firm specializing in investment management services that will be taking 4,119 square feet. Serengeti Asset Management was represented by Connie Thomas with TCRE.
  •  Smart Source LLC, a new-to-market global company that offers print, promotional and digital marketing services and will occupy 4,140 square feet. John Criddle with CBRE represented Smart Source LLC.
  •  Shoreham Capital,a privately-held real estate firm focused on the acquisition, development, ownership, and management of best-in-class real estate properties spanning the East Coast, signed a new lease for 3,455 square feet of space;
  •  Fifth Third Bank, a financial institution offering a range of banking services to individuals and businesses, has renewed its spots on the first and seventh floor for a total of 7,984 square feet. Will Portfolio and Chris Smith with CBRE represented Fifth Third Bank.
  •  Lightview Capital, a lower middle market private equity firm, has renewed its 1,825 square feet of space on the fifth floor. Lightview Capital was represented by Jason Sundook and Lesley Sheinberg with NAI Merin Hunter Codman.
  •  DC Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm, has renewed and expanded its lease from 3,150 square feet to now occupy 6,560 square feet. Brad Davis with CBRE represented DC Capital Partners.

Located in the heart of Downtown West Palm Beach and the central business district, Northbridge Centre offers convenient access to Palm Beach Island, Interstate 95 & Okeechobee Blvd and is less than a mile away from the first private US passenger rail Brightline station. The trophy office building features panoramic water views of the intercoastal waterway, the Atlantic Ocean, and Clear Lake as well as spectacular views of Palm Beach Island and the West Palm Beach skyline. Additionally, the property offers tenants three on-site dining venues, rooftop amenity deck, full-service banking, executive valet parking with direct building access, a Paul James salon, a fitness center with extensive programming, and a state-of-the-art conference facility.

According to JLL’s latest office insight report for Palm Beach County, flight-to-quality remains an important driver of activity as demonstrated by rents and vacancy rates in Palm Beach’s most exclusive submarket – Palm Beach Island. Overall direct rents reached an impressive $70.69 per square foot, full service (FS) this quarter, representing a staggering 31.3% increase year over year.

CBRE Secures $96M Refinancing West Palm Office Tower

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CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance group secured a $96 million loan for the refinancing of Northbridge Centre, a 294,493-square-foot office tower in South Florida.

CBRE Senior Vice President Amy Julian and First Vice President Andrew Chilgren represented the borrower, a joint-venture that includes Vanderbilt Office Properties and Trinity Capital Advisors. BMO originated the loan.

Northbridge Centre is located at 515 N. Flagler in West Palm Beach. Currently, the property is 92% leased to a diverse roster of 48 tenants.

The investment group has meticulously maintained and renovated the 21-story office building with over $18 million of recent capital investment including multi-tenant floor renovations, speculative suite buildouts, elevator and lobby renovations, and exterior upgrades. These projects have repositioned the asset into a top office destination for tenants in South Florida.

“The current ownership has been tremendously successful at Northbridge Centre,” said Julian. “They have executed 88,000 square feet of leases since the start of 2022, which has driven rents up by 46% since acquiring the property in 2019.”

Northbridge Centre features panoramic water views of the intracostal waterway, the Atlantic Ocean, and Clear Lake as well as spectacular views of Palm Beach Island and the West Palm Beach skyline. Additionally, the property offers tenants three on-site dining venues, rooftop amenity deck, full-service banking, executive valet parking with direct building access, a Paul James salon, a fitness center with extensive programming, and a state-of-the-art conference facility.

“New-to-market leasing activity has led to West Palm Beach emerging as one of the nation’s top performing submarkets,” added Chilgren. “Since the end of 2020, Class A vacancy has dropped 900 basis points to just 9.8%, while rents have simultaneously increased by more than 50%.”

 

CBRE Facilitates 26,000 SF Office Lease Renewal, Expansion For Quest Workspaces

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CBRE has arranged a 25,947-square-foot office lease at Northbridge Centre in West Palm Beach for Quest Workspaces, Miami’s third largest coworking operator.

Kevin Probel and Kevin McCarthy represented the landlords, Vanderbilt Office Properties and C-III Capital Partners, in lease negotiations. Lance Benson with Newmark represented Quest Workspaces.

Quest currently occupies 12,783 square feet on the third floor and will take an additional 13,164 square feet on the fourth floor, which they will occupy in October.

Today, Quest operates nine locations in Florida. Their Northbridge location has more than 170 clients with a notable client base, including Humana, Bravado Health, and Third Federal.

“Quest is excited to cement their long-term tenancy at Northbridge. Strategically located in the heart of downtown West Palm, Northbridge is at the footsteps of the island of Palm Beach, walking distance to hundreds of shops and restaurants, and offers spectacular views,” said Benson.

Located at 515 N. Flagler Drive, Northbridge Centre is a 21-story office tower totaling 294,493 square feet. The property features an attached parking garage with a climate controlled covered sky bridge, restaurants, full-service banking with ATM service, Paul James Salon and full-service NB Fitness Center.

“As office leasing activity continues to increase, tenants will favor properties such as Northbridge Centre, which have received millions of dollars in renovations to provide prime Class A space in Downtown West Palm Beach,” commented CBRE First Vice President Kevin Probel.

Northbridge Centre sits across the street from the Palm Beach Yacht Club and minutes from the Bright Line Station. It is two blocks from Flagler Banyan Square, a $145 million redevelopment project in downtown West Palm Beach.

 

West Palm Office Building Fetches $98 Million

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Crocker Partners and Greenfield Partners sold the Northbridge Centre in downtown West Palm Beach for $98 million, marking one of the largest office sales in the city’s history.

The partnership sold the 294,000-square-foot Class A office tower for $333 per square foot to Chicago-based Vanderbilt Office Properties and New York-based C-III Capital Partners, records show. The property is located at 515 North Flagler Drive.

Boca Raton-based Crocker Partners bought the office property in a joint venture with Westport, Connecticut-based Greenfield Partners for $68 million in 2016. The joint venture then spent $15 million on renovations, including adding a new conference center, a cafe and a barista bar as well as upgrading the common areas and lobby.

The building is known to locals as the “Darth Vader building” because of its dark windows.

CBRE’s Chris Lee and Jose Lobon brokered the sale.

Brett Reese of Crocker Partners said that when the partners purchased the building rents averaged about $20 per square foot, but rents now range up to $42 per square foot due to the renovations. Reese said he’s also seen a change in the tenant mix as West Palm Beach has evolved to become more of a destination for investment managers and private equity firms.

“Since we renovated, we brought in over 10 new family offices and private equity [firms] to the building,” Reese said. “Historically it has been a building where lawyers have gravitated to given its proximity to the courthouse. It’s now changed. We are seeing more financial services.”

 

Source:  The Real Deal

Bo Paty Inks Northbridge Centre Lease

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Navarro Lowrey Properties, Inc. recently announced that Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A. has leased 5,700 square feet of the 17th floor of Northbridge Centre.

Northbridge Centre is located at 515 North Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.

The firm will be moving from its current offices at 215 Fifth Street in West Palm Beach to its new offices at Northbridge Centre upon completion of its tenant improvements expected the first quarter of 2012.

Mark C. “ Bo” Paty, Vice President of Navarro Lowrey Properties, represented the tenant and Kirk Fetter represented the owner in the transaction.

Formally organized in 1961, Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A. has become one of the larger Certified Public Accounting firms in Palm Beach County, Florida.