18-story Flagler House across from Mar-a-Lago wins initial OK despite 'domino effect' fear

Plans for a 18-story luxury condominium tower across the water from Mar-a-Lago have won preliminary approval from West Palm Beach city commissioners over the objections of residents who blasted it as out of character with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the project on May 12 after three hours of discussion and debate in the standing-room-only commission chambers at City Hall. It faces a final vote at an upcoming meeting.

The project, named Flagler House, would be 194 feet and rise along South Flagler Drive on the site of a 60-year-old, three-story condo building north of Southern Boulevard, where it would tower over the older condos around it. The Portofino condo building just to the south stands at 135 feet, while the Harbor Towers building beyond that stands at 101.

An 18-story condominium is being proposed for 3705 South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach by a partnership between Perko Development and Kolter Urban. The site is across the Intracoastal Waterway from President Donald Trump's private club and residence Mar-a-Lago

The project would have 39 units, the same number as the existing building, but the units would be larger and the structure would be far taller than permitted under the area’s existing zoning rules.

Harvey Oyer, a lawyer for the developer, PK Flagler LLC, a partnership between Perko Development and Kolter Urban, argued that a taller building would be better for the neighborhood than the sorts of wider, squat buildings currently allowed.

A thinner building will create more open space at ground level, he argued, meaning it will block fewer water views and will allow most of the 1.4-acre site to exist as green space.

Renderings of the proposed Flagler House condo tower along South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.

He urged commissioners to rezone the site and waive some of its regular rules regarding building setbacks to allow the taller, slimmer building that developers envision.

“I know height is a contentious issue, but if we were to push that down, it would widen it,” he said.

As a public benefit, the developers are planning a path across the side of the property that residents in Central Park and Southland Park can use to access the waterfront, along with a watering station for dogs on Flagler Drive.

The waterfront Flagler House condominium in West Palm Beach, where the new Flagler House condo tower is being proposed.

Resident warns of 'domino effect' if such a tall building is approved

Dozens of residents of nearby Central Park and Southland Park neighborhoods spoke out against the plan, saying that the building's height and sleek design clashed with its surroundings.

They warned that allowing a building so tall also would ease the way for developers to erect even taller towers around it, transforming that sector of the city.

“If this building is approved, what’s to stop the next one at 20 stories, the one after that at 25 stories?” said nearby homeowner Amy Triggs. “If approved it will spark a domino effect of rezonings and waivers that will change the face of our neighborhood and community forever, and you can’t take it back.”

Oyer said that the days were numbered for the neighboring condo buildings, given the location on the waterfront, 2 miles south of a rapidly growing downtown and across the Intracoastal Waterway from the famous residence of the president of the United States.

“You’re going to see this transition whether you like it or don’t like it,” he said.

He added that the demand to build on that stretch of land, one of the few remaining underdeveloped stretches on the city’s waterfront that aren’t single-family home neighborhoods, meant that it presented a rare opportunity for commissioners to allow higher buildings in exchange for better design and other public benefits.

“We are literally at the epicenter of the real estate market in this country, and then to top it all off, this site overlooks Mar-a-Lago, which is now maybe the best known home on Planet Earth,” he said.

Commissioner Christina Lambert, who represents the neighborhood where the building would be located, at 3705 S. Flagler Drive, said she understood neighbors’ concerns but said city leaders need to consider other issues besides building height.

“I think that there is more to preserving our neighborhood that goes into our decision-making and our feel of what we’re going to have in this city than just how tall a building is,” she said. “I think it also involves the walkability, the accessibility, the look and feel of the design and how we as the public interact with this building.”

An 18-story condominium is being proposed for 3705 South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach by a partnership between Perko Development and Kolter Urban.

Commissioner Cathleen Ward echoed residents’ concerns that okaying this project will encourage more proposals for tall buildings along that stretch, saying that “this is what’s going to happen the rest of the way in this little area.”

“I would just say I think it’s incumbent on us to start having these conversations now with staff, so we know down the road what this is going to look like and how this is going to impact,” she said, “because the next one will probably ask for higher and then the next one will ask for higher.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 18-story Flagler House across from Mar-a-Lago wins initial OK despite 'domino effect' fear