Field of greens opens on the Dixie corridor in West Palm Beach and all rejoice
Welcome to The Dirt. I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.
You may get the impression here at The Dirt that we only chronicle the real estate wheelings and dealings of the rich and famous, and, you’d be mostly correct! Who wants to read about some old warehouse that sold in West Palm Beach? Snoozer! Am I right? Nope, I’m totally wrong.
Lead business reporter Alexandra Clough proves that the sale of a warehouse, particularly, a long-standing former beer distribution building isn’t just about a going from “lager to lumber” as she cleverly puts it, but is also the end of an era in West Palm Beach.
Now, back to the rich and famous💎. A Miami-area builder of high-end luxury homes is testing the waters in Palm Beach County and, so far, he likes what he sees. He just wrapped up a $30 million sale and has another waterfront manse going up in wealthy Manalapan.
Also, developers hoping to dig into the Agricultural Reserve had to tap out on another deal after Palm Beach County Commissioners put the kibosh on a proposed warehouse.
And, Palm Beach County’s own Jeff Lichtenstein was on CNN chatting about how much Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and club is worth. Is it more than $1 billion or about $450 million? Certainly, everyone can agree it would sell for more than $18 million, because $18 million is like the bill at La Goulue on a Friday night.
No, it’s not another Amazon warehouse
The Brown Distributing building is a landmark on the west side of Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach. The company, which had been in business in the city since 1984, shut down the facility in 2021 and recently sold it for $31 million. It was bought by the nationwide lumber supplier Boise Cascade.
Sure, it’s sad to see the end of a beer dynasty in West Palm Beach, but, hey, someone has to feed the beast of rampant development in South Florida. Maybe Boise Cascade could set up a beer truck or something in commemoration of our loss. 🍺
Nothing to sneeze at in Highland Beach
A $30 million sale in Highland Beach is notable not just for the high price, but also for the builder. It’s the first home in Palm Beach County completed by Pascal Nicolai, the French-born founder of Sabal Development. He’s better known in the Miami market but is making inroads to the north where he says there’s a dearth of new modern inventory along the coast.
The Highland Beach home sold less than a week after a broker’s open, although the official closing had to wait until the unnamed American businessman who bought it got back from summer travels. Very Palm Beach of them.
Dixie corridor gets another new restaurant and don’t call it Pixies on Dixie
The sign was up and everyone in my household (all two of us including the pup🐶) were excited to find out what Pixies restaurant on Dixie was all about. Then, the sign was down. Then another sight went up — Field of Greens! Palm Beach Post food and dining reporter Liz Balmaseda has the scoop on why the name change, and what it means for the location, which was previously the short-lived, but very good, SoSo cafe.
The Dixie corridor, once the realm of more shady dealings (no, really 👠) is blossoming into a restaurant destination where residents of the popular south of Southern Boulevard community, or SoSo, can walk to great restaurants and fast-casual dining. Those of us in NoSo — north of Southern Boulevard — also enjoy the increased choices. If you haven’t heard of NoSo, that’s because I just made it up. Maybe it should be SoBe for South of Belvedere?
Another no-go in the Ag reserve
The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners has turned cold to the idea of development in the Agricultural Reserve as evidenced by another recent move that shut down the development of a warehouse in an area where horses roam. It follows the GL Homes saga that ended in a surprise vote against a land swap deal.
Residents of Tierra del Rey Estates, and other communities, said they didn’t want a warehouse spooking their horses and generally making a ruckus with a lot of trucks coming and going. And, what do you know? County planners and commissioners listened.
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida’s environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to [email protected]. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
