By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-04 05:00:38 | Updated at 2026-08-04 05:53:27
1 hour ago
Officials on an uber-wealthy island in Florida are urging residents to infiltrate a neighboring city that continues to see a major development boom.
Members of the Palm Beach Town Council said at a meeting on July 14 that while they cannot take any direct actions to interfere with how the city of West Palm Beach operates and makes decisions about its growth, they are encouraging residents to intervene, the Palm Beach Post reports.
That could mean serving on or monitoring a countywide or regional committee that looks for transportation and traffic solutions, or by helping organize support for candidates who support a more controlled growth in the up-and-coming city, Council President Pro-Tem Lew Crampton said.
Other town council members suggested residents join upcoming discussions about possible changes to West Palm Beach's master plan, which governs development in the city, as officials there mull allowing buildings as tall as 25 stories, denser neighborhoods and less parking.
Of particular concern to the Palm Beach Town Council is the issue of traffic – something that has been at the forefront of council members' minds for years as the town experienced gridlock during the summer seasons due to its position on a barrier island with limited bridge access and with no room to expand roadways.
'I think for all of us, it has to do with traffic,' Council Member Julie Araskog said.
'And the more people that move here, the more that will come to the island. And the more things that are built, the more people that will come to the island - and we just don't have the road capacity.'
She went on to argue that traffic would be 'absolutely insane' on both sides of the three bridges that connect the city with the town if West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James moves forward with his plans to close part of a major thoroughfare to create a new park on the downtown waterfront.
Town of Palm Beach officials (above) urged residents to get involved as the neighboring city of West Palm Beach continues to see major development
Officials in the city of West Palm Beach are mulling whether to allow buildings as tall as 25 stories, denser neighborhoods and less parking
Median home prices in the town of Palm Beach exceed $3 million
To prevent the closures, Araskog suggested Palm Beach residents work 'hand-in-hand' with West Palm Beach residents.
But Crampton took a fiercer stance.
'We can't just sit around anymore. We can't say, "I'm from Palm Beach and you're not" anymore,' the council president asserted.
'We are now part of a regional superstructure, one of the fastest-growing counties in Florida, or in the country. And West Palm is going to be the next big city in Florida. That's happening.'
The city, located 70 miles north of Miami, was once known for its aging multi-family homes in disrepair, run down apartments and overgrown lawns.
But West Palm is now being dubbed 'Wall Street South,' with over 300 hedge funds and private equity firms with offices there.
The transformation is being fueled by an influx of financial firms, warm weather and Florida’s tax-friendly environment, attracting both Palm Beach residents and remote-working New Yorkers.
The expansion is also being attributed to a post-pandemic recovery that saw many people relocate to West Palm full-time after working there temporarily.
In 2020, Ken Griffin, the founder and chief executive officer of Citadel, one of the world's leading alternative investment firms, started running its hedge fund from the Palm Beach Four Seasons during the COVID lockdown.
What followed was a wave of financial firms including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Point72, opening offices in the city.
The city is also seeing an increase in tech companies and startups, creating new job opportunities and drawing millennials and Gen Z professionals to the area.
Much of the boom in West Palm Beach can be attributed to Related Ross developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross
Ross has become a major developer in the city, which he said he plans to build up like Silicon Valley. A rendering of one of his projects is pictured
Ross' existing West Palm portfolio totals 1.7-million-square-feet
Much of the boom can be credited to Related Ross developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, a real estate visionary who took a big chance on the once underdeveloped city becoming a business and cultural hub.
He has said his vision is for West Palm Beach to become like Silicon Valley.
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James said he expects continued growth for the city
'I believe it will happen and it will be here in Palm Beach County,' Ross said earlier this year as his company, Related Ross, held a groundbreaking ceremony for two new commercial office towers which total one million square feet of office space.
Ross's existing West Palm portfolio totals 1.7-million-square-feet.
Near the new buildings will be a graduate campus for Vanderbilt University. Cleveland Clinic is also set to open a state-of-the-art hospital.
Mayor James says he expects continued growth for West Palm Beach.
'West Palm Beach will be even more attractive to businesses in the tech, financial services and money management sectors due, in no small part, to the establishment of the Vanderbilt graduate campus which will house programs in business, applied computing, cybersecurity, AI, and engineering,' he says.
'The Vanderbilt campus will service 1000 students per year. That talent pipeline will prove quite attractive to businesses considering establishing a footprint in West Palm Beach.'
Officials in the Town of Palm Beach are particularly concerned about the traffic implications
The town experienced gridlock during the summer seasons due to its position on a barrier island with limited bridge access and with no room to expand roadways. Cars are seen stuck in traffic after police blocked the road in West Palm Beach
There are now roughly three dozen projects in review, under construction or approved across the city.
Approved projects alone account for 2.6 million square feet of space. They include more than 2,000 residential units, a hotel and a private club.
One approved project is for a new two-tower residential project with a restaurant on Family Church property. The project, named Edgewater, is being developed by Related Ross and Easton Street Capitol on land leased from the church for a term of 99 years.
The Nora East and Nora West developments are also slated to add two 11-story mixed use buildings with residences and commercial space.
At the same time, a little more than 2 million square feet of space is already under construction – including three hotels comprising 474 rooms and Atlantic University's new 25-story dormitory and 11-story parking garage.
Those massive structures are in stark contrast with the Town of Palm Beach just across the water, the home of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate where median home prices exceed $3 million.
Related Ross held a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year for two new commercial office towers which total one million square feet of office space
The town's aesthetic roots stretch back to the Gilded Age, when tycoons like Henry Flagler turned a sparsely populated island into a winter playground for America's elite.
Grand estates with red tile roofs, stucco walls, courtyards and varied facades came to define the town. No two buildings were meant to look the same.
Yet Crampton acknowledged there could be some benefits to the growth, citing the plans for a new Vanderbilt University campus and a new campus for the private Pine Crest School.
The new private clubs and restaurants being developed 'hopefully will keep people over there,' the town council president said.
'There are benefits, but we need to be involved at the basic level of these boards and commissions.'
