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JV plans downtown West Palm Beach office building, renovated retail project

Brand Atlantic and partner Wheelock Capital acquired two adjacent properties for $20M in June

February 18, 2022

Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners managing partners Andrew Dance and Adam Demark, and renderings of the two buildings at 300 Banyan Boulevard and 111 Olive Avenue (Brand Atlantic Real Estate)

UPDATED, Feb. 22, 11 a.m.: A partnership led by Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners unveiled plans for a new office building and renovated retail project in downtown West Palm Beach.

West Palm Beach-based Brand Atlantic and its joint venture partner, Wheelock Street Capital, are proposing a new 12-story Class A office building on the site of a surface parking lot at 300 Banyan Boulevard.

The firms also plan to renovate a historic office and retail building at 111 Olive Avenue that was originally designed by renowned architect John Volk, who drew architectural plans for more than 2,000 projects in Palm Beach County.

Brand Atlantic and Wheelock acquired the two adjacent properties for $20 million in June, according to records. Formed last year, Brand Atlantic is led by managing partners Andrew Dance and Adam Demark. Greenwich, Connecticut-based Wheelock is a real estate investment firm with $4 billion in capital commitments, led by managing partners Rick Kleeman and Jonathan Paul, according to a press release.

The proposed projects are being marketed together as Olive & Banyan, the release states. Cushman and Wakefield is handling office leasing, and Colliers is brokering retail leases.

In a statement, Demark said the joint venture is forging ahead with Olive & Banyan to capitalize on the influx of out-of-state financial firms relocating and expanding into South Florida, such as Goldman Sachs and Blackstone.

“We are very encouraged that this development will be delivering the right product at the right time,” Demark said. “We’ve witnessed first-hand the high demand for Class A office space in South Florida.”

300 Banyan would be the first new Class A office building in the Clematis Waterfront District in decades, Demark said. The project will offer 142,000 square feet of office space, 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space and a parking garage with 300 spaces, the release states. The building’s amenities will include a 2,500-square-foot fitness center, 1,500-square-foot open-air lounge and a terrace with water views.

Office suites will feature floor-to-ceiling glass with views of the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean and more than 15,000 square feet of shaded private terraces, the release states.

The Olive Avenue building will have 27,000 square feet of boutique office space, featuring 14-foot floor-to-ceiling heights and original Florida-Dade Pine finishes, the release states. The joint venture is also proposing 15,000 square feet of food-and-beverage retail space.

Both buildings will share a six-story garage that will have valet parking, 10 electric car charging stations and an onsite car wash service, the release states.

The joint venture plans to complete renovations of the existing building in the fourth quarter of this year, and expects to deliver the new office tower by the fourth quarter of 2023.

Palm Beach County is the hottest office market in South Florida, ending last year with a 13.2 percent occupancy rate, lower than in Miami-Dade or Broward counties, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report. Palm Beach County had a total positive absorption of 528,000 square feet in 2021, the highest since 2016. And landlords’ average asking rents were $39.86 a square foot during the fourth quarter, representing a 3.8 percent increase compared to the same period of 2020.

Among recent office sales in West Palm Beach, a fund with ties to Blue Water Advisors paid $13 million for the eight-story, Class A Horizons Office Center. And Redfearn Capital bought a two-story, retail and office building at 222 Clematis Street for $17.9 million.

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