Related Scores First Tenants for One Flagler in West Palm Beach

Siris Capital signed for 7,000 square feet, Kenneth Himmel, president and CEO of Related’s Urban division, told Commercial Observer. The firm is currently based across the street, inside another office building owned by Related, Philips Points, occupying 2,000 square feet. The financial firm, with offices in New York and Palo Alto, Calif., says it’s raised over $5.9 billion. 

San Francisco-based First Republic, which offers banking service to a high net-worth clientele, is set to take two floors for an office, as well as parts of the ground floor for a retail branch. The square footage of the office and retail leases was not immediately available.

The bank will share the ground floor with the upscale restaurant Estiatorio Milos, brainchild of Chef Costas Spiliadis, which will occupy approximately 10,000 square feet. Estiatorio Milos has outposts in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, Miami Beach, Las Vegas and London. 

One Flager will soar 25 stories high, adjacent to the First Church of Christ Scientist and the Royal Park Bridge, which leads to the center of Palm Beach, an island tow tn popular among America’s one percent. (And where Related Companies Chairman Stephen Ross lives.)

The office development has been years in the making. Over a decade ago, Himmel was living in Palm Beach and noticed the parcel, which offered water views. 

“Every day I go by it, I can’t imagine why this is standing here in an eyesore parking lot?” the executive said. “Plus, I had a great connection to the Christian Science Church in Boston.” A friend, who was college roommates with the chairwoman of the church, connected Himmel. She “opened the door” to the project. 

The talks culminated with Related purchasing the 2.5-acre parcel from the church for $20.1 million this past July. The project, which broke ground on Nov. 12, is projected to be completed in 2023. By next March, Himmel expects the tower to be 50 percent pre-leased. 

Over the past year, Related has become the market leader of West Palm Beach’s Class A office buildings, capitalizing on the trend of financial firms relocating down south in the wake of the pandemic. Or in the words of Ross, Related’s billionaire owner, a “gold rush”. 

The building at 360 Rosemary — considered West Palm Beach’s trophy office building, which Related developed and opened this month — has nabbed world-class financial institutions Goldman Sachs, Elliott Management and Point72 Management as tenants this year. The 300,000-square-foot building is now fully leased. 

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.