One Flagler may be the newest, shiniest, glitziest office building in West Palm Beach, catering to a new set of sun seekers, but the 25-story tower, developed by real estate titan Stephen Ross, also pays homage to the past and its roots.
In front of One Flagler, facing the Instracoastal Waterway and the uber-wealthy Palm Beach island town, stands the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist building on the 2.47-acre site. As part of the approval process, the developer was required to retain the Beaux Arts church completed in 1929.
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Next to it stands a 100-year-old banyan tree, which almost didn’t survive. Originally, the banyan was supposed to be cut to make space for the building’s valet entrance.
But just before construction, Ross, a lover of parks, had another idea. He had the building’s floor plates reconfigured to move the valet and the adjoining elevator shafts toward the back and side of the development, which face the city’s downtown.
The change not only preserved the expansive tree, providing a touch of greenery against a glass backdrop, but also showcased Florida’s best amenity: sunshine. Not to mention the expansive views of the Intracoastal Waterway and Palm Beach Island.
“We’re selling a lifestyle,” said Jordan Rathlev, a senior vice president of development at Related Ross. “We thought about it and moved the core of the building to the west to preserve the views east, north and south. Now, you get off the elevator, and you look around. The tenants have all this natural light … and wonder why they’re in the office.”
One Flagler is a new class of buildings in West Palm Beach. During the pandemic, Ross lured some of the biggest names in finance — including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Point72 and Elliott Management — to open offices at his 360 Rosemary building.
One Flagler is the newest building to cater to such high-end clientele. The 285,000-square-foot tower, which opened last month, is 95 percent leased to tenants that include New York-based private equity group OceanSound Partners, GTCR and GoldenTree Asset Management.
The building resembles the office skyscrapers that the tenants typically inhabit and that Ross developed in New York. He enlisted SOM’s David Childs, corporate America’s favorite architect, who designed Ross’s Deutsche Bank Center as well as 1 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
Childs brought his hallmark floor-to-ceiling windows to One Flagler. The glass “is definitely an enhancement,” said Rathlev. “Typical Florida construction is punch window stucco.”
Instead, Childs and Ross opted for a curtain wall to facilitate the addition of floor-to-ceiling
glass and a 10-foot clear ceiling. This type of construction usually appears in Florida’s luxury condo developments, but not so much in office buildings, since it’s more expensive.
But “we’ll spend more early on because we’re going to own these buildings forever,” said Rathlev. “It’s how you create longer-
term value, with more natural light and more flexibility in terms of how the office lays out.”
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
