Related Ross Wins Approval for $300M Convention Center Hotel in West Palm
By Julia Echikson September 29, 2026 5:55 pm
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The Palm Beach County Commission approved Related Ross’ plans to build a second convention center hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla., valued at about $300 million, through a sale-leaseback deal.
The Hilton Curio hotel will house 400 rooms, 20,800 square feet of meeting space, and 7,400 square feet of retail space at 900 South Rosemary Avenue, next to Palm Beach County Convention Center and the 400-room Hilton West Palm Beach.
Related Ross will sell the 1.8-acre site to Palm Beach County for $26 million, then lease it back to build the 18-story hotel, replacing the existing surface parking lot. The firm, led by billionaire Stephen Ross, will also be exempt from paying property taxes and will not seek additional financial incentives.
Palm Beach County is expected to receive about $1 billion from rent and a portion of the hotel’s revenue, as part of the 97-year lease agreement.
Annual rent for the site would start at $1.1 million, increasing 3 percent each year. The county would also receive 6 percent of gross revenue above $77 million, the latter of which will increase 3 percent annually. The lease has an initial term of 33 years, with extension options that could bring the total term to 97 years.
In 2023, Palm Beach County issued requests for proposals to build a second convention hotel, believing it had lost out on business because its current hotel was too small.
Related Companies — the development behemoth that Ross ran before founding Related Ross in 2024 — built the first convention center hotel in 2016. The 310,506-square-foot property sits on a 3.4-acre parcel at 600 Okeechobee Boulevard, owned by Palm Beach County.
Related Ross has emerged as the most prominent developer in West Palm Beach. The developer’s goal is to turn the regional city into a leading tech and finance hub. It’s building two Class A offices after securing a $772 million construction loan in 2025.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
