Palm Beach County commissioners voted 6-1 on Tuesday to approve again an agreement for an 18-story, 400-room hotel near the Palm Beach County Convention Center in downtown West Palm Beach. It is the second time commissioners have approved the deal.
The vote followed a lawsuit from two neighborhood groups. They claim commissioners violated Florida’s Sunshine Law by rushing the first approval and not giving the public enough time to review the agreement. The terms have not changed.
Related Ross will finance, build and operate the hotel. The county will contribute $26 million and will own the hotel and land once the project is finished. It will then lease them back to the developer under a 97-year agreement.
Margaret Frazzini, president of the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association, said the new vote did little to address concerns about parking, construction and the approval process. She said her group is not opposed to downtown development but wants more time for public discussion and review of studies and the deal’s economics.
Commissioner Maria Marino said the county’s $26 million investment was a key reason to support the project. The neighborhood groups have also filed a separate legal appeal challenging West Palm Beach’s approval process for the project.
