If you’re reading this on Monday morning, the moment it lands in your inbox, I’m on the Brightline from West Palm Beach to Miami for one night. I came down from New York to moderate a panel at a VIP event for Taste of West Palm Beach on Thursday. For those interested in the future of American dining, I have a prediction: keep an eye on West Palm Beach.
I’ve written about the real estate there before. Stephen Ross, through Related Ross, has more than $10 billion in planned investments across Palm Beach County. His plans for West Palm Beach alone include some 6 million square feet of office space and 870 hotel rooms, and last year he secured a $772 million construction loan for two new office towers, reportedly the largest in Florida history. Not bad for a city that, until recently, many people regarded as little more than the place you flew into to get to Palm Beach.
That kind of money was never going to go unnoticed by the restaurant world. Markus Thesleff, who joined me on Thursday’s panel and whose Los Mochis restaurants have become something of a London obsession, has chosen West Palm Beach for his first American location. The 11,346-square-foot restaurant will open at Phillips Point next fall. Beverly Hills isn’t scheduled until 2028. I find the order of those openings telling.
I should admit some bias here. My parents, lifelong Northerners, moved to West Palm Beach about a year and a half ago. They weren’t particularly interested in being near fashionable new restaurants but the proximity to Cleveland Clinic was a much bigger draw. (Cleveland Clinic is planning a 200-bed hospital here for 2029, with a 120,000-square-foot outpatient and surgery center expected in 2027).
West Palm Beach’s population has grown 27 percent since 2010, more than two and a half times the national rate. And while the city has always benefited from its proximity to Palm Beach, the scale of development now underway suggests some very wealthy people are betting on West Palm Beach becoming a destination in its own right. Consider South Flagler House, Related Ross’ new Robert A.M. Stern-designed condominium, where a seven-bedroom penthouse is asking $70 million, the highest publicly advertised condo price in the city. At more than $5,000 per square foot, we’re talking about a luxury real estate market beginning to resemble Manhattan’s. (Incidentally, did you see this New York Times story about the rise of the nine-figure listing? The timing feels appropriate.)
And before anyone asks, none of this is sponsored. As true RPS readers know, I don’t do that here. There’s a reason I was looking to buy an investment property in West Palm Beach a few months ago. I ultimately didn’t pull the trigger, but I remain convinced that this is one of the smartest places to invest in real estate in Florida, if not the entire country, right now.
A lot of the people moving there expect to eat as well as they do in New York or London, and restaurateurs are beginning to take them seriously. I’d pay attention to the next few names announcing West Palm Beach openings. (I’ve been sworn to secrecy on several, because, as usual, what makes it into this newsletter is only a fraction of what I actually know.) But I doubt Thesleff will be the last restaurateur to choose West Palm Beach over a much bigger American city.
Speaking of Florida, we’re staying there for our main story today, although we’re heading to Palm Beach proper, where Mar-a-Lago is looking for someone to keep its lawns in presidential condition. Although it hasn’t been reported yet, RPS can tell you that the club is searching for a new Director of Grounds, and the job description offers a surprisingly detailed look at what it takes to maintain one of the most closely watched properties in America. The club has brought in an outside recruiter, and RPS has exclusive details on how this isn’t the property’s first attempt to fill the position.
But something else caught my attention. The listing claims Mar-a-Lago is preparing to host the G20 summit this December. That’s interesting, isn’t it, considering the gathering is officially scheduled to take place at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami. And the reference appears three separate times…So is Mar-a-Lago preparing for an unannounced diplomatic event, or has something changed behind the scenes? RPS is the first to go over it all with you, after the jump.
And if you’re anti-Florida, don’t worry. There’s plenty happening beyond the Sunshine State, from displaced Plaza brides and Pace Gallery drama to a Kennedy wedding in Rio, Rolex’s surprisingly competitive watchmaking school and Elizabeth Holmes’s beachfront rental. You know where to find it.
