West Palm Beach city commissioners have approved plans for a second hotel alongside the Palm Beach County Convention Center, greenlighting a project that tourism officials say will help the city draw larger conventions and conferences.
The commission voted unanimously Aug. 31 to give final approval to the plans for an 18-story, 400-room Curio hotel.
The hotel is touted by county government and tourism leaders as an economic boon that will help the convention center attract larger conferences as it looks to expand. The center is owned and operated by the county.
The hotel will be built by development firm Related Ross across Rosemary Avenue from the convention center and the existing convention center hotel, the Hilton West Palm Beach.
The 1.8-acre
parking lot where the hotel will go is owned by Related Ross, the city’s largest developer. Related Ross plans to sell the land to the county government for $26 million, making it exempt from property taxes, then lease it back.
Chief Deputy County Administrator Patrick Rutter told city commissioners last month that a second hotel is “one of the final steps in truly activating the convention-center area” and that the county is planning a massive expansion.
“We are already in design on the next phase of the convention center, doubling the size,” he said at an Aug. 5 commission meeting.
The hotel will stand 204 feet tall and will feature a 7,400-square-foot restaurant and a two-story event space.
In signing off on the plans, commissioners approved three minor waivers to city zoning rules regarding the hotel’s design.
The plan has faced some concerns from residents of the nearby Grandview Heights neighborhood, where some homeowners worried about the possibility of excessive light and noise from the hotel’s rooftop pool deck.
But Related Ross agreed to requirements for curbing the noise and light, including making sure any outdoor speakers aren’t pointed toward the neighborhood and that outdoor lights are housed in luminaires.
The company will also add traffic-calming on the streets around the hotel, including a raised crosswalk along Rosemary Avenue.
The final approval comes nearly a month after city commissioners narrowly agreed to forgo more than $1 million a year in tax revenue from the new hotel.
Commissioners voted 3-2 on Aug. 5 to rescind a 14-year-old arrangement with the county government that required that the land where the hotel is planned must continue to pay city property taxes.
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm OKs plan for Related Ross’ new convention center hotel
