Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate, weather and critter reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.
City of West Palm Beach commissioners voted to increase property taxes by not reducing the tax rate and then griped that the increase was all the fault of the budget process, which is totally understandable because the city has only been making budgets since, well, around 1894.
It can take a few decades, or a century, to streamline the whole budgeting thing, and, dear God, please don’t make me explain the roll-back rate. We had a reporter once who understood the roll-back rate but realizing she was math smart, moved onto greener pastures with a pension. Anyhoo, West Palm Beach has gone from collecting $90 million in property taxes to $149 million in five years, so, yeah, what about those potholes on Flagler?
In other real estate-related news, developer Stephen Ross is helping bring a “luxury” music festival to West Palm Beach, The Kitchen restaurant will be staying at its 319 Belvedere location after a legal win, an arts district is organizing in SoSo, and Downtown Palm Beach Gardens is wrapping up construction with new stores such as Sweathouz. Among other things, Sweathouz has saunas, which are also free in South Florida. It’s called going outside.
And in the Town of Palm Beach, Fox News host Sean Hannity charmed the Architectural Commission into letting him combine two townhomes.
Palm Tree Music Festival continues “cultural renaissance” in West Palm Beach
An upscale electronic music extravaganza featuring well-known musicians including DJ Kygo, DJ Calvin Harris and BUNT is coming to West Palm Beach with tickets costing $299.01 each, according to Palm Tree’s website. A VIP ticket is $548.99. The festival is a more intimate version of SunFest and testament to my old age because I have no idea who these people are and I’m pretty sure my iPod Nano would break if I tried to load anything more recent than the 2008 soundtrack from “Twilight” on it.
But with West Palm awash in new trendy private clubs and new wealthy residents, a high-end music festival sounds about right. Billionaire octogenarian developer Stephen Ross said in a statement that the festival is a boost to his investments in the city. Maybe he’ll offer need-based scholarships to help pay for the tickets? Just thinking out of the box here.
SoSo Arts District taking shape in West Palm Beach
The community south of Southern Boulevard nicknamed SoSo has undergone a massive transformation since the pandemic with older homes falling like Gen X tears when Poison sings “Every Rose has its Thorn.” Now, businesses are organizing the SoSo Design District to capitalize on the increasingly high-end commerce on South Dixie Highway.
They’re modeling the new arts district after the renowned Antique Row but maybe with a little less fuddy duddy. Although they didn’t say that. They said “more approachable.” I said fuddy duddy, and what I mean by that is refined, expensive and way too sophisticated for me.
Plaza plans are in question after Kitchen wins lease lawsuit
The Kitchen Restaurant was told it needed to vacate its digs at 319 Belvedere Road to make room for new development. But hold on just a minute, its owners said, we have a lease! And we want to stay! And a judge agreed. So The Kitchen is staying.
But what happens to the aging plaza that was destined to become a mixed use residential development? It’s owned by the prominent Frisbie Group but is under contract to sell to the real estate investment firm Third Frontier Capital. Most of the tenants have left, including the popular Sushi Jo restaurant, so stay tuned for whatever comes next.
Are Hannity and ARCOM in cahoots?
Sean Hannity has again wooed the famously finicky Palm Beach Architectural Commission. The approval to combine two oceanfront townhomes marks the third time the Fox News host has gotten the go ahead for projects at the townhomes south of Mar-a-Lago. And there was reportedly no discussion before the vote. So, being that it’s 2025 and we’ve all lost our ever-loving minds, there must be some shenanigans going on, right? My guess? It’s the Russians. (I have been advised to say I made the Russian thing up, which I did.)
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.