Tall & Urban News

Office Tower Decision May Impact Traffic Patterns in West Palm Beach

Critics of a 26-story office tower say it may increase traffic congestion.
Critics of a 26-story office tower say it may increase traffic congestion.
13 July 2020 | West Palm Beach, United States

The Town of Palm Beach will likely see more traffic congestion in the future as the construction of a 26-story office tower at the western foot of the Royal Park Bridge moves forward.

Town efforts to push back the construction of the new One Flagler tower on 154 Lakeview Ave., near the intersection of South Flagler Drive and Okeechobee Boulevard, were thwarted by a summary judgment by Circuit Court Judge James Matz, against 222 Lakeview LLC, owners of the Esperante Corporate Center, who sought to undo the city’s 2018 creation of the Okeechobee Business District. Project opponents argued that it was an illegal move to allow real estate developer Related Companies to build a competing luxury office tower between Esperante and the Lake Worth Lagoon.

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Council member Lew Crampton told the Daily News Thursday he was concerned about what more traffic would mean for not only town residents but also emergency vehicles.

“The flow of traffic is certainly going to make it more difficult for emergency vehicles to go back and forth. On the other hand, I don’t see how the town can stop that project from happening. The mayor [Gail Coniglio] did a very good job in writing letters and voicing her concerns, but it almost [went unheard,”] he said.

But Crampton, who occupied the role of chairman of the city’s Sustainability Committee until his resignation in 2018, citing differences between the town and the city over its management of downtown traffic and growth, doesn’t think the issue is “completely dead” yet.

″[West Palm Beach] Mayor Keith James is willing to sit down and talk things over with the town, and Mayor Coniglio I think is planning to invite him [James] over for a discussion. So I think there’s room for a sidelined diplomacy to see what can be done, and we have to be willing to work with the city” he said.

The town has opposed the construction of One Flagler since 2018, when officials urged then West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio and city commissioners to reject the Okeechobee Business District plan that would allow construction of the office tower in a five-story waterfront zone near the Royal Park Bridge.

Coniglio told the Daily News the safety of the community remains a top priority.

“We will be having a conference call with our legal advisers to see where the foundation would be to protect the community in the future,” she said.

Town Manager Kirk Blouin echoed this, saying town officials will “regroup” with the town’s legal council and see if there is another recourse available.

“From the beginning we felt there were strong legal objections to challenge it. We knew it wasn’t a slam dunk by any means, but we hoped the courts would prevail in the town’s favor.”

Paul Castro, zoning administrator of the town’s Planning, Zoning, and Building Department, warned the city’s Planning Board at a May 2018 meeting that the tower would create a traffic gridlock on the bridge, which residents rely on for daily use and hurricane evacuation.

“It is simply counter-intuitive to reduce traffic capacity on Okeechobee Boulevard, while at the same time substantially increasing roadway demand by increasing the amount of development permitted within the area,” Castro said.

In December 2019 James attended a Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast at The Breakers to explain a mobility plan that would “move people, and not just cars more efficiently” in an attempt to calm concerns over One Flagler.

In a letter sent to the Department of Transportation Director Stacy Miller in May 2019, Coniglio argued that the city’s mobility plan would increase traffic for drivers trying to get on and off the island. The DOT has authority over any changes to Okeechobee Boulevard because it is a state road.

“We are concerned that the safety of our residents, employees and visitors will be compromised as they attempt to travel through what will be a much more congested and dangerous driving condition if the Mobility Plan is implemented,” Coniglio wrote. “We are also very concerned that our emergency medical transportation time to area hospitals will be adversely affected with increased traffic congestion.”

For more on this story, go to The Palm Beach Post.