Palm Beach Gardens I95 and Rca Building
Dan Catalfumo once was a powerful force in Palm Beach County's development circles, a high-profile and often controversial builder who dealt with top leaders in both business and government.
He built corporate headquarters for Wackenhut Corp. and Office Depot. He built West Palm Beach's new city hall and the Palm Beach County Government Center. Schools, industrial buildings and even a condominium tower also were part of his construction portfolio.
Then the Great Recession came in 2007, and Catalfumo's financial fortunes took a turn. He wrangled with lenders, sold off properties and eventually settled lawsuits, including property at the southeast corner of PGA Boulevard and Interstate 95.
Now Catalfumo is in control of the PGA Boulevard property again, and he has big plans for it: Apartments, a Class A luxury office building, and parking garages.
But his plans for the project known as PGA Station not only mean new construction at a high-profile site for the city of Palm Beach Gardens, sitting as it does at the entrance to the city.
It also puts Catalfumo back where he once was: A dealmaker at the center of the action, negotiating with top companies and key city leaders.
"I'm back," Catalfumo said with a flourish.
The new go-to site for relocating companies?
PGA Station is at at the southeast corner of the intersection of PGA Boulevard and RCA Boulevard, adjacent to whatcity officials hope will be a future stop for a Tri-Rail or Brightline rail station.
Catalfumo proposes first building an eight-story, 396-unit apartment complex on the site of the former Robb & Stucky's furniture store. The building, empty for nine years, just was demolished to make way for the apartment complex. Catalfumo said the Richman Group, a national apartment developer, will build the apartments.
Office building left, and garage right planned as part of Dan Catalfumo's PGA Station Project in Pal Beach Gardens.
Photo provided by Catalfumo Companies
Next, Catalfumo plans to build an eight-story, 200,000-square-foot office building plus a 998-space parking garage featuring 7,000 square feet of retail space, of which 2,500 square feet will be set aside for restaurants.
Catalfumo said the building's crisp, modern design by SpinaOrourke + Partners will make it an "iconic" centerpiece.
The building will feature hurricane-resistant features such as backup generators. Each floor also will have two independent air conditioning and heating systems, so the same air doesn't flow throughout the building.
Catalfumo said he's most excited about the building's large, 25,000-square-foot floors, which he said are popular with large corporate users. When he built office towers for Wackenhut and Motorola, he said company officials didn't like having to be on five or six separate smaller floors.
Although he's only just begun to market the property, Catlafumo said he's fielding inquiries from users that want to be in new office space in Palm Beach Gardens. He said they like the design of the tower, which doesn't have interior columns and allows tenants to use their space more efficiently.
"Financial businesses, accounting, anybody that needs to be in a cost-effective, first-class building," he said of potential tenants.
In fact, he said he's already negotiating with a Fortune 500 company interested in two floors even though construction won't start until late 2022 or early 2023 with an 18-month build-out planned. Catalfumo also is scouting all existing office tenants in the area that have leases coming up.
He sounds confident in his ability to lease up all the space: "The market will gobble this building up."
Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, acknowledged there is continued demand for office space in Palm Beach Gardens. The coronavirus pandemic prompted a number of companies to move out of the Northeast, and the trend continues, Smallridge said.
"There certainly are out-of-state financial firms who are looking to relocate that currently have 100,000 square feet in the Northeast and are considering 20,000 to 25,000 square feet in South Florida," Smallridge said. "Interest in north county is the highest I've seen due to the quality of life, safe neighborhoods, restaurants, retail and excellent schools."
With technology allowing people to work remotely, "it is all about locating to an area where people want to live," Smallridge said.
Plan fits Palm Beach Gardens' goal for the site
Catalfumo's plan to build residences, offices and parking at the site is in keeping with the city's approval of a Transit Oriented Development plan there last year, said Natalie Crowley, Palm Beach Garden's planning and zoning director.
Catalfumo's plan will go before city planning staff and then to the full city council later this year. Approval from staff is expected.
"I think it's likely to move forward for recommendation," Crowley said. "Many of the design concepts, the height and the density, are what we were looking for."
Catalfumo's plan also includes workforce housing, which is a key goal of the city, Crowley added.
Crowley said the planned 7,000 square feet of retail space in a garage next to the office building not only will serve tenants in that building but also the 800-plus people expected to occupy FPL's new office tower on the north side of PGA Boulevard, just east of I-95. The building is expected to be completed in 2022.
Alexandra Clough
Palm Beach Post
Link to article
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/business/2021/08/19/dan-catalfumo-returns-real-estate-palm-beach-gardens-project/8100962002/
Source: https://www.bdb.org/news/2021/08/19/economic-development-news/builder-catalfumo-returns-with-big-plans-for-palm-beach-gardens/
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