West Palm Beach IHOP Could Be Demolished as Part of 600-Apartment Development

Index Investment Group has proposed nearly 600 apartments in West Palm Beach, which would require demolishing an IHOP restaurant and building in an office building’s parking lot. The developer, which has offices locally and in Sweden, filed a rezoning plan with the city for the 7.85-acre site at 1501 and 1505 Belvedere Road. It’s just northeast of Palm Beach International Airport.

Currently, the property has a 65,760-square-foot office building that District Pointe LLC, a joint venture between Index Investment Group and local contractor Verdex Construction, purchased for $13.4 million in 2021. They are repurposing it from being a South Florida main office for Cemex USA to being a multi-tenant office building. The other parcel has the 135-room Quality Inn Palm Beach International Airport and a 6,072-square-foot IHOP .Belvedere Hotel Property, an affiliate of Index Investment Group, purchased it for $10.5million in 2022.

Bjarne Borg, founder and CEO of Index Investment Group, said the hotel and office building would both remain, while two apartment buildings plus two parking garages would be developed. One building would replace the IHOP and the other would rise in the office building’s parking lot, as the new parking garages would serve both the apartment and office tenants.

Under the preliminary plans, there would be a 277-unit building of 13 stories and a 193-unitbuilding of 12 stories, with 12,000 square feet of retail and 5,000 square feet of restaurants. The site would have more than 1,000 parking spaces.

Borg said he filed the plans under the city’s new workforce housing density bonus program. He anticipates providing 125 units of workforce housing, although the final number could change based on negotiations with city staff.

The building on the IHOP site would be called Playce Palm Beach and have a sports theme. Borg said it would have padel and pickleball courts on the roof. There would be glass walls so players would be protected from the wind, while still having a great view of downtown, Borg said.

Index Investment Group is building a similar sports-themed apartment project in Stockholm, although it’s much bigger at 40 stories, Borg said. The other West Palm Beach building, tentatively called District Pointe Residences, would have a sky lounge, a pool deck, and a pet park.

The developer is working with Miami-based MSA Architects and Lentzy Jean-Louis of West Palm Beach-based Urban Design Studio on the project. Borg said he brings a Scandinavian-style design to his apartments, especially with the kitchens and bathrooms. In turn, his apartments in Sweden feature American-style services like a concierge and clubhouse.

Index Investment Group has built over 10,000 units, including 3,000 in Florida, Borg said. It has about 2,000 apartments in its pipeline. That includes plans for about 300 units in the Centrepark business park in West Palm Beach, Borg added. The city has yet to consider those plans.

By Brian Bandell

– Real Estate Editor, South Florida Business Journal