The historic The Breakers Palm Beach resort is pushing to buy land in a neighboring city to build affordable housing for its employees.
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The West Palm Beach City Commission unanimously voted Tuesday night to kick off negotiations to sell the 1.2-acre, city-owned vacant lot at 2410 N. Australian Ave. to VDG Land Co. LLC, a developer tasked with building a housing complex for employees of the sprawling resort.
VDG Land Co. is an entity led by Fritz Van der Grift, who is also the president of VDG Partners Ltd., which purchased the two adjacent parcels at 2460 and 2508 N. Australian Ave. in January for a total of $4.5M, according to records compiled by Vizzda.
West Palm Beach Housing and Community Development Director Jennifer Ferriol said at the meeting that VDG intends to assemble the three properties for an affordable and workforce housing development.
Van der Grift didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
The Breakers Palm Beach is a 140-acre waterfront property that first opened as a resort in 1896. The property holds 532 rooms and 79 apartments and employs roughly 2,400 people, according to its website. It has been owned by descendants of industrialist and Florida pioneer Henry Flagler since the resort's founding.
The project would be the inaugural employer housing development in Palm Beach County, according to the West Palm Beach City Commission agenda. A significant but unknown number of units in the project will be designated affordable and workforce housing for a minimum of 30 years, Ferriol said.
The land, just across the Flagler Memorial Bridge from The Breakers, is zoned as recreation open space and contains underground utilities and easements, restricting construction in the area.
While the average rent in West Palm Beach is $2,036 per month, the average rent for the island of Palm Beach, where The Breakers Palm Beach is located, is nearly $10K, according to Redfin.
The Breakers has been exploring ways to provide more affordable housing options to its staff for a few years, a representative for the resort said in a statement to Bisnow.
“The independent resort, one of Palm Beach County's largest private employers, makes an unrivaled commitment to its team by offering comprehensive benefits; robust resources for associates and their families, and excellent compensation — all part of its employee-centric culture,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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