Stephen Ross continues to deepen his control over prime real estate in West Palm Beach.
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Related Ross, the Florida-focused spinoff of Related Cos. led by the billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins, has acquired the waterfront television studio and office building owned by The E.W. Scripps Co. for $40M.
Ross, alongside joint venture partners Wexford Real Estate Investors and Key International, agreed to lease back the 70K SF building at 1100 Banyan Blvd., which sits on 4.7 acres, to the media company for at least two and a half years. Scripps has agreed to pay $2.5M in annual rent, it said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The building was finished in 2000 and has long hosted the programming and offices for Scripps' local WPTV station. Scripps tapped JLL to market the property, and brokers Simon Banke, Matt McCormack, Joe Judge and Anna Schaffer secured the buyer.
A spokesperson for Scripps told Bisnow the company is exploring new locations in West Palm for the relocation of the studio and decided to sell the property because it “has become very valuable from a real estate perspective.”
“This building sale gives us the ability to find a new home for WPTV that will allow us to operate as a modern news organization while serving the people of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast of Florida with the local news and information they need to live in and feel connected to this community,” Scripps spokesperson Rebecca McCarter said in a statement.
The site was marketed as a “generational” development opportunity because it is bounded on two sides by water, including frontage on Clear Lake. It is a few blocks from CityPlace, the massive redevelopment that kickstarted Ross's surge of investment in West Palm.
Ross is investing $10B into developing offices, apartments, retail and luxury condos in West Palm, The Wall Street Journal reported. He also committed $50M toward Vanderbilt University's planned $520M West Palm Beach campus, also just a few blocks east of the WPTV building.
“This investment underscores our confidence in the region's significant growth potential,” Ross said in a statement. “West Palm Beach has established itself as a center for entrepreneurship and innovative businesses, characterized by a burgeoning tech ecosystem, substantial investments in education and a dynamic business community.”
A Related Ross spokesperson declined to comment further on the firm's plans for the property. It is zoned for a planned development, and JLL's marketing materials said its location at the intersection of Banyan Boulevard and Australia Avenue give it the “potential for a high-performing residential project that can cater to the growing demand for multifamily housing in the area.”
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