Tricera Capital Takes the Wraps Off Plan to Redevelop Palm Beach Post Campus
The more than 11-acre site is located at 2751 S. Dixie Hwy. Nearly all of the existing structures will be preserved, including the Palm Beach Post’s office building and printing press.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Miami-based real estate investment firm Tricera Capital has unveiled its adaptive reuse plan to transform the former Palm Beach Post campus, into a more than 265,000-square-foot mixed-use project that will feature office, retail and entertainment space.
The more than 11-acre site is located at 2751 S. Dixie Hwy. Nearly all of the existing structures will be preserved, including the Palm Beach Post’s office building and printing press. In homage to the newspaper’s history at the site, the 125,000-square-foot retail component will be branded as the “Shops at the Press” and the 140,000-square-foot office component as “Workspaces at the Press.”
Tricera acquired the site in February 2019 for $24 million. Co-founders Scott Sherman and Ben Mandell saw a void for modern office space and new lifestyle-oriented retail to serve the rapidly growing Downtown West Palm Beach area. Work recently began with demolition of a two-story office building and bridge located on the site.
The entire project is scheduled for completion and opening during the first quarter of 2021.
In connection with the For Workspaces at the Press development, Tricera is extensively renovating the existing four-story office building. The Post is set to occupy 35,000 square feet on the second floor. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman Chairman Neil Merin and Commercial Associates Christopher Smith and Jaime Chamberlin are handling office leasing on behalf of Tricera.
“Downtown West Palm Beach is experiencing tremendous growth with new residents and visitors,” Sherman says. “Workspaces at the Press addresses the need for cutting-edge, cool office product that appeals to young professionals. We will be able to deliver Class A office space at a more attainable price point for tenants.”
In terms of the Shops at the Press retail, lifestyle and entertainment space, Tricera is close to finalizing a lease agreement with a national organic grocer to open a new store within the Shops. The developer is also nearing an agreement with a national coffee company for a location on an outparcel elsewhere on the site. Tricera’s Justin Lustig and Mandell are handling retail leasing at the Shops.
“Since we acquired the site, demand from prospective retail tenants has been intense,” Mandell said. “The response from retailers underscores our belief that this project will have a dramatic impact on the Dixie Highway corridor and downtown as a whole.”