West Palm Beach city commissioners have approved the master site plan for the Palm Beach County Convention Center hotel and parking garage project fronting Okeechobee Boulevard and Florida Avenue in downtown West Palm Beach.
Clearing this important hurdle enables the developer, Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties, Ltd., to break ground in April on a 23-story, 400-room Westin hotel, a 16-story, 104-unit condo tower, and a new County-owned parking facility with 2,758 vehicle spaces. Construction is expected to take about two years. The project was designed to integrate architecturally with CityPlace and the surrounding residential neighborhood.
Among the hotel amenities open to the public will be two restaurants, a sports bar and a health spa. A covered walkway links the hotel with the Convention Center, and an elevated walkway provides easy access to the new parking structure at the southeast corner of the Convention Center parcel. The garage will have seven levels above ground and one below. The ground level and underground spaces will be reserved for hotel guests and condo residents.
Locating a world-class hotel next door to the County Convention Center has been a top priority of the Board of County Commissioners, since the $84-million public facility opened in late 2003. Tourism officials agree it is easier to book the large conventions and events that attract out-of-town guests, when you can offer convenient, top-notch, on-site accommodations.
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