Downtown West Palm Beach’s office market is thriving—but rising rents are making it harder for some longtime tenants to keep a foothold in the city core.
The surge is largely fueled by billionaire developer Stephen Ross, whose aggressive investment and development strategy has helped transform downtown West Palm into one of South Florida’s most competitive office markets. His projects have drawn a steady stream of high-profile tenants and helped accelerate the city and county’s long-term growth vision.
That momentum, however, has driven rents sharply higher across downtown, including in buildings Ross does not own. As a result, some established tenants are being priced out and are relocating to suburban areas of Palm Beach County, where new office development is beginning to follow demand.
One notable example is law firm Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, which last year moved most of its operations from the Northbridge Centre in downtown West Palm—where it had leased space for roughly 40 years—to Palm Beach Gardens. The firm cited renewal proposals that were several times higher than its previous rent, reflecting what some tenants describe as unsustainable downtown pricing.
According to local brokers, asking rents in excess of $100 per square foot are prompting more companies to explore suburban alternatives. That shift is helping spark new office construction outside the urban core.
In Palm Beach Gardens, Gatsby Florida—an affiliate of Gatsby Enterprises—is planning The Modern, an eight-story, 220,000-square-foot office building with a six-story parking garage at 11200 RCA Center Drive. The project, expected to deliver in 2027, is being positioned in part to attract out-of-state firms and executives relocating to South Florida. Gatsby acquired the site for $17.5 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, in Boca Raton, construction is underway on The Aletto, a two-building office campus totaling 140,000 square feet that is already approximately 60 percent pre-leased.
Developers and brokers say these projects reflect growing demand for high-quality suburban office space that offers modern amenities without downtown pricing.
Ross, who launched Related Ross after stepping back from New York-based Related Companies in 2024, has made downtown West Palm the centerpiece of his development focus. His portfolio includes roughly a dozen office buildings in various stages, along with residential, hotel, and mixed-use projects.
By leveraging longstanding relationships—particularly within the financial services sector—Ross quickly filled many of his office properties with out-of-state tenants. More recently, his firm has also pushed to position Palm Beach County as an emerging technology hub.
While downtown West Palm continues to gain national attention, the ripple effects of its success are reshaping the broader county office market—creating new opportunities, but also new challenges, for tenants navigating the region’s rapid growth.
