Commission approves first reading to rezone 41-acre site for Palm Beach County community services campus

West Palm Beach commissioners on April 28 unanimously approved at first reading an ordinance to rezone roughly 41.3 acres at 4200 North Australian Avenue from Community Service (CS) to Community Service Planned Development (CSPD) to allow construction of a new Palm Beach County Community Services facility and to establish development rules for future phases.

The rezoning ordinance (No. 5127-25) and accompanying resolution on development regulations were approved on a motion by Commissioner Ward; a second was recorded and the motion carried unanimously. The commission scheduled a second reading for May 12, 2025.

The request covers a 41.3-acre county-owned parcel known in the presentation as “40 Fifth Street.” Alfonso Hernandez, an architect presenting on behalf of Palm Beach County, said the immediate project is a two-story, roughly 59,238-square-foot community services building intended to consolidate administrative offices now spread across multiple sites. Hernandez described the building as a 60,000-square-foot, two-story facility (the presentation listed 59,238 square feet) and said it would be named the Maud Ford Lee Building.

The county and…