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Planning board backs Palm Beach Atlantic University dorm and 11‑level parking garage with traffic monitoring conditions
Summary
The West Palm Beach Planning Board voted 5‑1 on Feb. 19 to recommend City Commission approval of a major amendment that would add a 25‑story dormitory and an 11‑level parking garage to Palm Beach Atlantic University and raise the campus student cap from 3,000 to 5,000.
The West Palm Beach Planning Board on Feb. 19 voted 5‑1 to recommend City Commission approval of a major amendment to the Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU) Community Service Plan Development (CSPD). The amendment would raise the campus student cap, build a 25‑story dormitory and an 11‑level parking garage, and allow limited waivers for access and visibility standards.
Joni Brinkman of Urban Design Studio presented the project for Palm Beach Atlantic University and said the proposal includes a 25‑story residential tower to house about 990 students, an 11‑story parking structure on South Dixie Highway with approximately 888 parking spaces, and an increase in the university’s student cap from 3,000 to 5,000. Brinkman said the dormitory is intended to reduce commuter traffic by moving roughly 700 commuters to on‑campus housing over time and that the parking structure will provide campus parking inventory and reduce the need for off‑site leases.
Linda Louis, principal planner, said staff supports the amendment and four limited waivers (building height north of Acacia, corner clearance for a garage driveway, separation of access points and visibility triangles). Staff’s analysis found the proposed 300‑foot dorm height north of Acacia is consistent with nearby approved projects and that FDOT and Palm Beach County reviews are in progress; staff recommended approval with conditions focused on traffic monitoring and mitigation.
Veronica Altuve, the city’s traffic engineer, explained staff required monitoring because the student cap increase could generate an estimated 2,760 additional daily trips. Altuve said the monitoring conditions would measure traffic entering and exiting the garage and the operating conditions at the Gruber and Acacia intersections, and require a study of signal warrants and other mitigation if thresholds are exceeded.
Board discussion focused on traffic operations on South Dixie Highway (Acacia and Gruber intersections), the prominence of an 11‑level stand‑alone parking structure on Dixie, and architectural treatment. The university’s traffic consultant, Chris Hagen of Kimley‑Horn, said the local streets can operate as two‑way streets and that signal installation would follow FDOT spacing and warrant criteria; the university’s team said the parking study shows a campus surplus of roughly 100 spaces even without off‑site agreements.
Several board members praised the dormitory design but raised concerns about the scale and street presence of the stand‑alone garage. During the motion to recommend approval, the board accepted two changes requested by board members to the project presentation: (1) a design modification to lighten or otherwise reduce the visual prominence of two tall vertical elements on the garage façade, and (2) additional landscaping/softening on the upper garage deck (planting/landscape screening). The applicant accepted staff’s conditions and agreed to continue working with staff on conditions related to traffic and mobility prior to City Commission review.
The planning board voted 5‑1 to recommend approval. The matter will be considered next by the City Commission; staff noted FDOT and FAA approvals will be required at permitting.
