West Palm Beach presents draft downtown master plan update, proposes taller, slimmer waterfront towers and new western innovation district

West Palm Beach staff and outside consultants presented a draft update to the city’s downtown master plan and sought feedback from the City Commission on a package of zoning and design ideas meant to guide growth over the next two to three decades.

Development Services Director Ana Maria Aponte introduced the presentation and said the Downtown Master Plan, originally adopted in 1994 and last updated in 2009, needs new direction because “the city is experiencing the highest growth that we have ever seen, and the pressures for redevelopment are at the highest point also.”

The draft plan, led by consultant Bernard Ziskovich of Siskawach Architecture and Urban Design, outlines four broad moves: concentrate new height and innovation uses in a Western District near Tri-Rail and the future Vanderbilt graduate program; protect the character and scale of the existing central downtown; reconfigure the Flagler waterfront to create a larger continuous parkedge with tall, slender towers set back from the water; and add multimodal hubs to reduce car trips into the core.

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said the city’s rapid recent growth — new Class A office buildings, hotels and a growing downtown residential base — has changed redevelopment economics since the last update, and the city must align zoning with broader goals for housing affordability, mobility and public open space so future development does not undermine the streetscape and waterfront access that the city has invested in.

Key proposals and details

- Western Innovation District: The consultants proposed up-zoning a largely underdeveloped western area east of Okeechobee and west of the Florida East Coast (FEC) rail corridor to concentrate new housing, technology and university-related uses. Ziskovich described the area as “maybe one of the richest opportunistically viable zones in the entire state,” citing its proximity to Tri-Rail, commuter and regional rail lines and the incoming Vanderbilt program.

- Flagler waterfront reconfiguration and central park: The draft calls for shifting traffic westward from Flagler Drive, creating a continuous waterfront park and requiring large building setbacks (the consultants suggested 75–100 feet on larger properties) so the waterfront reads as open public space rather than a wall of buildings. To preserve views and sunlight, the plan favors taller, narrower towers rather than broad podiums.

- Height, form and incentives: The consultants proposed allowing taller towers in specific zones (the presentation used 25 stories as an illustrative maximum for waterfront and western zones) while reducing bonus density in parts of the already-built central core to protect the existing character. They also limit parking podiums to five stories (with exceptions if active “liners” mask the garage) and recommend design rules to keep active uses at street level.

- Mobility and multimodal hubs: The plan identifies two potential multimodal transfer hubs — one near the Tri-Rail area and another near the convention center — to support transit, shuttles and park-and-ride connections and reduce the number of cars driving through downtown.

- Affordable housing and public benefits: Because existing transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) incentives are phasing out, the consultants proposed a replacement public-benefits program that would keep a payment-for-bonus model. Paul Lambert, the team’s economist, outlined three options for housing-related public benefits tied to bonus floor area: (a) require 25% of bonus units built on-site to be affordable to households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI); (b) require the developer to deliver an equivalent number of units in designated receiving neighborhoods elsewhere in the city; or (c) a buyout payment into an affordable-housing fund (the presentation suggested $75,000 per incentive unit as an illustrative figure). Lambert noted market figures would need regular updating and that the precise numbers in the draft are proposals for public discussion.

Commissioner and staff questions

Commissioners asked for more detail on how the waterfront reconfiguration would work, how Howard Park and traffic on Okeechobee Boulevard would be affected, and how the Northwest District’s historic character and homeownership could be preserved if density rules change there. President Lambert, Commissioner Fox and others pressed for follow-up community meetings for neighborhoods such as the Northwest District before any zoning changes are adopted.

Ziskovich and staff repeatedly framed current drawings as conceptual: “what we’re presenting today is mostly ideas, and we’re looking to see if you agree or disagree so that when we go to the next step, we can make sure that we’re aligned,” Ziskovich said. Aponte said commissioners and staff will hold another public presentation and then move into drafting implementing zoning language.

Next steps and timing

The consultants said they will return to commission and begin the formal zoning implementation process with staff, with an anticipated sequence through the Downtown Action Committee, the Planning Board and the City Commission. The consultants indicated they expect the zoning-phase outreach and drafting to proceed in the coming months and suggested a public presentation to the general public after this meeting; staff said a related waterfront workshop is scheduled for November and the consultants aim to return for formal approval steps possibly in early 2026.

What the presentation did not decide

No zoning changes or formal approvals were adopted at the meeting. The presentation included many specific regulatory ideas (height maxima, setback ranges, parking-podium limits, and several affordable-housing mechanisms) but those remain draft concepts, subject to staff refinement, community feedback and formal legislative review.

Ending

Commissioners praised the outreach and recommended more community meetings, particularly for neighborhoods that would see zoning changes. Staff and the consultant team said they will continue public engagement and begin drafting the regulatory language needed to implement the vision if the commission directs them to proceed.