Why condo prices are soaring in the land of ultra-rich lawn-lovers

A tony home in Palm Beach once meant a columned Mediterranean Revival estate flanked by century-old palm trees.These days, an apartment will do.The island of Palm Beach and the city of West Palm Beach, fraternal twins separated by the Lake Worth Lagoon, have long been known for private homes ranging from 1920s bungalows to historic estate like Mar-a-Lago and the Whitehall mansion. But when a COVID boom lured real estate-obsessed billionaires like Ken Griffin to the area, the market experienced a transformation.West Palm Beach in particular is experiencing a renaissance, via World Trade Center developer Stephen Ross and his new venture Related Ross.

He coined its new nickname “Wall Street South,” while pouring money into education and office space there. Unlike Palm Beach island, where buildings are capped at five stories, “the City of West Palm has its own rules and has a very different average demographic,” said John Cregan, a broker with Sotheby’s International Realty’s Palm Beach office.He represents unit 2203 at 1100 South Flagler Drive, a nearly 5,000-square-foot condo listed for $22.9 million. Dubbed the Bristol, the 2016 approval of the 25-story waterfront building led to a “high-rise phenomenon” along Flagler Drive, Cregan said. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom apartment occupies the southern end of the building, offering 320-degree views to the east, south and west.“The Bristol is on the water side of Flagler Drive, so nothing’s ever going to block the view,” Cregan said.Adding to the new construction along the strip is South Flagler House at 1355 South Flagler Drive.The complex has two towers, each topped with a two-story penthouse. Though still off-market, the north tower penthouse is currently priced at $72.5 million while the other, in the south tower, is at $70 million, said Bryan Cho, executive vice president of development at Related Ross, which counts this in its growing West Palm Beach portfolio.

The project is sla...