Louis Vuitton gets approval for Worth Ave. storefront design from Palm Beach board

After several meetings seeking approval for its plans, Louis Vuitton received the OK to move forward with its new Worth Avenue store design.

Palm Beach's Architectural Commission voted unanimously April 24 to approve the exterior design of the new two-story shop, which will be at 222 Worth Ave.

The commission included two conditions of approval: First, the final design for a pattern on the security gate that will protect the store's front doors must be approved by town staff; second, the decorative urns that sit across the top of the building's façade must remain.

The project first came before the Architectural Commission in January but was deferred. The project returned in February and received another deferral from the commission. The project's team then asked for its own deferral before the March meeting.

Commissioners overall were pleased with the Louis Vuitton team's changes in response to their input.

The building originally was one story, designed by the architect Raymond Plockelman and built in 1945. The second floor was added in 1952 as a residence. Over the years, the building and its façade were renovated several times. The most recent tenant was Escada.

During the January and February meetings, commissioners had made several suggestions, including that more of the historic design be incorporated into Louis Vuitton's updated look.

The design that began with three signs, including the signature "LV" logo over the front door, now has one sign of "Louis Vuitton" that will be centered over the double front doors.

The awnings that originally were proposed to be black and then were changed to white were cut from the final design.

The commission's request to preserve transoms along the top of the windows on the first floor led the designers to remove the awnings, said Ludovica Douglas from Atmosphere Design & Architecture, the architecture firm on the project.

The transoms had been removed in the original design. The final design includes two transoms with an X-design over each window on the first floor.

The originally proposed design also had a single-door entrance to the store, flanked by two large windows, with another door-sized window on the building's front where there now is a door.

That was changed to double-doors with one large window to the west and two large windows to the east.

The only remaining sticking point, which did not delay the commission's vote, was the use and design of metal mesh gates that would provide security over the front doors outside of business hours.

Chair Jeffrey Smith said he felt the gates were a reflection of the town's police department. While the mesh design that is proposed for the gates is attractive, he said he felt that having them could look bad for Palm Beach.

"Why do we need to lock up this place?" Smith said, imagining what shoppers on Worth Avenue might think walking past Louis Vuitton. "This is supposed to be a safe town. It's one of the safest places in the country."

"We fully respect the police department and think that they do a wonderful job," Douglas replied. Still, she added, the company's loss-prevention team has certain standards to meet to carry insurance coverage.

The luxury brand opened its first Palm Beach store more than 40 years ago at 251 Worth Ave. In 2000, Louis Vuitton moved to the Esplanade. An Esplanade representative told Palm Beach Daily News in April 2022 the store would close. Within a month, Louis Vuitton extended its lease. That store later closed and left the brand without a standalone location on the island.

Its new location is 7,625 square feet, 5,000 of which would be used for sales, plans show. The building is owned by Worth Pondfield, which paid $6.3 million for the property in 1998, county records show.

The Architecture Commission's review followed a unanimous vote the by the Town Council during its Development Review Committee meeting in January to allow the company to occupy more than 4,000 square feet of space.

Louis Vuitton will join other luxury retailers in that block of Worth Avenue including Tiffany & Co., Bottega Veneta, Valentino and Gucci.

A site plan for the new Louis Vuitton store shows that the first floor will feature displays, try-on rooms and seating areas. The second floor will include a V.I.C. — very important customer — room with two chairs, tables and a couch, plus another try-on room and a restroom.

Most of the second floor will be dedicated to space for employees and other back-of-house operations, the plans show.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Louis Vuitton gets approval for new store design on Worth Avenue