Nora district scores famed pizza joint Juliana's after former Wall Streeter moves to Palm Beach County
Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.
The Dirt freely admits that it is a reality television fan, not of the silly housewives of rainbow unicorn land, but the Below Deck series is pretty good. It's where supermodels work on superyachts, drink a lot and hook up. Why didn't my guidance counselor tell me about jobs where I could work with supermodels on superyachts and travel the world? That wasn't even an option! Serious oversight.
But I think Bravo TV has its next hit series with Fox news personality Sean Hannity AND billionaire Isaac Perlmutter of former Marvel Entertainment fame living in the same small townhome community in Palm Beach. They could ride scooters to Buccan, share Grey Poupon, and debate about who would win a fight between The Hulk and The Donald. Sadly, Perlmutter has his townhome on the market for $21 million, so, never mind.
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In totally unrelated real estate news, county planners are poo-pooing a new synagogue west of Boca Raton, lawmakers and FSU peeps can get to Tally in a flash, and grown-up dorm rooms are coming to Delray Beach. Sorry, DB, but my days of sharing a bathroom with 20 girls at the Kaibab-Huachuca residence hall are over.
Palm Beach County is more chock full of rich folks than ever
We've all noticed the uptick in really rich people in Palm Beach County. New wallpaper design shops everywhere (who knew wallpaper was still a thing 🤷♀️), the rampant inability to park within the lines, and an army of Rivians are just a few examples that come to mind.
But now we have undeniable proof! Palm Beach County gained the biggest bump of net income gain of any county in the nation in the early years of the pandemic, according to an analysis of IRS data. Yay us! One draw is the new Class A office space like 360 Rosemary. Another attraction is the county's excellent daily newspaper. That's what we heard anyway. 🙂
After a century in West Palm Beach, Bush Brothers bids farewell
The Bush Brothers Provision Co. is saying goodbye to West Palm Beach after a boost in carnivorous customers has left it needing more space. The company has been a mainstay on North Dixie Highway since 1931.
A move to Royal Palm Beach will let it expand and bring it closer to employees who live in the burbs. But what will happen to the soon-to-be empty space on North Dixie? Senior business reporter Alexandra Clough notes that the $1 billion Nora entertainment district is rising a few blocks to the south and a developer is pitching a twin-tower luxury condominium across the street.
Aging West Palm Beach condos bought up for million dollar-plus prices
If you haven't noticed it yet, waterfront property in West Palm Beach is hot, hot, hot. So hot, that some TLC-needing 60-year-old condominiums on North Flagler Drive sold to a developer last year for $1 million or more. That's per condo, not the whole building.
Said developer is building a luxe condo a block over. There's a single-family home in between the old condos and the luxe condos and that family owns the rest of the TLC-needing 60-year-old condos. Follow? Bottom line is something's afoot on North Flagler and it probably involves a wrecking ball and drawings of shiny new high rises.
Famed Brooklyn pizzeria is upping the pie game in West Palm Beach
The celebrated Juliana's Pizza will open its first restaurant outside of New York in West Palm Beach's new Nora dining and entertainment district. If you're surprised by this, you shouldn't be because most of New York migrated to Palm Beach County during the pandemic. That is a statistical fact (not really).
But, it is true that Juliana's co-founder, former Wall Street exec Matthew Grogan, did move to Palm Beach County during the pandemic. He said the area where Nora is being built reminds him of Brooklyn before it became cool. I had never heard of Brooklyn referred to as Dumbo before, which means Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Nora stands for North Railroad Avenue. Pretty cool.
Live lightly.
Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Julian's pizza restaurant opening in West Palm Beach at Nora district
