WEST PALM BEACH — The Alba luxury condominium’s grand opening on June 11 offered those who attended a first look at what could become “billionaire’s corridor” along North Flagler Drive.
The 22-story tower in the Northwood neighborhood at 4714 N. Flagler is the first in a wave of ultra-luxury, high-rise developments coming to the north end of West Palm Beach.
Kenneth Baboun, manager of BGI Cos. and one of Alba’s developers, said the project is a milestone for communities along the Intracoastal Waterway.
“We are the first ones to deliver in this corridor,” said Baboun, gazing at the Atlantic Ocean from one of Alba’s condos. “This will become billionaire’s corridor because now all the major brands are looking into this area.”
Other projects, including the Olara, the Apogee by Related Cos. and the Mandarin Oriental Residences will soon join the Alba along the waterfront. Intracoastal Waterway, fueled by the push to build high-rises in previously overlooked areas of the city, many of them dominated by smaller and even single-story buildings.
The Palm Beach Post recently got a tour inside Alba — and here’s what it saw.
First look inside Alba, first waterfront tower on West Palm’s Flagler Drive
The Alba Palm Beach is a 22-story luxury tower built on 1.71 acres along Flagler Drive near 47th Street by BGI Cos., one of the groups vying to transform West Palm Beach’s waterfront.
It features 55 luxury condominiums, including six penthouse residences and four townhomes. Condos starts at $2.5 million with an average unit selling for about $3.5 million.
Baboun said Alba was designed with open-space, post-pandemic living in mind. It features private event spaces for business and personal gatherings, on-site health services and oversized balconies to accommodate an outdoor kitchen.
The condos have 9- to 10-foot ceilings, Italian-style kitchens, porcelain tile flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows and 16-foot-deep terraces with summer kitchens and panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway, the Atlantic Ocean and Palm Beach.The 25,500-square-foot amenity space has resort-like features: two separate pool decks designed to showcase sunrises and sunsets; a bocce court; a gym with high-tech equipment and a Pilates reformer; a yoga room, a wellness center with a saunas and a spa; and a private dining room, with temperature-controlled wine storage for each unit.
Alba also has a cafe, a “pet spa” for grooming services and a home theater with a projector already set up for residents to watch FIFA World Cup matches, Baboun added.
The Alba will offer on-site medical services through a partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System. Baboun said a marina with boat docks is still under permitting stages.
Why did a real estate developer decided to build Alba?
The Alba started as an ambitious project born during the COVID-19 pandemic, Baboun said.
Back then, Baboun said, he saw interest from big-name companies and wealthy earners from the Northeast wanting to invest in West Palm Beach. Some chose to open a branch of their business and needed to buy a home. Others wanted to relocate to or buy a second or even a third residence.
Developers like Baboun have sought to court those wealthy earners by building new luxury residences that are priced below the $8.8 million starting price of the Bristol condominium along South Flagler.
In 2020, Baboun toured the 1.7-acre lot in 2020 where Alba sits. He said he realized it was the only strip of land directly on the Intracoastal Waterway and not across Flagler Drive from the water. That year, BGI Cos. bought the property for $5.8 million.
“I can’t believe no one has seen this,” Baboun recalled thinking in 2020. “Northwood was a different area back then, but I took a chance and I bought the property before even asking what I could do in it.”
“I can’t stress enough the difference of being on the water versus being across the water,” he added.
Then, Baboun set out on a goal: Be the first to develop a luxury waterfront tower on the city’s Northwood neighborhood, an area dotted with condos that date to the 1960s and 1970s.
After more than five years of construction, Baboun says it feels surreal to see The Alba completed. Baboun said he never expected the once sleepy residential area would one day be referred to as the “billionaires corridor.”
“Will West Palm Beach get busier? Yes. But, will this be Miami? Never,” Baboun said. “I think this area has its own character and we try to keep it a little exclusive that way.”
Stretch on Flagler Driver dubbed West Palm Beach’s Billionaire’s Corridor
The Alba is part of a 2-mile stretch of Flagler Driver that runs along the Intracoastal Waterway dubbed West Palm Beach’s “billionaire corridor.”
The Northwood neighborhood was known as a sleepy, residential neighborhood mostly built-out with low-rise condos. Baboun expects the new wave of development will transform the area with ultra-luxury, high-rise towers, similar to the “SoSo” enclave south of Southern Boulevard.
This part of the city has attracted national developers including Miami-based Related Group, which is set to build the Apogee tower, and Canada-based Great Gulf, which is constructing the Mandarin Oriental Residences. GL Homes also is planning NOMAR, a community of 100 luxury single-family homes.
“I think that when they coined this billionaires corridor, they were too early.” Baboun said. “Now, I believe we got there.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Alba luxury condos first stop on West Palm ‘billionaire’s corridor’
Reporting by Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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