Steve Ross has acquired the One Clearlake office tower in downtown West Palm Beach for $55.4 million, further expanding his presence as a major developer and investor in the area.
Records show that Related Ross, Ross’ West Palm-based company, purchased the 18-story building at 250 South Australian Avenue from Bradford Allen Investment Advisors of Chicago. The transaction was financed with a $40 million loan from City National Bank of Florida.
One Clearlake, completed in 1987 on a 2.9-acre site, consists of about 221,700 square feet and includes an attached four-story parking garage with 669 spaces. A spokesperson for Related Ross stated that approximately 20 percent of the office space is currently available for lease.
Current tenants in the building include Northwestern Mutual, Ideal Nutrition, RM Anderson Co., SouthState Loan Office, and Rubenstein Law.
This acquisition brings Related Ross’ portfolio to at least eleven office properties in downtown West Palm Beach when including buildings purchased, developed, under construction or planned.
The property is next to the WPTV studio and office building at 1100 Banyan Boulevard. Related Ross bought this two-story, 70,100-square-foot site for $40 million earlier this year. Together, One Clearlake and WPTV provide Related Ross with a combined total of 7.6 contiguous acres facing Clear Lake.
However, any redevelopment plans for these sites are on hold since The E.W. Scripps Company—WPTV’s parent—has leased back its building for at least another two and a half years.
This marks the second time One Clearlake has changed hands this year; Bradford Allen previously acquired it in May for $45 million—a price nearly 26 percent lower than what it sold for four years ago. In 2021, Rockpoint and New England Development (both based in Boston), Tricera (Miami), and NDT Development (Palm Beach) paid $60.7 million for the property.
Ross founded New York-based Related Companies over fifty years ago but stepped back last year to create Related Ross as a separate Southeast division focused mainly on downtown West Palm Beach and other areas of South Florida.
Related Ross recently finished developing the 25-story One Flagler near Royal Palm Bridge and is working on additional projects such as the 10 CityPlace and 15 CityPlace towers at locations including AMC West Palm Beach 12 at 545 Hibiscus Street and Brio Italian Grille’s former site at 550 South Rosemary Avenue.
In addition to offices, Related Ross has built apartments and is developing condominiums in downtown West Palm Beach. Its holdings also include CityPlace—a mixed-use complex completed by Related Companies in 2000.
Ross has been active in efforts to attract financial firms to his properties through connections established during his career in New York—supporting initiatives like transforming Palm Beach County into “Wall Street South.” He has also discussed bringing technology companies to create “Silicon Valley South” locally and backed Vanderbilt University’s proposal to open a campus in West Palm Beach.
Ross continues as nonexecutive chairman and remains the largest single shareholder of Related Companies.
