Billionaire Steve Ross’ office buildings in downtown West Palm Beach played a significant role in South Florida’s office leasing activity this year. His properties at 10 CityPlace and 15 CityPlace were involved in three of the top ten largest office lease transactions across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
Ross, who shifted his focus from New York-based Related Companies to his local venture Related Ross, has assembled about a dozen office assets in downtown West Palm Beach through acquisitions and new developments. While most landlords struggled to attract major out-of-state tenants as the influx of new companies slowed after the pandemic, Ross was an exception. His firm secured ServiceNow, a Fortune 500 tech company based in Santa Clara, California, as a tenant for one of his under-construction buildings.
“ServiceNow’s office will include an innovation hub to nurture tech startups. The firm has commitments for about $17 million in grants, including $13 million from Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, $2 million from the state and $2 million from the city,” according to information provided. Some grant funds are tied to job creation targets: ServiceNow must create 856 jobs over six years and hire at least 400 employees or risk losing some incentives.
The two main projects by Related Ross—10 CityPlace (23 stories, 470,000 square feet) and 15 CityPlace (26 stories, 490,000 square feet)—are part of the larger CityPlace mixed-use complex. Construction is set for completion by 2027; ServiceNow is expected to open its new space in 2028.
Other notable leases on this year’s top-10 list include:
– City National Bank of Florida signed a lease for 145,000 square feet at a Coral Gables building owned by Pontegadea family investment firm. The bank will consolidate several offices into this location.
– Cleveland Clinic pre-leased nearly 130,000 square feet at 15 CityPlace for an outpatient center offering various medical services.
– Modernizing Medicine renewed its large lease at Boca Raton Innovation Campus.
– Law firms Stearns Weaver Miller and Kanner & Pintaluga both renewed or expanded their headquarters spaces.
– Amazon established its first dedicated Miami-Dade County office with a lease at Wynwood Plaza.
– Nicklaus Children’s Hospital leased over 62,000 square feet for corporate offices in Coral Gables.
Related Ross also expanded its own headquarters footprint within West Palm Beach with additional space leased at the under-construction 15 CityPlace building.
These transactions illustrate ongoing demand among financial service firms and health care providers despite broader slowdowns elsewhere in South Florida’s commercial real estate market. Many deals also reflect efforts by landlords like Ross to foster industry clusters—such as technology and finance—in downtown West Palm Beach.
Sources: TRD analysis; Colliers; Cushman & Wakefield; Commercial Observer
