Affiliated Development and West Palm Beach Embark on Second Public-Private-Partnership for Redevelopment and Workforce Housing

The Spruce will be an 8-story 270-unit mixed-income workforce housing development located in the Northwood Village area in West Palm Beach

Fort Lauderdale, FL – South Florida-based Affiliated Development and the City of West Palm Beach have partnered to further highly anticipated project, The Spruce, an 8-story 270-unit apartment building with garage parking and a ground floor café. 

On Monday, the West Palm Beach City Commission granted approval for special site plan review and approved an agreement between the City’s Housing & Community Development department and developer, locally-based Affiliated Development, for workforce housing incentives. The developer will receive $2.5 million in grant proceeds over a three-year period as well as fee waivers and reductions offered by the department. 

Located on Spruce Avenue between 24^th and 25^th Streets, The Spruce will offer 270 luxuriously appointed apartments, a parking garage and ground floor retail. The building will feature a rooftop pool, sports bar themed “pub room”, co-work lounge, fitness center with spin/yoga studio, a pickleball court and gated off-leash dog park. Eighty of the project’s 270 units will have restrictions at 100% of the Area Median Income, 10 of those being restricted at 80% of the Area Median Income. Units will start at $1,380 per month.

“Affiliated Development is committed to addressing South Florida’s workforce housing crisis,” says Affiliated Development President Nick Rojo. “With the influx of new residents and businesses flocking into West Palm Beach, there couldn’t be a more critical time for us to build this type of product.”

The Spruce will be the second public-private-partnership development between Affiliated and the City.  The Grand, a 309-unit mixed-use development located off Rosemary Avenue in the Historic Northwest neighborhood in downtown West Palm Beach is on schedule to open its doors in May. The developer’s $85 million project will represent the single largest investment into the Historic Northwest neighborhood in history. The Grand has 204 units set aside for workforce housing, which will accommodate the City’s overwhelming demand for Class A living at attainable rates. Nearly 60% of renter households in Palm Beach County are cost burdened, making Palm Beach County one of the least affordable places to live in the United States.

“This is an example of public private partnership at its best. I am proud that we are adding 284 additional workforce housing units to our great City, which means workers will have affordable housing close to work,” says Mayor Keith James. “I am excited to share that we have surpassed our goal of 600 units in my first four-year term and we will continue to push forward our vision to deliver even more units of workforce/affordable housing for our residents and growing community.”

In January 2020, Mayor Keith James announced the launch of the “300 in 3” Vision for Workforce/Affordable Housing. This initiative, implemented by the city’s Housing and Community Development department, aimed to create 300 workforce and/or affordable housing units into West Palm Beach by 2023. Mayor James has since increased that goal to “600 in 3”, hoping to add 600 units of workforce housing for the city’s residents.

“This type of development is not possible without the support of Mayor James and the City Commission,” explained Jeff Burns, CEO of Affiliated Development. “West Palm Beach’s leadership has been incredibly proactive in addressing this crisis. Their efforts will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the quality of life for the city’s residents for years to come.”

Affiliated Development expects to commence construction on The Spruce this fall.