West Palm Beach, FL
The Downtown Development Authority and The City of West Palm Beach commissioned Urban3 for this study to illustrate economic trends in an easily digestible way. West Palm Beach has persevered through The Great Recession and emerged as the regional center of Palm Beach County. As a bustling center of employment, commerce, and civic services, Downtown has helped anchor the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County. The City has complemented investment along historic Clematis Street and CityPlace by providing urban core employment centers and encouraging significant housing density in the area. Those investments have had a ripple effect on some neighborhoods adjacent to downtown, and others have seen spillover investment and infill projects. The linchpin in West Palm Beach’s success is the leadership’s role in investigating the impact of policy on Downtown investment and encouraging an open conversation on maturing the heart of the County.
This study served as a type of economic MRI. Much like a check-up with a doctor, this analysis quantifies the physical and fiscal shape of the County, City and Downtown. The property tax potency of various community designs and building types were measured to show which areas are producing efficient community revenue and what locations could be improved. Further, the value of the Downtown is examined in the context of Palm Beach County to provide a relative metric of revenue production.
Other Projects
Raphael Clemente
Executive Director, West Palm Beach DDA
Spring 2015
