Edward Jones, a national financial advisory firm, is taking nearly an entire floor of a renovated 1936 office building in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach.
The firm will lease 10,000 square feet on the second floor of 111 Olive, a three-story building in the Banyan & Olive complex, according to the company that owns the buildings.
The Edward Jones office will be at the northwest corner of Olive Avenue and Clematis Street. The space features a large picture window overlooking the intersection.
Edward Jones provides a range of financial planning services, from retirement planning to strategies for estates and families. The company has advisors scattered in small offices throughout the county, but the firm doesn’t have a large dedicated office in downtown West Palm Beach, until now.
Edward Jones joins another company coming to 111 Olive: GoodLeap, a solar financing company now at the Esperante Corporate Center. GoodLeap will lease 5,000 square feet on the second floor.
The deals signal a possible rebirth for the Clematis Street business district, the longtime center of commerce downtown.
The new leases bring occupancy up to 60% in the Banyan & Olive complex.
The companies also further boost the city’s reputation as a growing financial center, also known as Wall Street South.
Old building gets new life amid downtown West Palm Beach revival
Dance said his goal in building 300 Banyan and renovating 111 Olive was to create buildings so filled with perks that tenants and employees would want to go to the office, despite the prevalence of today’s work-from-home arrangements.
The move to attract new companies to the Clematis Street area is a welcome throwback to its historic reputation as the city’s business district, said Rick Gonzalez, a West Palm Beach architect and historic preservationist.
And with new nearby amenities, including The Ben hotel, the Main & Main location is even more attractive for companies that want a boutique spot in the heart of the city, said Andrew Dance, managing partner of Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners, one of the property’s developers.
“To attract these top financial services and tech firms is further validation that the new Clematis Waterfront is the place where people want to be,” Dance said.
Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board, the county’s business recruiter, echoed his remarks.
“That employment center is going to create opportunity for the rest of the area,” Smallridge said. “Think about all the employees that will be working in that building. We’re going to start seeing an increased energy in the core of the downtown.”
An old building is restored, and a new tower is built in downtown West Palm
The 111 Olive building is a post-Art Deco structure designed by John Volk and built with 14-foot ceilings made of Dade County pine wood.
During the past couple of years, 111 Olive (formerly known as 301 Clematis) was restored by the development team of Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners and Wheelock Street Capital.
Then developers added new perks to the Art Moderne building. They built a golf simulator suite, showers, lockers and a modern lobby. They also added artwork throughout.
The Banyan & Olive office complex also features 300 Banyan, a new 12-story office tower still under construction at Olive Avenue and Banyan Boulevard. The waterview office tower is being built on the site of a former parking lot.
300 Banyan building features amenities typically seen in an upscale hotel. This includes private outdoor terraces on selected floors, and a seventh-floor amenity deck that has a gym and another outdoor terrace, with a reflecting pool and landscaping.
This shaded terrace, which also offers water views, can be rented for private events.
Many companies are placing greater importance on new design, upscale amenities and a good location, said Anthony Librizzi, managing director at brokerage Cushman Wakefield. Librizzi and Brian Gale handle office leasing for Banyan & Olive.
The extras were a draw for Alvarez & Marsal Capital, a private equity firm from Greenwich, Conn., that last year inked a lease for space in 300 Banyan.
In a statement, Alvarez & Marsal founder Jack McCarthy said he was drawn to 300 Banyan’s design, proximity to restaurants and the nearby Brightline passenger rail station.
More recently, in March, telecom firm Dycom Industries signed a lease for the top two floors of 300 Banyan in a transaction totaling 40,000 square feet.
The Banyan & Olive complex in total features 142,000 square feet for offices, 18,000 square feet for ground-floor retail, and a 300-space parking garage.
Which two restaurants will open next year at this office complex in downtown West Palm Beach?
The Edward Jones lease comes as construction continues on two buzzy restaurants slated to open next year in the office complex.
One is Kyma, an acclaimed New York restaurant serving Greek cuisine. Kyma will open in the fall of 2025 in the ground-floor space in the 300 Banyan and 111 Olive office buildings.
The restaurant’s outdoor space will extend to the alley between 300 Banyan and 111 Olive.
Floral murals already cover the exterior walls of the alley, which also features a canopy for shade.
Gonzalez called the new outdoor space “the most beautiful alley downtown. This should be the new standard.”
In addition to the downstairs space, Kyma also will occupy 300 Banyan’s rooftop space, offering sweeping views of the waterfront, plus plenty of ocean breezes. The space provides a birds-eye view of other tall towers and their rooftop pools and landscaping.
The rooftop Kyma bar, featuring light bites, will be open only for use by office tenants during the day, but at 5 p.m., the rooftop will open to the public.
Another restaurant, Pubbelly Sushi, a popular Miami-based chain, is slated to open in March on the ground floor of the 111 Olive building, facing Clematis Street.
Established in Miami Beach in 2010 by chef José Mendín, Pubbelly fuses Japanese and Latin cuisines.
SOURCE: Palm Beach Post West Palm Beach business district gets boost with Edward Jones lease
