Architect Cesar Pelli tapped to design new West Palm Beach ‘entranceway’

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, an internationally renowned design firm led by Cesar Pelli, has been selected to imagine a new mixed-use “entranceway” for West Palm Beach near the intersection of Okeechobee Boulevard and Dixie Highway.

The New Haven, Connecticut-based company will be tasked with master planning the 2.4-acre parcel, commonly known as the “Tent Site” for hosting temporary exhibits such as art shows.

Associated with Malaysia’s Petronas Towers and Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Pelli Clarke Pelli will now be tasked with designing something bold for the prominent location.

“I don’t want to see another stucco, Mediterranean building,” Jon Ward, executive director of the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), told the Sun-Sentinel regarding Pelli’s selection.

The group, which has controlled the vacant site since 1992, issued a formal request in December seeking experienced developers. New York’s Cohen Brothers Realty Corp. ultimately won the bid and is negotiating a plan that is expected to feature a mix of office and hotel space.

The CRA is hoping that the third time is the charm for the parcel, after two previous redevelopment schemes—a school from Digital Domain and a medical campus from developer Michael McCloskey—failed to materialize.

Original image via Google Maps

• Famed architect to develop West Palm’s main entranceway [Sun-Sentinel]
• Cesar Pelli will oversee design of proposed West Palm Beach development [The Real Deal]
• Will West Palm’s ‘tent site’ finally happen? City makes another move [Palm Beach Post]