Babak Ebrahimzadeh is the latest investor and developer to bet on the growing West Palm Beach office market.
Through his Miami-based Florida Mastermind, Ebrahimzadeh wants to build a 12-story office building with 150,000 square feet of space at 1545 Centrepark Drive North, he told The Real Deal. The project, to be called The Contemporary, will be within the city’s Commerce Pointe Corporate Center.
An affiliate of Ebrahimzadeh paid $5.5 million for the 1.2-acre site in June. It now houses a 10,000-square-foot office building constructed in 1993, according to property records.
Construction is expected to start in the middle of next year and be completed in 2025.
Ebrahimzadeh is part of a growing trend of developers zeroing in on the West Palm office market, but his approach is slightly different. While the hype has centered around the downtown area, his project is farther from the urban core.
Ebrahimzadeh’s building would be close to major thoroughfares, along Australian Avenue and near I-95. He aims to attract tenants priced out of Class A projects, which command $80 per square foot to $100 per square foot, he said. Rates at The Contemporary would be about $60 a square foot.
Ebrahimzadeh has been a Palm Beach County real estate investor for some time, both through his Florida Mastermind and in joint venture with Gatsby FL. In August, Gatsby FL, whose other partner is Nader Shalom, paid $30 million for the four-building retail and office plaza at 25 and 45 Northeast Second Avenue and 220 Northeast First Street in downtown Delray Beach.
Gatsby FL also has taken over the planned PGA Tower office and retail project, paying $17.5 million, last month for the 7-acre development site at 11200 RCA Center Drive in Palm Beach Gardens.
Ebrahimzadeh and Shalom also own the 800 Brickell office tower in Miami’s Brickell. They paid $125.5 million for the property in 2019.
In his solo ventures, Ebrahimzadeh sold a downtown Delray Beach office and retail building at 411 East Atlantic Avenue for $18.5 million in January. The buyers were James and Marta Batmasian, who are prolific Palm Beach County real estate investors.
In downtown West Palm, Stephen Ross’ Related Companies cemented itself as the biggest Class A office owner. Last week, Related announced plans for another project, the 25-story 515 Fern building. It is already building One Flagler at the foot of Royal Park Bridge.
Since last year, Related has acquired three existing office buildings and half of the ownership interest in a fourth.
At One Flagler, which is dubbed the “hedge fund tower” for the financial firm tenants it is expected to attract, asking rents hit $180 a square foot this year, a new high for South Florida.