Related Companies project wins Urban Land Institute award

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 20, 2002

CityPlace, the internationally acclaimed $550 million, mixed-use project on 72 acres in Downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. is the winner of the 2002 Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Award of Excellence in the category of large-scale, mixed-use projects. The prestigious award was presented to two representatives of this public-private partnership at ULI's fall meeting in Las Vegas, Nev. on Oct. 31. Stephen M. Ross, chairman of the New York-based Related Companies, will accept as the developer of CityPlace, and Nancy C. Graham, former mayor of West Palm Beach, will accept the award in recognition of her role as the leader of the public sector.

These prestigious awards recognize architecture and design excellence, in addition to the relevance of a project to the contemporary and future needs of the community in which it is located. With more than 75 stores, eight restaurants (and six- more scheduled to open within the next four months), a 20-screen Muvico cinema, a theater and event venue in a restored, 1926 church at the center of the property and 576 residences developed by Miami-based Related Group of Florida, CityPlace transformed the most blighted areas of West Palm Beach's downtown into the most appealing. It additionally galvanized real estate values within a 4-mile radius of the project even prior to opening, with values of neighboring homes appreciating by 17 to 20 percent as opposed to a nine percent increase citywide for the same period. CityPlace also created a powerful tourism magnet for West Palm Beach, attracting millions of visitors in its first year of operation.

"Perhaps the most significant contribution CityPlace has made to West Palm Beach is to inspire confidence among other investors and developers that West Palm Beach is a smart, credible investment," said Stephen Ross. The amount of development activity that has occurred in the downtown area since CityPlace opened two years ago is probably the most significant since the Florida land boom of the 1920s."

Investor confidence has produced a minimum of six new residential and mixed-use projects under construction or recently completed in the general vicinity of CityPlace, with a collective value of $276 million. More residential real estate projects within the city's downtown core are currently in various stages of planning.

Opened in October 2000, CityPlace mixes regional and national retailers and restaurants in an extraordinary setting reminiscent of an Italian town center. It is regarded nationally as one of the most inspired and admired shopping and dining destinations in the country, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times the Dallas Morning News and more. As a result of this award, CityPlace will be featured in the January 2003 issue of ULI's monthly magazine, Urban Land, and recognized in major magazines, newspapers and trade journals nationwide, as well as at ULI District Council events.

"This award has earmarked CityPlace as the best project of its kind, and we are very proud of the fact that CityPlace will now formally serve as a model for other developments around the country," said Kenneth A. Himmel, president and CEO of the Mixed-Use Division of The Related Companies.