How Wellington is growing: Related Cos. gets chance to turn K-Park into 'downtown area'

WELLINGTON — The village will entertain an offer by the Related Cos., the developer behind The Square in West Palm Beach, to transform the 70-acre K-Park site into the downtown Wellington has never had.

Kevin Ryan, a Related representative, told the village council the international company's plans for the site at Stribling Way and State Road 7 include a private K-12 school and a walkable mixed-use district that would feature 500 residences and up to 120,000 square feet of retail space.

The project could be the village's first step toward developing its "urban core" between State Road 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard, an area dominated by the Mall at Wellington Green.

“What Wellington is missing is Wellington's version of an urban experience,” said Ryan, who has worked 27 years as an executive developer for Related. “The core principle of our project is to make a residential, shopping and dining destination.”

The council voted 3-2 on Feb. 13 in favor of continuing talks with Related and having the village staff work with the company to create a proposal for K-Park for the council to consider after the March 19 election, when voters will choose a new mayor and two new members.

The plan would be for Related to buy the K-Park site, but those details will be part of the negotiations between the developer and the village.

The plan would be for Related to buy the K-Park site, but those details will be part of the negotiations between the developer and the village.

By proceeding with Related, Wellington turned down an offer by W & W VIII LLC, owned by village resident Jim Ward. It had proposed to buy K-Park for $54 million to build a mixed-use development on the entire 70-acre property.

Council member John McGovern said the proposal by Related offered an opportunity of bringing a premier private school to Wellington. He added the project could lead to the redevelopment of the aging mall.

“We would be remiss in having the opportunity to continue the discussion with Related about how we leverage this property and vis-a-vis the mall." McGovern said. "Because that is the challenge of our future.”

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Village Mayor Anne Gerig and council member Michael Napoleone opposed talking exclusively with Related. Both said they liked the proposal but would prefer the village create a plan for the site with all the elements it needs before starting negotiations with any developer.

“This is property we own,” said Gerwig, who will leave office at the end of March. “I wanted us to have the plan and to bring it out to some great developer. We haven't gotten there.”

Council member Michael Drahos, who also is leaving the council, said he thought the board had wasted time waiting for The Mall at Wellington Green to be redeveloped before considering plans for K-Park.

“At this point, my outgoing thoughts to the new leadership would be to not wait on the mall anymore,” Drahos said. “These opportunities are coming about now. We have an excellent brand that has come to us.”

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What is K-Park and why is it so valuable to Wellington?

K-Park is the largest undeveloped property along Wellington's State Road 7, making it one of the most coveted pieces of real estate in the village.

The village purchased the 70-acre site in 2003 for $8.5 million from the family of former Palm Beach County Engineer Herb Kahlert, from whose name the site takes its name.

Since then, the property has attracted builders who have proposed K-Park be used for senior living, a Palm Beach State College campus, a research innovation center, a horse park and mixed-use projects. Previous councils have ultimately decided to leave it undeveloped.

Wellington has leased the property to Aldemar Farms since 2010 for an annual price of $55,000.

In 2015 residents said in village workshops they didn't want K-Park to be sold and preferred it be used for recreational uses. Those who favored development on the site said it should have entertainment and dining options.

Study: K-Park 'catalyst site' for Wellington's State Road 7 'urban corridor'

The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council published a study last year that envisions transforming Wellington’s State Road 7 into an urban corridor.

It recommended converting the 90-acre Mall at Wellington Green property into a dense, walkable district teeming with residences, shops and restaurants, as well as a light-rail station connecting Palm Beach County's western suburbs with West Palm Beach.

The study identified K-Park as a “catalyst redevelopment site" for State Road 7 and the mall.

The K-Park property is contiguous to the mall and together, they total about 150 acres. The land has the potential to be the home of a downtown-type area with housing, office spaces, a concentration of retail and food service, and a shared central civic space that would provide a new identity for Wellington, the study found.

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What is Related Companies proposing for K-Park?

Related Cos. was founded and is run by Stephen Ross, the owner of the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Kenneth Himmel, the CEO of Related Co., told council members during a workshop meeting in February the company has extensive experience building mixed-use projects such as The Square in West Palm Beach, The 78 in Chicago and Related Santa Clara in California.

Himmel said Wellington would benefit from having a walkable downtown that mixes shops, restaurants, entertainment and housing for its residents to gather. Such an area can attract new families to the village, he said.

"This is an incredible opportunity for people who are officed in West Palm Beach but want the beautiful bedroom community with lifestyle attributes to live in Wellington," Himmel said.

The company's project for K-Park includes placing a private K-12 school on half of the 70-acre property and a mixed-use district on the remaining land. Ryan told council members bringing the private school — to date, unidentified — was the company's top priority because it would interest families in the area.

Ryan said the development would feature up to 120,000 square feet of commercial space and 500 multifamily residences to create the density that would attract regional and local tenants and ensure their long-term success. He added the project would also include workforce housing. He did not specify an amount.

The downtown would feature a central main street with low-rise buildings with businesses on the first floor and apartments above. It would be organized around a "village square" that would feature public art, interactive fountains and strolling areas.

Townhomes spread over two- to three-story buildings would be placed along the northern and southern edges of the property. The urban district would include parks, bike trails, and even pickleball courts, Ryan said.

Three council members support move to negotiate with Related on K-Park

Drahos said during the Feb. 13 meeting that nine years ago, Wellington residents had supported turning K-Park into a park with a botanical garden, but things had changed since then. He said Wellington is set to receive 55 acres along Forest Hill Boulevard from Wellington Lifestyle Partners that would be home to a central park for the village.

"When we had those Town Hall meetings in 2015, we did not have a 55-acre North Course on Forest Hill," Drahos said. "I feel like the information, the data, the considerations that our residents took, is now outdated."

McGovern and Drahos said Related had the experience and partners necessary to create a successful mixed-use development similar to The Square. They added the project had the potential to speed up the redevelopment of the mall, whose property value has dropped by 80% since 2018 and whose design and surrounding parking lots are considered outdated.

Drahos said the proposal would also bring Wellington something it doesn't have: a “top-notch" private school.

"Related offers not only the brand but features that are unique," Drahos said.

Mayor wanted Wellington to create K-Park plan before choosing developer

Gerwig agreed the Related plan was solid but said the village was doing the process backward.

“We are asking developers to come to us with a plan, instead of us deciding what we want on our property,” she said.

Gerwig told Himmel during the February workshop meeting that the Mall at Wellington Green and its surroundings lacked office spaces that would bring jobs and foot traffic to the shopping center. She added the development in K-Park should foster a "work-live-play" environment.

"What would make our (mall) function better would be office space, an employment center," Gerwig said. "I don't want to just be the parking lot for West Palm Beach."

Napoleone, a candidate for mayor in the March 19 election, voted against the motion to continue talks exclusively with Related because he wanted to study all the possible options for the site.

Napoleone said Related’s proposal had the potential to bring the walkable dining and entertainment district that village residents want but had also "missed the mark in many ways."

"People want a downtown dining entertainment district, but they also want a green space," Napoleone said. "You can make a project work with both of those components to it, because you create a central town square with green space area, dining and shopping and other uses around it for families to gather."

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Related Cos. plans, renderings for Wellington's K-Park downtown area