Publix is asking West Palm Beach to relax downtown development rules for the two-story, 70,000-square-foot supermarket it plans one block north of Clematis Street, on the entire 600 block of Banyan Street. The store — downtown's only planned full-service supermarket — would include a liquor store, in-store dining and an outdoor plaza.
Downtown rules require storefronts or other "active uses" along most of Rosemary Avenue, plus 5% public and 25% private open space on the 3-acre lot. A Publix attorney told the Downtown Action Committee on October 14 that those rules were not written with grocery stores in mind, and warned the project is "in jeopardy" without an exemption on the storefront requirement. City planning staff backed the open-space reductions but opposed cutting the Rosemary storefronts, saying the corridor should stay pedestrian-friendly.
The committee endorsed the storefront waiver and looser grocery-store open-space rules, but not an exemption from an employee-shower requirement. City commissioners must still approve the changes.
Why it matters
Downtown West Palm Beach has no full-service grocery store today. Whether this Publix opens affects everyday shopping for downtown and Historic Northwest residents — and the commission's decision will show how far the city will bend its downtown design rules for a grocer.
