Office district

showers for bicyclists, and parking spaces for carpools, or a contribution to a city transit operation fund, the developer would be allowed to build additional parking spaces.

Overall the district would allow less development than could be built under current rules, mainly because some parcels within its borders have no current limits on building density, city officials said. Anything built within the district would be required to meet a high standard for environmental sustainability, they added.

The city has been pushing for months to create the district, saying downtown has a dire shortage of Class A office space needed to attract new companies and buttress West Palm’s economy with high-paying jobs. While opponents argued the offices should go where previously designated, several blocks off the waterfront, along the Quadrille Boulevard corridor, city officials say despite incentives and project approvals there, no building has come out of the ground. The last Class A office tower built in the city, CityPlace Tower, went up in 2008.

Among opponents voicing objections was Nathan Nason, attorney for the owners of Esperante office tower, a 20-story Class A building directly west of where Related’s 25-story One Flagler is proposed at Okeechobee and Flagler Drive. Nason said Esperante owners and others downtown had a right to expect predictable zoning, but the new district would change the zoning to allow a building that would block Esperante’s views and reduce its value.

“This proposal benefits one property and one property only,” he said.

But the proposal had many supporters in the audience. They urged the committee to approve it as an opportunity to bring appealing architecture, jobs and an economic boost to surrounding businesses.

Among the supporters was former Mayor Joel Daves. If the district is approved and One Flagler is allowed, he said, “people will come from around the world to look at this project.”