Famed West Palm Beach Developer Launches His Latest Luxury Offering on Clear Lake

The developer of what is arguably West Palm Beach's first true luxury residential building—The Bristol—has moved west to Clear Lake for his latest foray into luxury living, The Berkeley.

After developing The Bristol along the Intracoastal, completed in 2019, Al Adelson, a seasoned developer with 50 years experience, spearheaded the development team behind The Berkeley Palm Beach.

"The Bristol started the rage for West Palm Beach," Adelson tells Realtor.com. "It was the first really high-end condo that turned the tide, and started the growth of West Palm Beach luxury residential."

With the followup to The Bristol, the developer wanted something more accessible, with a lower price point. Adelson says his vision for new complex was "The Bristol lite," or The Bristol with lower price tags.

While units in The Bristol (where Adelson currently lives with his wife, Linda) start at $12 million and go for as much as $60 million, The Berkeley caps out at close to the The Bristol's entry point, and starts at $2.5 million for a two-bedroom.

"I wanted to do a project that was not as expensive, but still had The Bristol look and feel," he says.

The 25-story, 193-residence luxury condominium is currently under construction west of downtown, along Clear Lake, a giant lake that provides fresh water for Palm Beach County.

"It's unbelievable what's happened here in the past 10 years," he says of West Palm. "The growth... you can't even explain it. It's the hottest city in the U.S."

However, he goes on to give Stephen Ross, head of Related Companies, and owner of the Miami Dolphins, much of the credit for the rise in the area's fortunes, thanks to the billionaire developer's $10 billion investment into the downtown area, turning it into a major business hub.

"With that, comes all this great opportunity," Adelson says. "Companies are bringing their employees here, they're hiring, there's ten new restaurants in West Palm Beach. Everything is great, great, great."

But one thing wasn't great. With the enormous build out of the downtown area came one giant headache: traffic.

"It's the one negative," he says. "It's an issue."

Adelson's solution was to build his followup to The Bristol on the western edge of the downtown area, a 15 minute drive to South Flagler Drive, and just slightly east of I-95.

"The reason I picked Clear Lake is that it's not even two miles from Flagler, however, there is no traffic because you already passed it," he says. "And if you come off 95, you get home before the traffic."

Additionally, he stresses that the location is not only an easy walk to downtown and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, will be next door to the new $500 million Cleveland Clinic, the first hospital built downtown in over 100 years.

"It's really a premiere location," he says.

Clear Lake luxury

The developer partnered up with architect Arquitectonica, the firm behind some of Miami's most iconic buildings, for The Berkeley's clean, white, wavy design. Designer Bernardo Fort-Brescia is handling the interiors.

There will be eight penthouses, and one of them, with a $11.5 million price tag, has already sold. Adelson describes the buyer as a "former chairman of major life insurance company."

A quarter of the units in the building are under contract, totaling $125 million in sales, with delivery scheduled for in 2029.

All units boast views of Clear Lake, and the higher units will also look out over the Intracoastal and the Atlantic Ocean, offering what the developer promises are "the largest balconies in West Palm Beach."

Interiors feature natural stone finishes, European white oak flooring, Snaidero kitchens, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The Berkeley's 193 residences, including the eight penthouses, range from two to five bedrooms and from 1,700 to 5,000-square-feet.

Despite the lower price point, Adelson asserts the complex's amenities can't be beat. "There is nobody who has more amenities than we have," he says.

The seventh floor contains 30,000 square feet of amenities including a pool with private cabanas, his-and-hers spas, a fitness center, and golf simulator and entertainment lounge. On the roof is a lap pool and jacuzzi, with an outdoor kitchen and sky lounge, with a total of 70,000 square feet of amenities across three floors.

Of the various concierge services, a few really stand out: The building offers complimentary on-demand car service for 15 minutes in any direction, with no specific mileage radius. "We can drive you and pick you up," Adelson says. "It's part of every-day service."

While this might seem a dream perk for older residents who may not want to fight traffic to get to their doctor's appointments, the developer reveals that the building's units are getting snapped up by all types, from singles to families.

"There is really no typical buyer," he says, though, like most South Florida luxury developments, there are plenty of California and Northeast transplants.

Probably the most unique amenity is the building's in-home concierge care by UPLIN Health, which includes 24/7 access to primary, urgent and specialist services.

"I just felt that health care is a big issue in our society," he says. "It's one of the many ideas that separate The Berkeley from all others. No matter what [illness] you have, a doctor will come to your apartment. You can get a chest X-ray or bloodwork right there at The Berkeley."

"I decided it would be a good marketing tool and it's something nobody else had."

And, astonishingly, the concierge medical service is free—at least for a year. Asked whether he thinks this particular amenity will draw lots of retirees, he demurs.

"Everybody needs a physician sometime," he says. He admits that it was this kind of service he wanted for himself and his wife, as the pair plan to migrate across town from The Bristol to The Berkeley as soon as the complex finished.

"How many developers live inside their product?" he asks. "I'm going to live there for the rest of my life."