Article
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By Alexandra
Clough
Published
November 30, 2014
The owner of land formerly home to the 1515 Tower
condominium in West Palm Beach wants to turn the Flagler Drive property into
apartments.
Lots of them.
Terrance Mountain Investors III, LLC, owned by Texan Frank Trabold, recently
went before a city committee to boost the units approved for the property to
187 from 84 — more than double the amount now approved.
In addition, Terrance Mountain seeks
a change in the site’s name to Fifteen 15 South Flagler from
The Modern, its most recent hoped-for incarnation.
City spokesman Elliot Cohen said the committee told Terrance
Mountain that the increased density is not allowed.
Cohen said Terrance Mountain now has the option of redoing
its plans or asking the city for a waiver, among its
choices.
Trabold didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
The 1515 Tower was a 30-story high-rise that was badly
damaged from the 2004 hurricanes. In 2010, the condo was
demolished to make way for a new luxury condo, The Modern. |
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The 1515 Tower goes down in a spectacular planned
demolition after the condo was badly damaged by 2004 hurricanes.
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The Modern’s developer, Trinity Development, was eager to start
construction, but residents flooded city meetings to voice opposition to the
tower, which had fewer stories than the 1515 building, but three times the
mass. The city granted numerous waivers for setbacks.
However, after demolition of the 1515 Tower, the property slipped into
foreclosure. In December 2011, the property was sold for $5.5 million to
Terrace Mountain of Austin, Texas, county property records show.
Since then, Terrace Mountain Investors has been buying nearby land, bringing
the total to 3.1 acres. The properties also provide access to the site from
Olive Avenue, Arkona Court and Flagler Drive.
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