‘Wall Street South’ business executives are choosing to live in Palm Beach Gardens

Article first appeared: https://www.wpbf.com/article/florida-palm-beach-gardens-wall-street-south-business-executives-housing-market/60373431

More business executives of the “Wall Street South” in Palm Beach County are choosing to live in Palm Beach Gardens, according to real estate and economic experts.

“We’ve seen a lot of people move their businesses, especially in the hedge fund industry and all sorts of other industries into the West Palm Beach area, but also seeing offices in Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter,” Jeff Lichtenstein, broker and owner of Echo Fine Properties in Palm Beach Gardens, told WPF 25 News.

Experts say business leaders are choosing to relocate to northern Palm Beach County as the cost of housing is cheaper, compared to nearby communities like Palm Beach Island.

“There’s just been an influx of people moving down here, especially among the wealthier set,” Lichtenstein said.

“There are some really big names that have selected Palm Beach County,” Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, told WPBF 25 News.

She said more than 200 companies have recently built offices in the Palm Beaches as a part of “Wall Street South.”

“Healthcare and life science industry, as well as the financial ‘Wall Street South Initiative’ and corporate headquarters are now the driving industries in terms of number of jobs, economic impact and the average salaries being paid,” Smallridge said.

And with many of the executives moving to Palm Beach Gardens, real estate experts said there’s less land for housing with more communities already being built.

“If you go back to 1980, there were 576,000 people in Palm Beach County. Today we’re over a million and a half,” Lichtenstein said.

“We’re out of land. So, the only land left in Palm Beach Gardens right now is Northlake going west. And that’s booming, there’s a lot of new communities,” he added. “That’s replacing some of the people who have been here on a long-time basis with a lot of the wealthier set who have moved here.”

WPBF 25 News reached out to the city of Palm Beach Gardens for a comment, and a spokesperson released a statement on behalf of Mayor Chelsea Reed.

“Palm Beach Gardens is a great place to live. We have a staff that cares, an engaged council, and initiatives such as our commitment to improve mobility and dedicating over 50% of our land to greenspace. We are excited about our strides in creating workforce housing, which ensures there is a place for everyone here. This is part of our plan and has been for a long time; to provide the best quality of life in the state of Florida and beyond.”