Steve Ross has acquired the One Clearlake office tower in downtown West Palm Beach for $55.4 million, continuing his expansion in the area where he is a leading developer and investor.
The purchase was made through Ross’ West Palm-based Related Ross, which bought the 18-story building at 250 South Australian Avenue from Bradford Allen Investment Advisors, based in Chicago. The transaction was financed with a $40 million loan from City National Bank of Florida.
One Clearlake, completed in 1987 on a 2.9-acre site, includes approximately 221,700 square feet of office space and an attached four-story garage with 669 spaces. According to a spokesperson for Related Ross, about 20 percent of the office space is currently available for lease. Current tenants include Northwestern Mutual, Ideal Nutrition, RM Anderson Co., SouthState Loan Office, and Rubenstein Law.
This acquisition marks at least the eleventh office property that Related Ross owns or has under development in downtown West Palm Beach. The firm’s portfolio also includes the nearby two-story WPTV studio and office building at 1100 Banyan Boulevard, purchased for $40 million earlier this year. With both sites combined, Related Ross now controls roughly 7.6 contiguous acres facing Clear Lake.
Redevelopment plans for these properties are not immediate; The E.W. Scripps Company, which owns WPTV, has leased back its building for at least another two and a half years.
One Clearlake changed hands earlier this year when Bradford Allen acquired it for $45 million—a significant drop from its previous sale price of $60.7 million in 2021.
Ross founded New York-based Related Companies over five decades ago and stepped back last year to establish Related Ross as a separate Southeast division focused mainly on downtown West Palm Beach and other areas of South Florida.
Related Ross recently completed the construction of One Flagler and is developing additional projects such as the 10 CityPlace and 15 CityPlace towers. The company’s portfolio also features residential developments and mixed-use complexes like CityPlace.
Ross remains influential in Palm Beach County’s development efforts. He has leveraged his connections to attract financial firms to West Palm offices as part of an initiative to brand the county as “Wall Street South.” More recently, he has discussed bringing technology companies to create “Silicon Valley South” and supported Vanderbilt University’s proposal to open a campus in West Palm Beach.
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