Two neighborhood groups say Palm Beach County broke the Sunshine Law with 90 minutes' notice of its $26 million convention center hotel deal. They want the vote voided.
Two West Palm Beach neighborhood groups have sued Palm Beach County to undo its $26 million deal for a second convention center hotel. They say the county gave the public too little notice before the vote.
The Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association and the West Palm Beach Neighborhood Alliance filed the suit Wednesday night in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. They ask a judge to declare the Board of County Commissioners’ Sept. 29 approval void under Florida’s Sunshine Law. They also want the county barred from signing, recording or paying out money under the deal until commissioners vote again at a properly noticed meeting. The case number is 50-2026-CA-011605, according to the complaint, which the groups’ lawyers published (PDF).
The claims are the neighborhood groups’ account. No court has ruled on them.
What the county approved
The deal was one agenda item, 3C1, with 34 motions labeled A through HH. The county’s agenda for the Sept. 29 meeting (PDF) sets out the main terms:
- The county buys about 1.80 acres at 940 South Rosemary Avenue from CityPlace South Tower II, a Related Ross affiliate, for $26 million.
- The site is for an 18-story, 400-room hotel next to the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
- A Related affiliate finances, builds and runs the hotel. The county pays the $26 million as deposits toward construction and takes title to the finished hotel.
- The county leases the hotel back for 33 years, with renewals that could stretch the term to 97 years.
- Rent starts at $1,117,000 a year, rising 3% a year. The county also gets 6% of gross revenue above $77 million a year.
- The new hotel leases 335 spaces in the convention center garage for $402,000 a year plus $2,856,000 up front. The existing Hilton leases 255 spaces for $306,000 a year plus $2,244,000.
- The $26 million comes out of General Fund reserves.
The purchase needed a supermajority of five of the seven commissioners. County staff wrote that the hotel would cover a large part of the 600 extra rooms an expanded convention center needs. The board voted 6-1. Commissioner Gregg Weiss, whose District 2 includes the site, cast the lone no vote, according to the complaint.
What the lawsuit says
The groups’ central claim is about timing. The agenda marks Item 3C1 as an “*ADD-ON.” The county’s rules allow an add-on only “in the event of an unforeseen or emergency situation,” the complaint says. The groups argue there was no emergency after eight months of talks with Related.
The complaint sets out this timeline:
- Sept. 23, 4 p.m.: the county lists Item 3C1 for the first time, on an “Additions, Deletions, & Substitutions” sheet, six days before the vote.
- Sept. 28, 2 p.m.: a revised sheet lists the item again, marked as changed.
- Sept. 29, 8 a.m.: the full 715-page transaction file goes public.
- Sept. 29, 9:30 a.m.: the meeting opens, and commissioners approve the deal that day.
The county attorney told commissioners at the meeting that the county “met all requirements pursuant to Florida law,” the complaint says. It quotes him as saying “the law only requires us to provide a minimum of 24 hours.”
The complaint also says:
- putting the hotel in county hands takes it off the property tax rolls. It says a county consultant valued that benefit to Related at about $2.5 million a year, or about $1.3 billion over the full lease.
- staff told commissioners during the meeting that the property would owe about $1,649,000 a year in property taxes if it were privately owned. That is more than the first year’s rent.
- the deal releases Related from building its own parking garage and commits 590 public garage spaces, which sit behind Grandview Heights homes, to Related’s two hotels.
“The West Palm Beach community should not have to fight to ensure its public servants follow the rules,” William A. Brewer III, the groups’ lead counsel, said in a statement on his firm’s website.
Margaret Frazzini, president of both groups, said in the same statement that the documents came too late for anyone to read them properly. “That isn’t enough time for residents, or even the commissioners themselves, to review it properly on its merits,” she said.
A second case against the city
This is the groups’ second suit over the hotel. The City Commission approved the 18-story hotel Aug. 31, with three design waivers, according to the complaint. On Sept. 30, the groups asked the same court to review those city approvals. That case, No. 50-2026-CA-011062, is still pending, the new complaint says.
The new suit also names the city, its Community Redevelopment Agency, the CityPlace Community Development District and four Related companies as defendants, because each is a party to agreements the county approved.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. The county’s approval stands unless a judge rules otherwise. The groups have asked for a temporary injunction to freeze the deal while the case runs.
- If the groups win, the deal would go back to the County Commission for a new vote at a meeting with fuller notice. That would give the public another chance to speak on it.
- Property taxes: the hotel land would leave the tax rolls under the deal. Our guide to Palm Beach County property taxes explains who sets the rates you pay.
- To follow the case, search Case No. 50-2026-CA-011605 on the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller’s online court records.
We will update this page when the court rules on the request to freeze the deal.
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