A rooftop helipad atop the Hibiscus Street garage in CityPlace and a plan to include the Jaguar dealership site in the Downtown Master Plan both received separate backing from West Palm Beach's Planning Board, which unanimously recommended that the broader plan move forward. The board's vote sends both proposals to the City Commission, which holds its own hearings and makes the final call.
The helipad proposal, as reported by WPBF 25 News, envisions electric helicopters shuttling passengers between Miami and West Palm Beach from a pad built on top of the Hibiscus Street garage, which is owned by Stephen Ross. One planning board member reportedly called the application exciting during Tuesday's meeting. Planning Board Chairman Steve Mayans, for his part, was careful to note the limits of what the board's vote actually means.
“We are only a recommending board,” Mayans said, according to WPBF 25 News investigative reporter Terri Parker's reporting, stressing that the City Commission will hold its own hearings and reach its own conclusions on both the helipad and the broader master plan. Mayans also said West Palm Beach's growth will happen regardless of how the debate plays out.
Jaguar Dealership Site Could Rise Up To 25 Stories
The board recommended folding the Jaguar dealership property at Okeechobee Boulevard and South Dixie Highway into the Downtown Master Plan, a move made at the property owner's request, but did not authorize construction. Under downtown zoning, the site could accommodate a residential high-rise of up to 25 stories, or possibly higher, according to WPBF 25 News.
That proposal has survived even as the city walked back a more sweeping height increase elsewhere. Following public outcry, West Palm Beach withdrew a plan to allow buildings as tall as 12 stories along the waterfront between Banyan Boulevard and Datura Street, as reported by WLRN. Even so, the outlet noted that a proposal persists from the plan's earlier version that would move Myers Auto Group's Jaguar dealership at 915 South Dixie Highway into downtown zoning allowing 25 stories at that location.
Save West Palm Beach Pushes For More Study
Fatima Sanandaji, co-founder of Save West Palm Beach, argued the city is moving too fast on major development decisions before addressing broader growth questions. “West Palm Beach should plan for residents rather than turn downtown into an aviation experiment,” Sanandaji said, per WPBF 25 News.
Her group is seeking independent, cumulative studies of how new development would affect traffic, water, sewer, drainage, emergency services and other infrastructure — concerns that echo what resident groups have raised throughout the master plan process, including questions about whether aging water and utility infrastructure can support future growth, per the WLRN report. The scale of change already underway downtown is part of the broader debate.
The city has not been shy about engaging the public on the plan: 21 community meetings on the downtown update were held between January 2025 and May 2026, according to WLRN. Sanandaji and the group's other founders say they plan to keep pushing for changes before the master plan receives final approval.
What Comes Next
West Palm Beach is scheduled to hold a public workshop on the proposed Downtown Master Plan on October 6, after which the plan will move through the next stages of the approval process. Both the helipad and the Jaguar site proposal still need sign-off from the City Commission, which will hold its own hearings separate from the Planning Board's recommendation.
In Los Angeles, a proposed tower near Hollywood and Gower underwent revisions that included removing a planned rooftop helipad and trimming its height, according to Urbanize LA. Whether West Palm Beach's own helipad proposal survives its City Commission hearing intact remains to be seen.
