West Palm Beach’s soon-to-be $1 billion mixed-use district, NORA, is ushering in its first set of tenants, featuring three food spots and two boutique fitness brands.
The Wynwood-type neighborhood is named after North Railroad Avenue, where it will house more than 150,000 square feet of public parks, food and drink, lifestyle retail and a social club, all south of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard by the railroad tracks and Dixie Highway.
In the winter of 2024, NORA will welcome H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, [solidcore] and Rumble Boxing.
“We’ve cast our net nationally,” Francis X. Scire, NORA’s head of leasing, said. “I’ve been working with people all over the country who are desperate to get into this marketplace.”
For some of these tenants, this will be their first introduction to Florida, further helping achieve NORA’s goal of becoming a regional attraction people travel to from all parts of South Florida and beyond.
H&H Bagels, an artisan bagel spot, hails from New York City with a location opening in Boca Raton soon, too.
Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, a “neighborhood joint” specializing in tacos, oysters and tequila, is opening its first location outside of Boston.
Like H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream began in New York City, operating out of a food truck. Now, the ice cream company, which caters to omnivores, vegans and everyone in between, boasts locations in California, New Jersey, Texas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.
“It’s really a destination for these outposts,” Scire said.
Rumble Boxing and [solidcore], which offers Pilates-inspired workouts, have already made their presence known with locations dotted around South Florida. Their establishment in NORA will help turn the district into a fitness and wellness hotspot.
Scire said eight restaurants have yet to be announced, and additional details about tenants are coming in the next several weeks.
“We’ll probably be bringing in about five retail tenants, and then some service uses like a high-end hair salon, potentially a med spa, that kind of thing, to really round out the mix within the district,” Scire said.
The concept behind the district leans into the idea of “Live, Work, Play,” which many South Florida cities are latching onto.
“Grab a bagel before work, or you want to have a lunch meeting or after-work drinks,” Scire said. “It’s just a seamless thing.”
Abigail Hasebroock, SunSentinel
