At the east end of Worth Avenue, where the street runs toward Midtown Beach, scaffolding and screening have covered 151 Worth Ave. since the summer. Neiman Marcus left the nearly 50,000-square-foot building in September 2020, and it has been empty ever since. Across the street, The Esplanade still carries its old name. Its new owners have already filed to change it.
Taken together, 151 Worth, 150 Worth and the office building at 125 Worth make up most of the 100 block. All three have changed hands or begun major work within roughly a year. In both former department-store buildings, the first named arrivals serve food or sell memberships. That is why the decisions that matter most this season come down to seat counts, club rosters and parking spaces.
The Neiman Marcus Building's First Tenant Is a Restaurant
TZ Capital, led by Palm Beach residents Teddy and Tyler Tananbaum with managing partner Sam Zuckert, bought 151 Worth from Ken Griffin for a recorded $80.5 million. The Town Council approved its redevelopment plans in February. The plans put retail spaces of varying sizes on the building's two upper floors, with valet-only parking in the underground garage.
The first tenant announced isn't a retailer. Palm Beach Daily News reporting republished by the Miami Herald says Stephen Starr will open a second-floor restaurant expected to be called Room Service, with balcony seating looking east toward the Atlantic. It is scheduled to open in December 2027 with 165 seats, 32 of them outdoors. TZ Capital's announcement calls it "a signature American restaurant inspired by Palm Beach's storied past."
Retailers further west are watching the project closely. Michael Maus of Maus & Hoffman at 312 Worth Ave. told the Daily News, "I mean, it's beautiful. It's top-notch."
So for the next thirteen months, the building that anchored the ocean end of the avenue for decades will look much as it does now: a construction site with a restaurant opening date attached.
Across the Street, the Saks Box Is Being Pitched as Clubs and a Bakery
London-based Reuben Brothers and Crown Onyx Investments bought The Esplanade at 150 Worth Ave. for $200 million, with the deed recorded in March. Plans submitted to the town in August would rename it Burlington Arcade Palm Beach, after Reuben Brothers' Burlington Arcade in London. Their biggest changes fall on the former Saks Fifth Avenue portion along the plaza's west side.
The proposed program, according to town records cited by the Daily News:
| Proposed use | Floor | Size and capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Casa Tua restaurant | First | 6,500 sq. ft., 270 seats |
| Casa Tua private club | Second | 4,855 sq. ft., up to 300 members |
| Robin Birley social club | Second | 12,291 sq. ft., 300 members |
| Luxury lifestyle retail store | First, west side | 7,800 sq. ft. |
| Day spa and retail boutique | Second | 5,325 sq. ft. and 2,000 sq. ft. |
| Birley Bakery | First, east side | About 520 sq. ft. |
Casa Tua already has outposts in Miami Beach, Aspen, New York, Capri and Paris. The filings describe the Birley club as serving Palm Beach residents as well as "hotel guests."
Add up the table and the pattern from 151 Worth repeats across the street. The named tenants are a restaurant, two private clubs and a bakery. The single large retail space doesn't name its tenant.
Why the Hearings Turn on Parking
A plan built around dining rooms and memberships runs into Palm Beach's zoning code in ways a department store never did. The Town Council Development Review agenda lists the 150 Worth application, ZON-26-0060, filed by Esplanade TIC LLC and Esplanade Metro TIC LLC. It asks for eight special exceptions:
- A restaurant use
- A private club use for the Birley Social Club
- Outdoor café seating tied to that club
- Specialty food take-away for Birley Bakery
- A retail jewelry store larger than 4,000 square feet
- A day wellness spa larger than 4,000 square feet
- Shared parking among the restaurant, club and retail uses
- Tandem parking
It also asks for three variances. One would waive the required on-site parking and remove existing spaces. One would let rooftop mechanical equipment exceed the height limit. One would let the reworked former Saks building exceed the overall height allowed in the C-WA district. The agenda packet includes a traffic impact statement from Simmons & White dated Oct. 21 and a traffic review by Corradino dated Oct. 29.
The 270-seat figure in the plans is the reason this matters. A restaurant with that many seats, plus two clubs of up to 300 members each, draws a very different number of cars than a department store drew at the same address. Half of the special exceptions and the first variance are about where those cars go.
The Town of Palm Beach public meetings calendar set the Council review for the Nov. 10 meeting at 9:45 a.m. The Architectural Commission has the same project, ARC-26-0062, on its agenda for Nov. 20. That review covers façade changes and alterations to the interior Via passage.
The same issue shows up a block away. Item 19 on the same Council agenda is Le Bilboquet Market at 353 Peruvian Ave. It wants to add six indoor seats, for a total of 12, along with a variance so it doesn't have to provide the 2 on-site parking spaces those seats would require. On Worth Avenue and the streets around it, even a dozen seats goes before the Council.
The Building With a New Owner and a Renovation Ahead
The third building on the block has the least defined future. A company affiliated with Griffin sold 125 Worth Ave., the three-story office building just east of 151 Worth, for a recorded $86 million in August. The buyer was an entity affiliated with Blackstone, with Chicago-based L3 Capital as an investor. Blackstone Real Estate principal Elena Clarfield explained the bet in a statement to the Daily News, republished by the Miami Herald:
"High-street retail continues to experience strong fundamentals, and Palm Beach represents one of the highest performing luxury retail markets in North America."
L3 called the deal its first investment in Palm Beach commercial real estate. It plans to renovate the building to reflect "the continued evolution of Worth Avenue." No major redevelopment has been proposed there.
Three Buildings, Three Timelines
Each building is at a different stage, and that determines what the block will look like from week to week this winter.
| Address | Former identity | Owner | Stage this season | First named arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 151 Worth Ave. | Neiman Marcus | TZ Capital | Under construction; plans approved in February | Room Service by Stephen Starr, December 2027 |
| 150 Worth Ave. | The Esplanade, including former Saks | Reuben Brothers and Crown Onyx | Council review set for Nov. 10; ARCOM on Nov. 20 | Casa Tua, Birley club, Birley Bakery, all proposed |
| 125 Worth Ave. | Office building | Blackstone affiliate with L3 Capital | Sold in August; renovation planned | None announced |
Daren Rubenfeld, the attorney who serves as president of the Worth Avenue Association, summed up members' reaction for the Daily News: "There's a lot of curiosity."
What the Block Holds This Winter
Construction screens or not, the 100 block is where the avenue's holiday parade begins. According to the Worth Avenue Association's event calendar, the Holiday Tree Lighting is Tuesday, Dec. 1. Santa and his elves start the parade at 6:10 p.m. on the 100 block, and the tree is lit at 6:25 p.m. This year the parade sets off between a building under construction and a plaza with its redesign under review.
The Association's 75-minute historic walking tours run every Wednesday from Nov. 4 through May 5, 2027. Rick Rose, the Association's historical docent, leads them with anecdotes about how the avenue began.
The Nov. 20 Architectural Commission review of 150 Worth falls in the third week of those tours, and Room Service's scheduled December 2027 opening comes after the tour season ends in May.
If you own or are considering property near Worth Avenue and want a clear read on what these changes could mean for your position, Brosda and Bentley Realtors offers discreet, senior-level guidance. Schedule a Private Luxury Consultation.
