The developers of the Nora District in West Palm Beach are seeking an increase in public funding for infrastructure improvements, according to planning documents released on Apr. 7. NDT Development and its partners have requested an additional $5.3 million through the city’s Real Estate Development Accelerator program, which would bring total public support to $26.1 million.
The proposed funds are intended to help complete a right-of-way between 10th and 11th streets along Railroad Avenue, as outlined in the planning documents. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency is scheduled to review the request at its meeting on April 13. If approved, the funding would be linked to finishing construction of the Nora Hotel and would be disbursed after Oct. 1.
NDT Development, led by founders Ned Grace and Damien Barr, had previously secured $20.8 million in REDA funding for this project but declined to comment on the latest request. The company is active in real estate development and hospitality across Palm Beach County with properties such as the White Elephant hotel, Cucina restaurant in Palm Beach, and Cove Club in West Palm Beach.
The Nora District covers a master-planned area of downtown spanning 40 acres that includes retail spaces, restaurants, and offices; its first phase opened late last year. Hospitality executive Richard Born’s BD Hotels has partnered with NDT Development and Sean MacPherson on developing the Nora Hotel—a planned 201-key property expected to open later this year.
In addition to these projects, Anthony Solomon’s Ronto Group—alongside NDT Development, Place Projects, and Wheelock Street Capital—recently began sales for Nora House condos: an eleven-story building with 117 units priced between $2 million and $6.5 million per unit; completion is anticipated by 2029. Developers are also planning another eleven-story apartment building nearby that will include ground-floor retail space totaling over eighteen thousand square feet as well as sixty-five thousand square feet of amenities.
