A buzzy wine bar, an Asian restaurant by a Northeast restaurateur and three major companies are signed to lease space at Sundy Village in Delray Beach.
The mixed-use project by Pebb Capital of suburban Boca Raton is being built at the entrance to downtown on sizzling Atlantic Avenue.
This new boutique office and retail center will create daytime demand for shops and eateries in an area mostly dominated by a busy nightlife, said Todd Rosenberg, founder and managing principal of Pebb Capital.
Rosenberg said hundreds of workers soon will be working out of the Sundy Village complex.
The project, years in the making, suddenly is the darling of office and restaurant users. Rosenberg said tenants want to be in a unique, indoor-outdoor complex laced with history. The site contains several historic homes, including the Sundy House.
"These are successful public and private companies, and major food operators and restaurateurs from all over the country, who have decided this is where they want to be," Rosenberg said. "It's pretty awesome."
The complex features a three-story office building and ground-floor retail space being built on the southwest corner of Atlantic and Swinton avenues, plus retail and restaurant space in several historic homes along Swinton.
Office buildings also will be built on the site's western border along Southwest First Avenue.
One notable new tenant is Barcelona Wine Bar, with locations in 11 states. The eatery features tapas shaped by Mediterranean, Spanish, and South American influences, plus 400 selections and brands on the wine list. Barcelona will open on the Swinton Avenue side of the office-retail complex under construction.
Joining Barcelona on the food front is a still-unnamed establishment by the Schulson Collective, a group of restaurants based out of Philadelphia but with locations throughout the Northeast. Schulson Collective also operates a contemporary izakaya restaurant, Monkitail, and a cocktail lounge, Nokku, at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood.
Those not familiar with Schulson Collective restaurants may remember Schulson President Michael Schulson from two original television series, TLC’s "Ultimate Cake Off" and Style Network’s "Pantry Raid."
The Schulson restaurant will open along Atlantic Avenue in the new officer-retail complex.
Other chef-driven eateries, including a "world famous' pizza joint, are negotiating to lease space in the project's historic homes, Rosenberg said.
On the office front, an unnamed public global equity fund will move into an 80,000-square foot corporate headquarters on Southwest First Avenue.
The company will employ about 200 workers, a substantial coup for a city that traditionally hasn't seen many corporate relocations due to a lack of new office construction, Rosenberg said.
In addition, Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the United States, will lease 38,474-square-foot for a headquarters.
The company will move from its current office in Boca Raton. In a statement, Vertical Bridge President Ron Bizick said he chose to move the growing company to Sundy Village because of the project's mix of contemporary offices and "vibrant" atmosphere and amenities.
"This new hub will improve and create a fresh work experience for our team," he said.
Rosenberg said the Vertical space could accommodate 100 workers.
Finally, Pebb Capital itself will move its headquarters to Sundy Village from office space in suburban Boca Raton. The company will build a 6,000-square foot free standing office building on Southwest First Avenue.
With these deals, Sundy Village's 200,000 square feet of office and retail space is about two-thirds leased. "And I wish I had more office space," Rosenberg said.
He added that corporate leasing interest in the project belies the narrative that office space is dead.
Sundy Village includes the Sundy House Boutique Inn and Tropical Gardens, both of which are closed for renovations. Sundy House is a historic property that was home to Delray Beach’s first mayor, John Sundy,
Sundy Village also features other historic Delray Beach properties: The Rectory, a former Methodist Church parsonage, built around 1912; and the Cathcart House, built in 1903 in the French Colonial Revival style. Restaurants and bars will occupy space in the historic properties
Pebb Capital bought the site for $40 million in October 2019, following brief litigation with the project's prior developer, Hudson Holdings.
Construction on the 7-acre Sundy Village began in February. The project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.