In downtown West Palm Beach, a seasonal resident can leave the car in the garage for days at a time. From the blocks around CityPlace, the Kravis Center, Clematis Street, the waterfront and the Brightline station are all within walking distance. Palm Beach Island is a short drive east across the Royal Park Bridge. If you're planning to spend winters here, or starting to think about it, here is what daily life looks like inside that radius.
The walkable core of downtown West Palm Beach is compact. Okeechobee Boulevard runs along its southern edge and carries traffic straight to the bridge and Palm Beach. Clematis Street anchors the north end and runs east to the waterfront. Flagler Drive follows the Lake Worth Lagoon along the eastern edge, and CityPlace fills the middle along South Rosemary Avenue.
For someone arriving for the season, the layout is the appeal. Dinner, a show, a morning walk along the water and a train to Miami all start from the same few blocks, and the streets between them are easy to cover on foot.
CityPlace opened in 2000 as an open-air shopping and entertainment district. Its streetscape was later redone with wider, curbless sidewalks, new landscaping and public art. The district went by Rosemary Square and then The Square for a few years before returning to the CityPlace name in 2024, which is what most locals had kept calling it anyway.
Today it works as the neighborhood's living room. There are restaurants with outdoor seating, cafes, shops, a fountain plaza and a calendar of events that runs through the year. Living nearby means an evening out can begin with a five-minute walk and end with the same walk home.
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts sits on Okeechobee Boulevard, a short walk from CityPlace, and its busiest months line up with the season. Touring Broadway productions, ballet, orchestra performances, comedy and speaker series fill the schedule from fall through spring. Next door, the Dreyfoos School of the Arts adds student performances and exhibitions to the neighborhood's cultural life.
A short trip south on Dixie Highway brings you to the Norton Museum of Art, and Palm Beach Dramaworks stages professional theater on Clematis Street. Season residents who plan their winters around performances and exhibitions can reach most of that calendar on foot or with a quick ride.
Clematis Street is downtown's original main street, lined with restaurants, bars and shops that run toward the water. At the east end, the waterfront opens onto the Lake Worth Lagoon. A promenade along Flagler Drive draws locals for morning walks, runs and bike rides, with views across to Palm Beach.
On Saturday mornings from October through May, the West Palm Beach GreenMarket sets up on the waterfront at 100 N. Clematis Street. Vendors bring produce, baked goods, coffee, flowers and prepared food. The market has become a weekly ritual for full-time residents and seasonal ones alike.
The Brightline station sits on Evernia Street between Rosemary Avenue and Quadrille Boulevard, a short walk from CityPlace. Trains run south to Fort Lauderdale and Miami and north to Orlando International Airport, so a day in Miami or a flight out of Orlando doesn't require getting behind the wheel.
Palm Beach International Airport is only a few miles from downtown, which matters to anyone who flies back and forth during the season or hosts family who do. Palm Beach Island and Worth Avenue are across the Royal Park Bridge at the east end of Okeechobee Boulevard. They're close enough for lunch on the island and a return downtown for an evening show.
For many seasonal buyers, the appeal of downtown comes down to how easy it is to arrive and leave. A condo with concierge service, on-site management and secured building access can be locked up in May and reopened in November with little to manage from afar. Garage parking keeps a car protected while you're gone, and a second bedroom gives visiting kids and grandkids a place to stay.
Some owners also want the option to rent the home during the months they're away. Rental rules vary widely from building to building downtown, and city and county requirements apply as well. Buyers weighing that option should confirm a specific association's lease terms before making an offer.
720 S Sapodilla Avenue, Unit 204 at The Courtyards in CityPlace puts this whole radius at the front door. The updated two-bedroom, two-bath condo has 1,140 square feet and a pool view. The split-bedroom layout includes walk-in closets and an in-unit washer and dryer. The unit comes with an assigned garage space, and the Kravis Center is directly across the street.
The Courtyards offers a resort-style pool and spa, fitness center, concierge, on-site management, clubhouse, business center, library and bike storage. Short-term rentals are permitted, giving an owner the flexibility to live there full time, use it for the season or rent it when away.
Choosing where to spend the season usually starts with a question about how you want your days to feel. Downtown West Palm Beach suits people who would rather walk to dinner and a show than drive to them. If you're still comparing neighborhoods, building types or how a condo would fit the way you split your year, the Meyer Lucas Team knows these blocks well. We're glad to help you sort through options as you research, starting with a closer look at Unit 204 at The Courtyards.
The Meyer Lucas Team is a luxury real estate team serving buyers, sellers, investors, and those relocating throughout Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Juno Beach, Tequesta, West Palm Beach, and communities across Palm Beach County and Martin County. We love sharing what's happening inside our team, throughout our local communities, and across the ever-evolving world of luxury real estate.
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