Al Adelson, the seasoned real estate developer behind what is widely considered West Palm Beach’s first true luxury residential landmark, is setting his sights westward for his latest venture. After reshaping the city’s skyline with The Bristol along the Intracoastal Waterway, completed in 2019, Adelson has spearheaded the development team for a brand-new high-end residential complex: The Berkeley.
With half a century of development experience under his belt, Adelson has witnessed firsthand the staggering economic and demographic evolution of South Florida. Looking back at his previous project, he notes that The Bristol played a pivotal role in changing the city’s trajectory.
"The Bristol started the rage for West Palm Beach," Adelson says. "It was the first really high-end condo that turned the tide, and started the growth of West Palm Beach luxury residential."
However, with his latest foray into luxury living along Clear Lake, the veteran developer wanted to offer something distinctively different in terms of accessibility and price point. Adelson describes his vision for the new complex as "The Bristol lite"—essentially capturing the iconic look, feel, and elite standard of his previous building, but tailored for buyers seeking a lower price tag.
While units in The Bristol—where Adelson currently resides with his wife, Linda—start at a cool $12 million and can soar as high as $60 million, The Berkeley takes a more approachable path. Pricing for the new building caps out near the entry point of its predecessor, with two-bedroom residences starting at $2.5 million.
"I wanted to do a project that was not as expensive, but still had The Bristol look and feel," Adelson explains.
Currently under construction on the western edge of downtown, The Berkeley is a 25-story luxury condominium tower comprising 193 residences. The building overlooks Clear Lake, a massive body of water that serves as the primary fresh water source for Palm Beach County.
Reflecting on the pace of local development, Adelson marvels at the transformation of the municipality over the past decade. "It’s unbelievable what’s happened here in the past 10 years," he says of West Palm Beach. "The growth… you can’t even explain it. It’s the hottest city in the U.S."
At the same time, Adelson is quick to credit billionaire developer Stephen Ross, head of Related Companies and owner of the Miami Dolphins, for much of the region’s skyrocketing economic fortunes. Ross has poured an estimated $10 billion into downtown West Palm Beach, fundamentally reshaping the urban core into a bustling commercial and business hub.
"With that, comes all this great opportunity," Adelson notes. "Companies are bringing their employees here, they’re hiring, there’s ten new restaurants in West Palm Beach. Everything is great, great, great."
Yet, this unprecedented downtown boom brought along a significant drawback that plagues many rapidly expanding urban centers: severe vehicular congestion. For residents trying to navigate the city core during peak hours, traffic has quickly become a prominent pain point.
"It’s the one negative," Adelson admits. "It’s an issue."
Adelson’s strategic solution was to plant his latest high-rise on the western perimeter of downtown, positioning the property roughly a 15-minute drive to South Flagler Drive and just slightly east of Interstate 95. This deliberate placement aims to spare residents the worst of the urban gridlock.
"The reason I picked Clear Lake is that it’s not even two miles from Flagler, however, there is no traffic because you already passed it," he explains. "And if you come off 95, you get home before the traffic."
Beyond traffic mitigation, the developer emphasizes that the location offers exceptional everyday convenience. The site is an easy walk to downtown attractions and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Furthermore, it will sit directly next door to the upcoming $500 million Cleveland Clinic facility, marking the first hospital built in downtown West Palm Beach in more than a century.
"It’s really a premiere location," Adelson says.
Clear Lake Luxury and Design
To bring The Berkeley to life, Adelson partnered with the renowned architectural firm Arquitectonica, celebrated for designing some of Miami’s most striking and iconic buildings. The firm has endowed The Berkeley with a clean, white, wavy aesthetic, while interior designer Bernardo Fort-Brescia is overseeing the living spaces.
The building features eight exclusive penthouses. Among them, a penthouse priced at $11.5 million has already been successfully claimed by a buyer whom Adelson describes as the former chairman of a major life insurance company. Overall, approximately a quarter of the units in the building are already under contract, translating to $125 million in total sales ahead of the building’s scheduled completion and delivery in 2029.
Every single residence in the tower boasts panoramic views of Clear Lake. Additionally, residents on higher floors will enjoy sweeping vistas of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, complemented by what the developer promises will be the largest private balconies in all of West Palm Beach.
Inside the residences, high-end finishes abound. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls flood the spaces with natural light, while interiors showcase natural stone finishes, European white oak flooring, and custom Snaidero kitchens. The 193 total residences, inclusive of the eight penthouses, range in size from two to five bedrooms and span between 1,700 and 5,000 square feet.
Despite positioning The Berkeley at a more accessible price point than The Bristol, Adelson asserts that the complex’s amenity package stands unrivaled in the local market.
"There is nobody who has more amenities than we have," he declares.
The seventh floor alone houses 30,000 square feet of dedicated indoor and outdoor perks. This level features a resort-style pool flanked by private cabanas, his-and-hers spas, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a golf simulator, and an expansive entertainment lounge. Crowning the building is a roof deck equipped with a lap pool, a jacuzzi, an outdoor kitchen, and a sky lounge. Altogether, the development provides a staggering 70,000 square feet of amenity space spread across three distinct floors.
Among the building’s white-glove concierge offerings, a few distinct services are designed to redefine convenience. The property provides a complimentary, on-demand car service capable of transporting residents up to 15 minutes in any direction without a restrictive mileage radius.
"We can drive you and pick you up," Adelson says. "It’s part of every-day service."
While this perk might initially sound like an ideal solution for older residents looking to bypass driving through heavy traffic for medical appointments or social outings, the developer notes that the building’s buyer pool spans a wide demographic, attracting everyone from single professionals to growing families.
"There is really no typical buyer," he says, though the building naturally draws a healthy share of affluent transplants relocating from California and the Northeast, mirroring broader South Florida luxury real estate trends.
Perhaps the most unconventional and striking amenity is the building’s inclusion of in-home concierge medical care provided by UPLIN Health. This service grants residents 24/7 access to primary, urgent, and specialist medical care directly inside their living quarters.
"I just felt that health care is a big issue in our society," Adelson explains. "It’s one of the many ideas that separate The Berkeley from all others. No matter what illness you have, a doctor will come to your apartment. You can get a chest X-ray or bloodwork right there at The Berkeley."
"I decided it would be a good marketing tool and it’s something nobody else had," he adds.
Astonishingly, this concierge medical service is being offered to residents for free during their first year. When asked if this specific perk is intended to appeal heavily to retirees, Adelson pushes back against the notion.
"Everybody needs a physician sometime," he points out.
In fact, it was precisely this level of hands-on healthcare accessibility and lifestyle convenience that Adelson wanted for himself and his wife. The couple plans to cross town and move permanently from The Bristol into The Berkeley the moment construction wraps up and the building officially opens its doors.
"How many developers live inside their product?" Adelson asks. "I’m going to live there for the rest of my life."
