The Old Twin City Mall Site Has an Approved Plan. Why Is It Still Empty?

"A master plan is not the height of the buildings. It's not how many units are in it. It is not the color of the drapes or the carpet. Those all come at a later time in a site plan approval."

Harvey Oyer, the developer's attorney, said that to a joint meeting of the North Palm Beach and Lake Park planning boards in May 2024, according to Stet News. The Village Council later held the developer to that description. Two and a half years on, his sentence explains why the 13 acres at U.S. 1 and Northlake Boulevard still have no buildings going up. The Village approved a plan that said where things would go. It never approved how tall they could be or how many homes they could hold.

If you are comparing North Palm Beach with nearby towns, that gap is the detail to understand about this corner. On this site, "approved" means the layout is set, while the size of what gets built is still being contested.

What the April 2025 Vote Actually Decided

The Village Council approved the Village Place master site plan 5-0 on April 10, 2025, according to the Village's project page. WPTV reported that the plan covered the general layout of the site but not building height, size, design or residential density. The developer got one year to bring back specific building proposals.

Here is what the developer, NP-Devland Holdings, proposed for the site, set next to what the vote left open.

The two civic space figures come from two different sources, and they don't match. Stet says the master plan places the 14-story buildings on interior parcels and the hotel and senior living center in nine-story buildings on two other parcels. Those numbers are what the developer designed around. They are not what the Village agreed to.

How "Up to 14 Stories" Became the Whole Argument

The disagreement goes back to 2023, before any master plan existed. That year the Village and NP-Devland wrote a new zoning district for the property, the C-3 Regional Business District. It allows buildings up to 14 stories if a developer meets four thresholds, as Stet News laid them out:

1. Own at least 5 acres.
2. Provide at least half an acre of civic space.
3. Dedicate 90,000 square feet to nonresidential space.
4. Include public benefits, such as enhanced landscaping or innovative architecture.

The first three are measurable. The fourth calls for judgment, and the dispute centers on it. At the July 2023 meeting where the district was approved, then-Mayor David Norris asked the Village attorney, Len Rubin, to confirm that meeting the four thresholds would not automatically entitle a developer to 14 stories. Stet reports that Rubin answered, "It is not a permitted height." The council approved the district 4-1.

Each approval step since then has returned to height.

• May 2024: The North Palm Beach planning board approved the master plan 7-0, with the clarification that approval did not entitle the developer to any heights. Lake Park's board voted 4-1 to approve.
• August 2024: At first reading before the Village Council, the developer argued that height was implicit in the code once the thresholds were met. The council voted to grant seven stories, with 14 possible only if the project delivered enough public benefit.
• April 2025: At final reading, the council approved the master plan with no height guarantee at all. Nader Salour, Cypress Real Estate Advisors' local principal, told the council, "If those heights and densities change, the master plan will change."

Around then, the developer mailed residents a flyer that said the council had "approved a plan without development parameters so nothing can be built." One month later, it filed suit.

The developer is not new to the area. Cypress Realty of Florida developed Abacoa in Jupiter, according to Stet, and NP-Devland bought the old mall property for $19 million in April 2022.

The Lawsuit Turns on Two Conditions Out of 37

The April 2025 approval came with 37 conditions. NP-Devland's suit challenges two of them, as Stet News described:

• The developer is not entitled to any height or density through the master plan. Its maximum development will only be known once it submits a site plan that spells out its public benefits.
• "The applicant (Devland) shall be bound by all oral and written representations both on the record and as part of the application/approval process."

The suit asks a judge to throw out the new requirements and apply the original C-3 rules. The Village says the developer attended the meetings where these conditions were discussed and never objected. It also argues the case is premature because it assumes the Village will deny a project that hasn't been submitted yet. The developer also amended its complaint in February 2026 to add allegations that the Village disputes. That move sent the case briefly into federal court before it returned to Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

The second condition was the subject of a July 15, 2026 hearing before Circuit Judge James Sherman. The developer's attorney argued it was too vague to enforce. The Village's attorney said the developer had "expressly agreed on the record" to that language. Stet reported on Aug. 24 that the judge had not yet ruled.

Where the Case Stands in Late October

The Palm Beach Post reported on Sept. 9, 2026 that the lawsuit, which has delayed the largest development project in North Palm Beach's recent history, could go to trial as soon as October if the Village and the developer did not settle. As of October 20, no settlement, ruling or trial outcome had been publicly reported. The Village Council's October 22 regular session agenda, posted October 20, listed no item on the case.

So no one can yet say how tall Village Place will be, how many homes it will include, or when it might break ground. The answer depends on a ruling, a settlement, or a site plan the council has not seen. Either side's version of the 2023 code could win, and this post doesn't predict which.

This is general information about a public zoning dispute, not legal advice. If a specific parcel or contract depends on what the Village allows, please confirm it with a land use attorney.

What Is Already Fixed on That Corner

Not all of the old mall property is part of the dispute. That matters if you are picturing daily errands near U.S. 1 and Northlake. According to Stet News, these businesses are outside the Village Place site:

• The Publix and several smaller retailers on the west side of the property
• CVS, TD Bank, Wendy's, Helix Urgent Care and a gas station facing Northlake Boulevard and U.S. 1

Two buildings would be torn down under the plan. One is vacant. The other houses the True Treasures furniture consignment store and BurgerFi's corporate offices.

One part of the old mall land is already moving. Northlake Promenade, a separate seven-story, 279-unit apartment building, is under construction on the Lake Park side of the property. Florida YIMBY reported in April 2025 that the first units were expected in the first quarter of 2027. That's a first-delivery estimate from 2025, not a completion date. Still, it makes Northlake Promenade the one building on the old mall land with a construction timeline.

None of this started with the current developer. Twin City Mall opened in 1971 as the first enclosed mall in northern Palm Beach County. It declined after The Gardens Mall opened in 1988 and was torn down in 1997. A 2015 Citizens' Master Plan suggested a lifestyle center there, "like CityPlace or Mizner Park." Since May 2025, the question of how tall and how dense that center can be has been tied up in NP-Devland's lawsuit.

Questions Buyers Ask About the Site

Is Village Place approved? Its master site plan was approved 5-0 on April 10, 2025. Building heights, unit counts and design were left for later site plan approvals, which have not happened.

Could the buildings reach 14 stories? The C-3 district allows up to 14 stories under conditions. The Village's position is that no height is guaranteed until a site plan shows enough public benefit. The developer's lawsuit challenges that position.

Is the Publix closing? The Publix and the businesses facing Northlake and U.S. 1 are not part of the Village Place site, according to Stet News.

Where can I follow the case? The Village posts Council agendas in its Agenda Center, and the Village Place project page tracks the approvals so far.

If you're weighing a home near U.S. 1 and Northlake and want to talk through what is settled on that corner and what is still waiting on the court, I'm glad to sit down with you. You can learn more about the Village on my North Palm Beach neighborhood page, or reach out to Barbara C. Smith directly. Let's Connect.