What's Next for the Old Twin City Mall Site in North Palm Beach?

Three separate situations share the old Twin City Mall property, 13 acres at U.S. 1 and Northlake Boulevard. On the Lake Park side, a seven-story apartment building is far enough along that its operator says leasing starts in November. On the North Palm Beach side, the proposed Village Place development has been held up by a lawsuit filed in May 2025, which is now back in Palm Beach County Circuit Court after a short stop in federal court. The Publix, CVS and Wendy's you stop at every week fall outside the dispute.

Which situation you're looking at depends on which side of a municipal boundary you're standing on, and on one legal question that has never been answered.

A boundary was built into the name

The mall got its name because the property straddles the line between Lake Park and North Palm Beach. That geography now explains most of the corner's split personality. Here is the short history as Stet News laid it out in August:

1. 1971. Twin City Mall opens as the first enclosed mall in northern Palm Beach County, anchored by Sears and Roebuck.
2. 1988. The Gardens Mall opens, Sears moves there, and Twin City starts to decline.
3. 1997. The mall is torn down.
4. 2015. The Village includes the site in a revitalization plan developed by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. The Citizens' Master Plan suggested "a lifestyle center like CityPlace or Mizner Park."
5. April 2022. NP-Devland Holdings, backed by Austin-based Cypress Real Estate Advisors, buys the site for $19 million from a company run by car and yacht dealer John Staluppi.

Cypress has a familiar local connection. Its Florida arm, Cypress Realty of Florida, developed Abacoa in Jupiter, and Nader Salour is the company's local principal.

The Lake Park side is almost ready for residents

On the west side of the property, inside Lake Park, the 279-unit Northlake Promenade Apartments have been under construction. When Lake Park reviewed the project in June 2024, the presentation listed AvalonBay Communities as developer of the seven-story building. Florida YIMBY reported the address as 374 Northlake Blvd. and said, back in April 2025, that the first units were expected in the first quarter of 2027.

That timing has held up. In AvalonBay's investor development schedule, the 279-home project appears as "Avalon North Palm Beach" in Lake Park. The schedule lists first occupancy in Q1 2027, completion in Q3 2027 and stabilized operations in Q1 2028. On the public side, AvalonBay's leasing page for Avalon Lake Park describes a brand-new Lake Park community next to Publix, with a rooftop lounge offering Intracoastal and ocean views. Its banner reads "Leasing Begins in November for January Move-Ins!" The page doesn't give a year. The records line up on developer, town and unit count, but no single document we found states outright that these names all refer to one building.

So the first new residents on the old mall site may be months away. Their arrival doesn't depend on anything that happens in the courtroom.

The North Palm Beach side waits on one question

Village Place sits on the North Palm Beach side of the property. As proposed, it includes 947 apartments, 133 condominiums, a 222-room hotel, a 206-unit senior living facility, a 1.36-acre civic space and 90,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The renderings are by the design firm Gensler.

Most of the dispute turns on whether approving the master plan also approved building heights.

In 2023, the Village and the developer created a new C-3 Regional Business District for the site. It allows buildings up to 14 stories if four thresholds are met:

• the developer owns at least 5 acres
• it provides at least half an acre of civic space
• it dedicates 90,000 square feet to nonresidential use
• it includes public benefits such as enhanced landscaping and innovative architecture

Before the July 2023 vote, then-Mayor David Norris asked the village attorney, Len Rubin, to confirm that meeting those thresholds wouldn't automatically guarantee 14 stories. As reported by Stet News, Rubin answered:

"There is language in a couple of different places where we are clear this is not entitlements. You have to meet the criteria. … It is not a permitted height."

The council approved the district 4-1.

The developer has argued from the beginning that its thresholds were met and that height came with master plan approval. The Village has held that height gets decided later, once a site plan shows what public benefits would come with it. The votes since then trace that disagreement:

1. May 2024. At a joint meeting, North Palm Beach's Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board voted 7-0 to recommend the master plan, adding that approval didn't entitle the developer to any heights. Lake Park's board voted 4-1 in favor.
2. August 2024. On first reading, the Village Council granted seven stories, with 14 possible only if the project delivered enough public benefit.
3. April 2025. On final reading, the council approved the master plan with no height guarantees and attached 37 conditions.

At that April 2025 meeting, Salour explained the developer's position. As reported by Stet News, he said: "We've designed the plan with certain heights and densities in mind. If those heights and densities change, the master plan will change." Interlandi, then a council member and now mayor, said during the same meeting: "At this point, I don't think we should vest them at any height."

What the lawsuit asks for

The developer took its case to Circuit Court in May 2025. It objects to two of the 37 conditions. The first says the master plan entitles the developer to no particular height or density. The second binds the developer to "all oral and written representations both on the record and as part of the application/approval process."

According to Stet News, the Village has two main responses. It says the developer sat through the meetings where these conditions were discussed and never objected. It also says the suit assumes a denial that hasn't happened.

Stet News also reported that in February 2026, the developer amended its complaint. One new claim alleges that an email chain about revising the representations clause violated Florida's Sunshine Law. The Village disputes that, and the claim hasn't been proven. Another new claim raised a constitutional issue. Because of it, the Village asked to move the case to federal court. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon declined, and the case went back to Circuit Court about three weeks later.

Where things stand on October 12, 2026

• The July 15 hearing. Judge James Sherman heard arguments on the representations clause on July 15. As of WLRN's Aug. 26 report, he hadn't ruled.
• Mayor Interlandi's deposition. Interlandi was next in line to be deposed after the judge denied the Village's request to shield her. We found no report on whether that deposition has happened.
• Possible trial. On Sept. 9, the Palm Beach Post reported that the case could go to trial "as soon as next month" if the two sides don't settle. That was a projection, and we found no confirmed trial date.
• Council agendas. Neither the Sept. 10 nor the Oct. 8 Village Council agenda lists a Village Place or lawsuit item.

A ruling for either side wouldn't mean construction starts right away. The Village's position is that height and density get settled at the site plan stage, and that stage hasn't begun.

The storefronts you use every week sit outside it

The parts of the corner people use most aren't in Village Place. The existing Publix and several small retailers on the west side are excluded. So are the businesses facing Northlake and U.S. 1: CVS, TD Bank, Wendy's, Helix Urgent Care and a gas station.

The plan would take down two buildings. One is vacant. The other houses the True Treasures furniture consignment store and BurgerFi's corporate offices. Stet News also photographed a vacant building on the property that once housed John Staluppi's Cars of Dreams Museum.

If you want to follow what happens next, the Village posts council agendas and meeting packets in its Agenda Center. The case number is 502025CA004670 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The developer's original May 2025 complaint is public. A ruling on the representations clause, a settlement or a trial date would be the next real sign of what this corner becomes.

If you own a home nearby and want to understand how the site's future could factor into your property's value, GulfStream Properties can walk you through it with a free home valuation built on current local sales.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.