Steve Ross’s Related Ross has acquired 31 acres in Wellington for $28.3 million, advancing plans for K-Park, a large mixed-use destination in western Palm Beach County. The planned development will combine a walkable retail and restaurant district, offices, a hotel and a nearby private-school campus.
Key takeaways
- Related Ross bought the Village Landing site from the Acme Improvement District.
- The 31-acre parcel sold for roughly $913,000 per acre and carries a $29.1 million mortgage tied to Starwood Capital’s Barry Sternlicht.
- Plans call for more than 300,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space, plus a 180-room hotel.
- A separate portion of the 71-acre K-Park site is planned for Wingrove Academy, expected to open in 2029.
The acquisition represents the first closing within the broader K-Park development. The property is located at 10400 Stribling Way, near State Road 7, and is zoned for commercial facilities while retaining an agricultural classification, according to property records.
A new retail and hospitality district
Related Ross envisions Village Landing as a downtown-style destination modeled in part on CityPlace in West Palm Beach. The project is expected to include more than 80 shops arranged across six connected plazas, along with green spaces, a central village square and a lakefront boardwalk.
Earlier concepts included hundreds of residential units, but those plans were dropped this year. The revised program focuses on retail, dining, office space and hospitality, potentially adding a new commercial center to Wellington’s existing development landscape.
Wellington’s changing retail market
Village Landing will join a market that already includes The Mall at Wellington Green, where Bainbridge Companies is pursuing a redevelopment of the former Nordstrom site. That project proposes 620 apartments and follows years of financial challenges for the mall, including Nordstrom’s departure, a troubled commercial mortgage and foreclosure litigation.
The competing and complementary projects underscore the broader effort to reposition Wellington’s retail corridors as the area adapts to shifting consumer and investment patterns.
Private-school demand supports the plan
The K-Park vision also reflects the growing demand for private education in South Florida. Wingrove Academy is planned as a PreK-through-12 campus and is expected to open in 2029, adding an educational anchor to the larger development.
Florida enrolled nearly 500,000 private-school students during the 2024-2025 school year, while the state had more than 3,250 private schools—28 percent more than a decade earlier. Rising demand has been linked to population growth and wealth migration into the region.
Ross has increasingly supported education initiatives in South Florida, including a $6.6 million contribution toward Pine Crest School’s planned West Palm Beach campus and a $50 million pledge to Vanderbilt University’s proposed graduate campus in the city. Those investments align with his broader strategy of attracting affluent residents and business executives to the region.
Sources
- Steve Ross Pays $28 Million for Wellington Mixed-Use Site, The Real Deal.