The Downtown Action Committee on Nov. 12 approved four variances for a proposed two‑story mixed‑use building at 800 North Tamarind Avenue, a project filed by the City of West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and designed by Urban Design Studio.

Rob Dinsmore of Urban Design Studio said the site is "located at the Northeast corner of 800 North Tamarind and 7th Street" and described a 0.13‑acre infill project with six studio micro‑dwelling units, about 2,200 square feet of ground‑floor office space and three tuck‑under parking spaces. Dinsmore said the project already received Historic Preservation Board approval on Aug. 26.

The committee considered four variance requests: a reduction in the street‑tree spacing requirement (a proposed reduction of three trees from the five required), an 8% reduction in the ground‑floor active‑use liner, a 10% reduction in the required transparency for active uses along Tamarind Avenue, and a request to reduce the required parking by one space (from four to three). Claudia Bavin, the city urban designer, told the board staff had reviewed the requests against variance standards and recommended approval, with a condition for the parking variance: "If any parking issues arise due to the limited parking available on‑site, the applicant will work with the traffic engineer and or the parking and mobility administrator to resolve the issues."

Board members asked how the three spaces would be allocated between office and residential users; Jade Green, deputy director with the CRA, said allocation will be for the future operator to determine and that the shared‑parking analysis relies on time‑of‑day use so residential occupants could use spaces in the evening while offices use them during the day. The applicant said the site is walkable to transit (roughly seven blocks to Tri‑Rail) and includes 12 bicycle parking spaces.

Veronica Barducci moved to approve all four variances, asking the applicant to "take under consideration the architect considerations that the board has brought up today;" the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Next steps: the project will continue through required site‑plan and site‑certification reviews, and the applicant must coordinate with traffic and parking staff if on‑site parking proves insufficient.