Developer Mark Bellissimo won approval for zoning changes that will allow him and his partners to build a boutique hotel, offices, condos, retail and restaurant space just across the street from his planned gated community, the Wellington.
The mixed-use project, dubbed “the Marketplace” is said to be inspired by Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue and Greenwich, Connecticut’s Greenwich Avenue, according to the website of Wellington Lifestyle Partners.
The project’s developer, Bellissimo’s Wellington Lifestyle Partners, is a partnership between his Wellington Equestrian Partners and Nexus Luxury Collection, whose backers include Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake, eBay’s first president Jeff Skoll and billionaire Joe Lewis’ Tavistock Group.
The Village of Wellington’s Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board unanimously passed the amendments requested for the Marketplace at its Wednesday night meeting.
Wellington LIfestyle Partners has yet to receive final approval for the plans. Bellissimo and his partners are seeking to build an 80-key hotel, 89 condos, and 117,000 square feet of commercial space. The 17.9 acre site at 13421 South Shore Boulevard is currently zoned for commercial use and has a 20,900-square-foot office building on the property, records show.
The group has already won approval to build the Wellington, a 400-acre gated residential community that will be built across the street from the proposed site of the Marketplace. The Wellington will have 253 single-family homes and townhouses, an 18-hole golf course and a private club house, when it is completed. It is slated to open in 2027, according to Wellington Lifestyle Partners’ website.
The developer secured approval for it in February of last year, despite the project’s controversial move to pull 96 acres out of Wellington’s equestrian preserve. Bellissimo and his partners own a sweeping portfolio of Wellington properties, including Wellington International, the showgrounds that host the Winter Equestrian Festival that drives the village’s horse-centric industry.