Nora was created by real estate investors who wanted to blend history with modern touches to attract shoppers, diners.
Nora District shops, eateries, hotel progressing in West Palm Beach
The Nora District construction is progressing for the new dining, shopping and entertainment section north of downtown West Palm Beach.
- The $1 billion project transformed a rundown area north of downtown West Palm into a trendy neighborhood with a mix of old warehouses and new buildings.
- Retailers, restaurants, and fitness centers are set to open in Nora in phases, with a hotel and apartments planned for the future.
- The West Palm Beach project gained momentum during the pandemic as businesses and residents relocated to Palm Beach County.
The Nora District, a long-awaited dining, shopping and entertainment neighborhood in West Palm Beach, finally is about to open.
More than seven years in the making, the $1 billion Nora development is the culmination of an ambitious plan by a small group of real estate investors willing to take a chance on a rundown part of the city.
Starting in 2018, these investors began buying up old warehouses, boarded-up properties and vacant sites just north of the downtown. These were the properties in and around North Railroad Avenue facing the Florida East Coast Railway, which was built by industrialist Henry Flagler in the late 1880s.
The investment group envisioned something special: a hip, new neighborhood blending history with modern finishes.
The investors designed the district around North Railroad Avenue, the area’s western boundary and the district’s designated Main Street. Then they named the entire project Nora, short for the avenue’s name. The Nora District is just west of North Dixie Highway between 7th Street and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
Nora features buzzy retailers, restaurants in downtown West Palm Beach
Using a mix of old warehouses and new construction, Nora’s partners created ground-floor spaces for buzzy and in-demand retailers. This includes casual and upscale restaurants, activities for families, and a smattering of luxury stores.
Nora also includes the hottest players in boutique fitness centers, plus several beauty retailers and services.
A few of the project’s 20 retailers plan to open in late August and September, while others will open by year-end, and more stores and eateries will open in 2026.
Eventually, people will be able to stay and even live at Nora.
In the fall of 2026, look for the opening of the 201-room Nora Hotel by Richard Born and Ira Drukier of BD Hotels, along with acclaimed hotelier Sean MacPherson.
The Nora Hotel will feature a rooftop pool and bar. It also will feature a signature restaurant, Pastis, the famed New York City Parisian-style brasserie.
Meanwhile, Nora’s developers are seeking approval from the City of West Palm Beach for an 11-story, 350-unit apartment complex along 10th Street at North Railroad Avenue.
In addition, Nora hopes to build an 11-story condominium at 1105 N. Dixie Highway.
If Nora sounds like an overnight sensation, it is not. Backers said the project required timing, creativity, patience − and a large dose of luck.
How a simple plan for West Palm turned big after a global event
The property purchases began around 2018, with a plan by NDT Development to rehabilitate a couple of old warehouses into new restaurant spaces.
But the redevelopment plan grew bigger, and over time, the group bought more and more property. Eventually, NDT joined with Place Projects, an early developer of Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, and Wheelock Street Capital to create the Nora District. The 40-acre district is the city’s largest redevelopment since CityPlace, which opened in 2000.
When the global COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, a surge of companies and residents moved to Palm Beach County from the Northeast.
Soon several Northeast restaurateurs and retailers expressed interest in following their customers to Palm Beach County, said Francis X. Scire, Nora’s leasing director. These include eateries from New York and Boston.
During the past three years, Scire said he’s charted the growing interest, and the caliber, of the companies wanting to be what some consider one of the hottest cities in the country.
“We’re a thriving metropolis and they needed to get a flag down here,” Scire said. “Nora was the best product coming online. It was the obvious choice.”
Coffee, cars and a big bet on the future of the Nora District
Sunday Motor Co. is one example. The coffee shop from Madison, New Jersey, has launched a soft opening in a converted warehouse at 7th Street and North Railroad Avenue, the southern corner of the Nora District.
Sunday Motor is among the first restaurants to open at Nora. With its auto-themed accessories and memorabilia, it promises to be a welcome gathering spot for coffee and car aficionados, non-car lovers and everyone else.
A daytime menu featuring breakfast and lunch items will be offered at first. Then, about a month after opening, Sunday Motor will launch evening service, featuring a different menu as well as beer and wine, according to Nick Vorderman, who owns the coffee shop with his wife, Renee Mee.
The expansion to Florida began in 2023 when the Vorderman family bought a house in West Palm Beach’s Flamingo Park to visit with relatives in Jupiter.
Soon after, the couple began taking a look around West Palm Beach. This was about the same time that Nora’s leasing director was trying to find a coffee shop.
Scire said he wanted the perfect “third place,” a location that isn’t home or work but another setting for gathering. After sifting through 37 possible coffee shops, he settled on Sunday Motor’s creative and welcoming vibe.
In a brief telephone interview on Aug. 13, Nick Vorderman was busy putting the finishing touches on the new Nora location.
But in between the last-minute frenzy, Vordeman said he was looking forward to the shop’s opening. “We’re all very excited,” he said. “It’s been a long road to get to this point.”
Nora’s eight other eateries range across a broad spectrum of cuisine. Several hail from the Northeast, too. Coming from Boston is Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar. From New York, look for H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and Juliana’s Pizza. New York’s The Garret Group also plans a sports bar. Also opening at Nora are Indaco, a restaurant featuring rustic Italian-inspired cuisine; Del Mar Mediterranean; and local operator Celis Juice Bar.
In the beauty and wellness space, Nora will feature Sweat440 and SolidCore fitness facilities; service retailers such as Sana Skin Studio, The Spot Barbershop and IGK Salon hair care; Le Labo Fragrances; and ZenHippo early childhood activities.
Finally, three other retailers also are in the mix. They are Warby Parker eyewear; and two women’s clothing boutiques, Pompanos and Mint.
A new use for old West Palm Beach buildings
In a 2021 interview, back when Nora first was being sketched out, Place Project’s Joe Furst said the land assemblage by NDT was complicated, rare and vital to create an area with thoughtful planning and design.
A lot of times, developers either can rehabilitate old buildings or build new ones in an area, but not both, Furst said.
However, at Nora, rehabbed warehouses complement newly-built places, so “you still have that Main Street feel,” he said.
Indeed, historical flourishes are a part of making it feel authentic, said Damien Barr, a partner in the NDT Development group.
“We were very intentional,” Barr said during a recent tour of Nora.
Visitors to Nora need only look down for proof. Lining the district’s sidewalks are railroad ties, a nod to the nearby railway that first breathed life into the city and continues to inspire new uses for this old part of town.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.