Bulgari expands Worth Avenue store to three bays, Palm Beach delays vote

Bulgari has asked to expand its proposed Worth Avenue boutique from a two-bay, 2,206-square-foot concept to occupy three adjacent bays in a six-space building at 237-239 Worth Ave, and the Palm Beach Architectural Commission has delayed approval while the design is reworked. The retailer does not yet operate a standalone store on the island; the property is owned by CSPB Worth LLC, affiliated with CS Ventures partners Spencer J. Schlager and Charles "Charlie" L. Rosenberg, which paid $30.255 million for the site in 2024.

The design presented on Jan. 28 and prepared by Worth Avenue-based Jerome Baumoehl Architect featured a façade predominantly of glass panels and travertine, three orange awnings, and an entrance door lined in brass. Commissioners asked for substantive revisions at the January meeting: remove columns and cladding, keep the knee wall, and reconsider the size of the proposed store. Commissioner Kathy Georgas summed up the aesthetic disconnect, saying, “Palm Beach is an old-world town, and this doesn’t speak anything old world.”

At the Feb. 25 continuation, project attorney Maura Ziska informed the commission that Bulgari intended to expand into a third bay, and she told the board, “The project will return to the commission March 25, Ziska said at the meeting on Feb. 25.” The commission has postponed a final vote after questioning both scale and material choices; one commissioner, Connaughton, noted that “(She) thought the store’s brass detailing would appear too bright and recommended using a metal with a slightly duller or warmer finish.”

The property’s retail context deepens the stakes: the building sits amid established luxury neighbors including 55 Croisette, Bottega Veneta and Poupette St. Barth, and would leave Bulgari occupying half the block’s retail units if granted three bays. The Jan. 28 staff report that accompanied the first presentation formally described the two-bay proposal as a 2,206 square-foot shop, but no updated square-foot total for the three-bay plan has been provided to the commission or made public.

For a jeweler whose portfolio ranges from high jewelry and watches to leather goods and fragrances, the commission’s material scrutiny is consequential: travertine and bright brass can register as contemporary and showy, while the commission recommended preserving the building’s existing stucco character and tempering metallic finishes to better align with Worth Avenue’s established aesthetic. With ownership vested in CSPB Worth LLC and design work by Jerome Baumoehl Architect still subject to revision, the project’s next chapter will play out at the March 25 meeting; until the commission sees revised elevations or a new staff packet, final approval and any square-footage adjustments remain pending.