Two decisions made a few weeks apart have set the shape of Northlake Boulevard through the end of the decade. On August 26, Palm Beach County commissioners voted 5–1 against a change that would have allowed western Northlake to widen from six lanes to eight. The Florida Department of Transportation, meanwhile, lists November 2026 as the start of a $54 million rebuild of the I-95 interchange at the other end of the road.
So Northlake's largest scheduled road project sits at its oldest end, around plazas that date to the 1980s. At its newest end, where Avenir Town Center has only just started serving dinner, the eight-lane option has been voted down. That split explains what drivers on either end will run into this winter.
What the county turned down out west
The proposal before the County Commission was a right-of-way map amendment. It would have cleared the way for an eventual eight-lane Northlake between the western edge of the Sandhill Crane golf course and State Road 7. Commissioners denied it 5–1. Mayor Sara Baxter cast the only vote in favor, and Commissioner Bobby Powell was absent.
The Palm Beach Post reported that the plan "fails again." It said commissioners called the widening unnecessary and costly, and that two questions decided the vote: what it would cost, and whether more lanes would actually reduce traffic.
Road work out west hasn't stopped, though. In June the county switched on a new signal at Northlake and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, and its notice described the temporary layout there as part of an ongoing widening project on both roads. The August vote was specifically about the eight-lane amendment for the stretch from Sandhill Crane to SR-7.
Avenir is filling in along that same stretch
The developer's April 2026 update described about six buildings in phase one and up to 29 at full buildout, with more than 200,000 square feet of planned retail and commercial space along Northlake west of the Turnpike.
The openings have come in order of daily use. Groceries came first, then breakfast, and in October a dinner table.
| Business | Address | Status as reported | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publix | 12535 Northlake Blvd. | Opened May 21, 2026; 48,387 square feet | Publix |
| H&H Bagels | 12465 Northlake Blvd. | Soft opening Aug. 17, grand opening Aug. 20 | Citybiz |
| Field of Greens | Avenir Town Center | Announced opening of Friday, Sept. 25 | Palm Beach Post |
| Smoke & Maple | 12325 Northlake Blvd., Suite 130 | Opened to the public Monday, Oct. 12 | Smoke & Maple |
| Tenka Sushi – Modern Asian | 12465 Northlake Blvd., Suite 100 | Restaurant's site says "coming in December" | Tenka |
| Carmela Coffee | 12515 Northlake Blvd., Suite 110 | Listed as coming soon in July | WhatNow |
| C.R. Chicks | Northlake Blvd. and Avenir Dr. | Announced as a planned tenant in June | WhatNow |
Smoke & Maple is the milestone. The Palm Beach Post called the gastropub Avenir's first full-service restaurant, with steaks, seafood, comfort food and craft cocktails across 166 indoor and outdoor seats. For context, WhatNow reported in late June that Publix and Walgreens were the only businesses open at the center.
Tenka is the one to plan around carefully. In August, WhatNow reported that the owners were aiming for October or November in a roughly 4,000-square-foot space, the same 12465 Northlake building as H&H Bagels. The restaurant's own website now says December and asks visitors to sign up for grand-opening notice. If sushi at Avenir is on your weekend list, check that page before you go.
All of these openings draw cars onto western Northlake, the same stretch where the county just declined to allow eight lanes.
The fourth lane at the I-95 end
The scheduled fourth through-lane is going in at the interchange. FDOT's project page for contract T4666 sets the limits as I-95 from south of Northlake to south of PGA Boulevard, plus Northlake itself from Military Trail to Silverthorne Drive, 4.319 miles in all. OHLA-USA is the contractor. The listed scope:
- Milling and repaving I-95 and Northlake Boulevard
- Widening the I-95 exit ramps to Northlake and adding a Wrong Way Driving Detection System
- Widening Northlake under I-95 to add a fourth through-lane
- Adding turn lanes and bike lanes along Northlake
- Signal, drainage and intelligent transportation system work
- New lighting, signage and pavement markings
The earlier project FAQ shows the design's extra lanes reaching beyond the underpass. It describes a proposed fourth eastbound lane from just west of Keating Drive at Gardens Towne Square to Sunrise Drive, a fourth westbound lane from just east of Sandtree Drive to Military Trail, and triple left and right turns where the I-95 ramps meet Northlake. These are design descriptions, not a construction schedule.
The three-year calendar, as published
- Thursday, November 12, 2026, 6 to 7 p.m. FDOT holds a public meeting at the City of Palm Beach Gardens Council Chambers, 10500 N Military Trail.
- November 2026. Listed start of construction.
- Late 2029. Listed completion.
FDOT's project page doesn't yet include a lane-closure plan, a ramp-closure schedule or nighttime work hours, and the November 12 meeting is the only public meeting it lists so far. For questions in the meantime, FDOT lists Meredith Cruz, community outreach specialist, at [email protected] or 561-589-9584.
You may come across the older project website at 95northlake.com, which still shows a Spring 2029 finish and a slightly different cost. FDOT's current listing of late 2029 and $54 million is the one to go by.
The errands that sit inside the work zone
The east end is where everyday errands happen. Gardens Towne Square, at 4200 Northlake Boulevard, is home to a Publix and appears in a county shopping-center inventory with a 1986 build date. Keating Drive, where the design's new eastbound lane begins, runs right alongside it. Nearby on the same corridor are Bolay at 3333 Northlake Boulevard and Pizza Hut at 4260 Northlake Boulevard.
That puts the east end's grocery stop and lunch spots inside the interchange project's limits for its scheduled run through late 2029. Avenir's new restaurants, meanwhile, are opening on the western stretch the county's August vote addressed.
The order of events is worth keeping in mind. Avenir's Publix opened May 21, the county's vote came August 26, Smoke & Maple opened October 12, and FDOT's construction start follows in November. A Gardens household that does its regular shopping near Military Trail now has a second grocery option out west, and it opened shortly before the interchange work is scheduled to begin.
Planning around both ends this winter
Some practical steps follow directly from the published dates:
- Put November 12 on the calendar if you use the I-95 ramps at Northlake. It's the only public meeting listed on FDOT's project page.
- Check the FDOT project page for T4666, not the older project site, for current dates and documents.
- Confirm opening status for Tenka, Carmela Coffee and C.R. Chicks before you plan around them. Their dates have moved or haven't been announced.
- Don't expect eight lanes between Sandhill Crane and SR-7. The August decision denied that amendment.
A three-year interchange rebuild on one end of Northlake and a new town center on the other will both affect how a home along this corridor fits into daily routines. If you'd like to talk through what that means for a home you own or are considering, The Quarles Group would be glad to help. Schedule a Consultation.
