Northwood and Northwood Village, West Palm Beach: A House-Buyer Guide

This guide is for researching a house in the Northwood area of West Palm Beach. It explains what the local names mean, what City records show about the housing stock, how historic review works, and what to check before you tour or make an offer. It doesn't rank the area or suggest who it suits.

For condominiums, our sister site CondoWPB.com covers West Palm Beach condo buildings. This page covers houses only.

Northwood, Northwood Village and the Nora District

These three names are often used loosely. They mean different things, and none of them is a legal description of a property.

• Northwood is an informal name for the older residential area north of downtown. The City doesn't map a single "Northwood" neighborhood boundary. It does map local historic districts, and six of them are in this area: Old Northwood, Northwood Hills, Northwood Harbor, Northboro Park, West Northwood and Northwood Road. Many nearby houses sit outside all six.
• Northwood Village is the commercial core around Northwood Road and nearby blocks of North Dixie Highway. The City's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) maps it as one of five subareas of its Northwood/Pleasant City CRA District, which the City says covers about 459 acres in the northern part of the city. The other four subareas are Pleasant City, the Broadway Corridor, the Currie Corridor and an industrial area.
• The Nora District is a separately branded dining and retail district along North Railroad Avenue, north of downtown. In the City's GIS, its restaurant block at 840 N. Railroad Avenue falls inside the Downtown Development Authority boundary, and neither that block nor the Nora Hotel site at 1135 N. Railroad Avenue is in the Northwood/Pleasant City CRA District. It is about a mile south of Northwood Road in a straight line.

To confirm where a specific house sits, use its parcel record and the City's maps, not a listing's neighborhood label.

Area summary

What each row means, and what to verify before touring or offering:

• Setting: the area sits north of downtown West Palm Beach. On the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser site, a parcel control number starting with 74 is in the City of West Palm Beach.
• Houses: in each of the five residential historic districts, most single-family houses in the City's parcel data were built before 1950. The details are in the next section. Check the year built and the permit history for the specific house.
• Review: exterior work on a property in a local historic district goes through the City's Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) process. What's reviewed, and by whom, depends on the property and the work.
• Shops: the Northwood Road historic district is commercial. In the City's parcel data, 27 of its 40 parcels are classified as stores.
• Transit: the City's West Palm MOVE fixed route runs between Northwood Village and the Norton Museum of Art.
• Water: Northwood Harbor and Northboro Park include parcels on North Flagler Drive, the road along the Lake Worth Lagoon. Check the flood zone and elevation for the specific parcel.

The housing stock, by the numbers

The City's parcel layer carries the Property Appraiser's property-use class and year built. We counted single-family parcels whose centers fall inside each district, using data retrieved on September 23, 2026.

What else the same data shows:

• Construction years across these five districts run from 1915 to 2025. The share of houses built before 1950 ranges from 52% in Northwood Hills to 71% in Old Northwood. Newer houses exist too: 14 single-family parcels in Northwood Hills and 7 in Old Northwood show a year built of 2000 or later.
• Lot sizes: the median single-family lot runs from about 5,250 square feet in Northwood Harbor to about 6,700 in Old Northwood. In the three largest districts, the middle half of lots falls between roughly 5,100 and 7,600 square feet.
• Not only houses: Northwood Harbor has 92 parcels classified as small multifamily (fewer than five units), about a quarter of its parcels. The Northwood Road district is commercial.
• Architectural styles: the City's historic-structures layer labels each building's style. No single style is a majority in any residential district. Among contributing structures, the most common labels are Mission Revival (about a third in Old Northwood and in Northwood Hills), Minimal Traditional (about a third in Northwood Harbor) and Masonry Vernacular (the largest group in Northboro Park). Frame Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Bungalow and Ranch also appear.

These are district-level figures. They don't describe any single house. House size, alley access, lot shape and condition vary by property, so use the Property Appraiser record, a survey and an inspection for the one you're considering. Roof, plumbing, electrical, windows and past work are property-specific questions for your inspector and insurer, not something district data can predict.

Historic districts and what review covers

The City says it has 18 locally designated historic districts and 46 individually designated sites. Its historic preservation program reviews exterior work in them. In its historic-structures layer, the City classifies each building as contributing or noncontributing to its district. Some are still marked "to be determined."

These counts are existing structures in the City's layer that touch each district, excluding sheds and canopies, retrieved September 24, 2026. A single parcel can have more than one structure. Look up a specific property on the City's Historic Property Search map.

What the City's own guidance says, as of September 2026:

• A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for work that changes the exterior. The City doesn't review interior remodeling, and it doesn't regulate paint colors.
• The level of review depends on the scope of work. The City's COA approval matrix sorts work into permit review, staff review and Historic Preservation Board approval. Both contributing and noncontributing properties are reviewed, on all sides of the building.
• Additions: the City's FAQ says additions visible from the front that are under 10% of the existing footprint, and those not visible from the front that are under 20%, generally need only staff review. Larger work can go to the Board, which meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
• Materials depend on the building's style. For example, the City's guidance says a metal roof may suit a Craftsman, bungalow or frame vernacular house but not a Mission, Mediterranean or Ranch house. It also says vinyl windows and vinyl fences are generally not permitted in historic districts.
• Demolition of a building in a historic district needs Board review, and the City says contributing buildings are generally not approved for demolition.
• Yards: landscaping isn't subject to historic review, but fences, site walls, decks, patios, pergolas and sheds are reviewed by staff.
• Tax exemption: the City describes an ad valorem exemption on qualifying improvements to historic properties for up to ten years. It must be applied for before work starts.

Old Northwood and Northboro Park also have National Register of Historic Places district listings, whose boundaries may not match the local districts exactly. The National Park Service explains that listing alone doesn't restrict what private owners do with their property using private funds. The City's local designation is what triggers local review.

Before you budget exterior work, talk to the City's Planner on Call at (561) 822-1461 about the specific address and plan.

How individual properties differ

Two houses on the same street can differ in ways that matter for your purchase:

• Age and condition, including which systems have been replaced and when.
• Historic status: in a district or not, and contributing or noncontributing.
• Permitted work: whether past changes show up in City permit records.
• Lot configuration: size, shape, driveway and parking, and any alley.
• Adjacent land uses: commercial streets, the Broadway corridor, the CRA's industrial subarea, and approved projects. The City's CRA says construction on The District at Northwood, a mixed-use project at the west end of Northwood Village, began in February 2024. The CRA says it will extend Broadway from Northwood Road to 23rd Street and realign Pinewood Avenue.
• Routes: the streets, sidewalks and transit stops you would actually use.

Visit the property, and the routes you'd use, at the times that match your own routine.

Northwood Village: what's there

The Northwood Village website, linked from the City's CRA pages, keeps a directory of the district's businesses. It groups them into shops (art and antiques, fashion, home décor, specialty), dining (bars and nightlife, global cuisine, cafés and sweets) and services (beauty and wellness, building and renovation, creative and design, professional services). It also has a parking and directions page.

Restaurants we checked on their own websites on September 24, 2026 include Café Centro and Palm Beach Lobsters & Seafood on North Dixie Highway and Mestizo Fusion Cuisine on Northwood Road. Our West Palm Beach dining guide lists them with details.

The district's site describes Nights in Northwood Village as a free, quarterly event. Its 2026 posts cover editions in March and June, so check there for the next date.

Nearby on North Flagler Drive, the City has closed Currie Park for a redevelopment project. Check the City's page for its current status.

Getting around

• West Palm MOVE: the City's fixed route runs north and south between Northwood Village and the Norton Museum of Art, with stops at downtown/Clematis and CityPlace. As of September 2026, West Palm MOVE lists rides at $1, about every 10 minutes, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. App-booked on-demand rides are $2.
• Distance to downtown: Northwood Road is about 1.5 miles in a straight line from the east end of Clematis Street, measured between City parcel centers. Travel time depends on your route and the time of day.
• Other trips: check the specific routes and schedules you'd rely on, including Palm Tran bus service, from the address you're considering.

Property and location priorities to evaluate

Instead of asking whether the area "fits," weigh the specific property against your own priorities:

• How much historic review you're prepared to go through for the exterior changes you have in mind.
• The age and condition of the house's major systems, and your budget and timeline for any work.
• Lot size, parking and outdoor space.
• Flood zone, elevation and insurance cost for the specific parcel.
• What's next to the property now, and what's approved nearby.
• How you'd reach work, errands and services, by car, on foot, or on transit.

Before-you-buy checklist

This is a list of due-diligence steps, not legal, tax, insurance, construction or investment advice. Consult the appropriate licensed professionals for your situation.

1. Confirm the parcel, jurisdiction and designation. Look up the parcel on the Property Appraiser site (a number starting with 74 is the City of West Palm Beach), then check the City's Historic Property Search map for district and contributing status. 2. Review permits and inspection findings together. The City's Development Services records office holds permitting records and takes requests through its online portal. Compare what's on file with what your inspector finds. 3. Get insurance and flood information for the actual property. Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the City's flood information page, and get insurance quotes during your inspection period. 4. Confirm parking, access, utilities and zoning, and look for approved development nearby, including the CRA's project pages. 5. Review taxes on the Property Appraiser record and with the Tax Collector. Taxes can change after a sale, so estimate your own bill instead of relying on the seller's. 6. Plan exterior work with the City first. Ask the Planner on Call how your plans would be reviewed before you commit to a budget. 7. Check school assignment directly, if it matters to you, with the School District of Palm Beach County's Find My School address lookup. Boundaries can change. 8. Visit the property and the routes you'd use at the times that match your routine.

Where the numbers come from

Parcel counts, years built and lot sizes come from the City of West Palm Beach's parcel layer, which carries Property Appraiser data. District boundaries come from the City's historic district layer, and contributing status and style labels from its historic-structures layer. CRA subareas come from the City's CRA layers. All were retrieved September 23–24, 2026. Counts can shift as records are updated.

Related reading

• The West Palm Beach neighborhood guide compares the city's other historic districts.
• What it's really like living in West Palm Beach covers the city as a whole.
• The local guide covers services, parking and transit.
• The cost of living guide covers taxes, utilities and insurance.
• West Palm Beach vs nearby cities compares other towns.
• Current listings are on the West Palm Beach community page.