Everywhere we look in Palm Beach County from Boca Raton
to the county’s northern outer reach areas, there is new development going on
bringing new jobs, new businesses, and sooner or later, new residents. That says a lot about the improvement in our
economy when billionaires and millionaires are “putting their monies where
their mouth is.”
Minto Communities is planning a big family-oriented development
with a 6 square mile footprint that they have named Westlake, which they say
will have an economic impact of $1BB (Yes, BILLION) over the next 20
years. The property is on Seminole Pratt
Whitey Road in The Acreage. To compare,
they say it will be slightly larger than the city of Lake Worth. Plans include 4546 single family and town homes
(which may generate $34MM in property tax revenue), 2.1 MM sq ft of commercial
development, a 3,000-student university and a 150-unit hotel. This all will be built on 3800 acres north of
Okeechobee Boulevard.
Impact revenue fee revenues will be generated by Westlake
amounting to $58.7MM, with about $42MM for raods and $7.5MM for schools. Environmental considerations include natural areas and open spaces will occupy over 55% of
the property with over 240 acres of parks, 600 acres of lakes and 15 miles of
walking and biking trails. A Town Center
will be the social hub.
Those in favor say it is orderly planned grow that will
proved a needed economic boost to the area.
The nay-sayers describe it as a traffic-choking idea. Good for you, Minto, to plan to widen about
two miles of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road which will cost them $12MM over the
next 18 months. Some say that people
moved to the area to enjoy a rural lifestyle, but sooner or later this and
other projects will make the area busy and overcrowded. Total build out time is estimated to be a
decade. With ground breaking estimated
to start in 90 days, residential sales may begin in early 2017.
There is, naturally, both concern and happiness about a
forthcoming GL homes community, the
Indian Trails Grove project, where 4,000 homes are planned be built on a
3,900-acre tract not far from Westlake.
With over 1000 people a
day coming to visit Florida, many of whom will want to move to Palm Beach
County, we need to respect and accept progress.
Expansion and new homes and businesses must go west and north to find
tracts of land to build on.
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