RECENT STUDY SHOWS WALKABILITY ADDS VALUE TO A PROPERTY

Ceo’S FOR Cities, a national consortium of civic and business leaders, did a 2009 study and found that homes where you can walk to the supermarket and other stores, schools and parks will be valued at $4,000 to $34,000 more than those with less walkability where you have to drive to get to amenities.  The bigger, more urban the city, such as Miami, the higher value walkability adds.  Nearby public transportation also boosts value.

The study covered 94,000 real estate sales of comparable homes in 15 major markets. 

You can use Walkscore to rate the walkability of your home or a home you are considering purchasing. 

HAVE A GREAT TIME IN DELRAY BEACH

A PEEK AT DELRAY BEACH

Delray Beach is the type of coastal town that has it all: unobstructed beaches, shops, the restaurants and definitely, the entertainment.  A little bit for everyone to enjoy.  Delray does a great job with its festivals and fairs.  They close a main street and fill it to capacity with vendors, musicians and artists in a blink of an eye.  When is all over done with, it comes down just as fast as it went up. 

Come on downtown on Thursday, January 27^th for Art & Jazz On The Avenue.  Once a month, during the season, and on a Thursday from 6-10 pm, live musical entertainment is presented, On the Avenue.  Open house specials, and gallery exhibitions are will be browsed at the very least.  Even though it is On the Avenue, it will also extend to the SW 5th Avenue Plaza. 

Highlights will include:

• Florida Panthers’ Partymobile --- interactive games and the launch of the team’s new video game --- at the Delray Beach Magazine booth in the 300 block of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Palm Beach Makos and Cheerleaders in the 400 block of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Exhilarating skateboard course designed and constructed by Stoner Skateboards in the 600 block of East Atlantic Avenue;
• Sports clinics led by Atlantic High School sports leaders on the Great Lawn by Old School Square.
• City of Delray Beach Parks & Recreation sponsored dance and fitness demonstrations and performances led by the Delray Divas, Diamonds and Pearls and Delray Rocks and Cheerleaders Dance, also on the Great Lawn by Old School Square.
• Yankee great Roy White, the Roger Dean Stadium inflatable hitting bay and the Allianz golf hitting bay – all in Worthing Park.
• Representatives of the International Tennis Championships and the US Tennis Association in the 200 and 400 blocks of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Cycling on Your Mark in the 300 block of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Miss Geico 50-foot racing boat with jet turbine engine will be on display in the 500 block of East Atlantic Avenue and sports car along NE 1^st Avenue.
• Roaming Drew Tucker Stomp Band
• The Heavy Pets, a production of 102 Degrees, will be performing on the Old School Square Entertainment Pavilion with Stampede as the opening act. The concert will benefit Delray Beach’s Caring Kitchen through donations collected by volunteers. An after-party hosted by the new Pineapple Groove will start just after the concert.  
• Jim Kolvacik Trio in the 100 block of East Atlantic Avenue
• Groove Merchant and Atlantic High School Jazz Band on SE 4^th Avenue.
• Jazz Stream in the 400 block of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Al Johnson in the 500 block of East Atlantic Avenue.
• Visitors to the Vista BMW tent will be invited to register for a chance to win a new BMW 135i. Details will be available on site.
• Representatives of the Boca Artists Guild in the 100 East Atlantic block.
• Avalon Gallery at 425 E Atlantic Ave.
• Blue Coast Art Exhibit at 110 E Atlantic Ave.
• Blue Gallery at 600 E Atlantic Ave.
• Cacace Fine Art Studio & Gallery at 135 E Atlantic Ave.
• DeBilzan Gallery at 38 E Atlantic Ave.
• Delray Art & Framing at 321 E Atlantic Ave.
• Ford Fine Art at 235 NE 4^th Ave. #101
• Forms Gallery at 415 E Atlantic Ave.
• Kevro’s Gallery, Media Studio & Art Bar at 166 SE 2^nd Ave.
• Ora Sorensen Gallery at 445 E Atlantic Ave.

 Art & Jazz will extend to the SW 5^th Ave Plaza with entertainment from:

• Beacon Center first- and second-grade classes, creative dance team and Village Academy praise dancers.
• Creative dance team, Step Club and Drum Line of the Family Resource Center.

FREE ADMISSION!

THE GOOD NEWS: FALLING REAL ESTATE PRICES MAY ENCOURAGE BUSINESSES TO MOVE TO PALM BEACH COUNTY

 Palm Beach is 40^th on the list of top 55 cities of cheapest places to run a corporate headquarters.  The average age of Boca Raton residents is 42, and in Delray Beach is 44.

They were ranked by Boyd Company, Princeton, NJ, comparing the cost of running a hypothetical 75,000 sq ft office with 300 employees.  The first 3 on the list were New York, San Francisco and San Jose.  Orlando was #55.  

Boyd  Company helps many of America’s best-known companies plan real estate expansions and does surveys in many industries.

4th ANNUAL DOWNTOWN DELRAY BEACH ART SHOW

January 15th & 16th, 2011

Located on Atlantic Ave starting at US1 East over the Intracoastal Waterway all the way to A1A on the Atlantic Ocean. 

Browse, walk, observe and buy... enjoy the day in this fabulous "All American Town."  Stop in one of the eateries for some glorious food.  Mingle, people-watch, and talk to the artisans.

Lovely way to spend the day.


SEE VIDEO

UNIQUE HISTORIC LUFF HOUSE IN BOCA TO BE DEMOLISHED?

LUFF HOUSE IN THE 1920'S

 LUFF HOUSE TODAY

 

Foreclosed on last January 2010, the Luff House at 390 East Palmetto Park Road is one of the city’s earliest bungalow-style homes, one of Boca Raton’s 10 oldest surviving structures.  Not wanting to maintain the house, the current owners want it off the property by the end of the year or demolished.

 

The house was built in the early 1920’s using coral rock, unique to South Florida.  The exterior appearance has changed over the years as you can see in the two pictures above. With no historic designation for the house, the owners can demolish the house if they wish, but the Boca Raton Historical Society feels it is important enough to be relocated and used.

 

Suggestions for a new location include Sugar Sand or Spanish River Park, if the historical society or someone else could have it moved.  Cost is estimated for the move at $175,000.  Eligible for state and federal grants, such as from the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation, those funds have dwindled as the economy has.  

 

Perhaps a group within the area will agree that this property is steeped in historical value and worth saving and reusing, and find funding to get this gem moved and used as an educational facility or for their own personal use.  It has been occupied by several businesses – antiques, watches, jewelers, and was the home of community agencies such as the Junior Service League and first home of the Boca Raton Historical Society.  

 

Anyone interested in helping can contact the Boca Raton Historical Society at (561) 395-6766, extension 106.

NEW MAJOR ARTS HUB COMING TO DELRAY BEACH

Long known as a walkable trendy downtown area with emphasis on the creative works of a large variety of artists, now planning for a February 2011 opening, the 5500 sq ft Arts Garage is being built on the grounds of the Old School Square 531-space parking garage  at 180 NE 1st Street.  An artists community already long exists in Delray Beach, e.g. musicians who perform along Pineapple Grove Way, marketing and public relations computer savvy students who help the artists, actors who are performing in local productions and painters who work on their canvases.

 In 2006, the Creative City Collaborative resulted from a $50,000 study detailing the importance of the arts as an economic engine and agent of revitalization, and is just awakening from dormancy.  It is a nonprofit organization whose executive director and staff and the finishing of the interior space are funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency.   Live and musical performances, foreign and documentary films, classes and workshops are being planned.  There will be musical theatre classes for children. A schedule of events and classes will be announced soon.

 The Collaborative was created by the City Commission to foster the arts, and will occupy this city-owned building.  Bays will be created for workshops, exhibit space and a performing arts stage.  It is being planned as an “open place with open doors.” This will be a pilot project for a warehouse owned by CRA on NE 3^rd Street which the Collaborative plans to turn into an arts incubator. 

 Artists who would like to participate are encouraged to contact the Collaborative.  Email garage@delraybeacharts.org for further information.

THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE in PALM BEACH

Pioneer Day at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Palm Beach is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, 2011 from 1-3 pm.  Check with the Preservation Foundation at  561-832-0731. It is now home to a program of Palm Beach’s living history taking children back in time for a mini-day in a one-room school of the 1890’s, home to The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.

The Little Red Schoolhouse is in Phipps Ocean Park in Palm Beach, 2185 South Ocean Drive in Palm Beach.  Refurbished in 1960 by the Gardeners Society of Palm Beach and the Town of Palm Beach, it remained unused until 1990 when it became part of the pioneer education program.  Education in America’s one-room schoolhouses stressed discipline, moral values and “the 3 R’s.”  Visiting students today participate in a spelling bee, trace Spencerian script and recite from Tom Sawyer, Little Women, The Ancient Mariner and McGuffey’s Readers.  Period artifacts are also part of the pioneer educational experience.

Starting with seven students in 1886, there were 35 students by the 1880’s.  The schoolhouse was located about a mile north of the Royal Poinciana Bridge on Lake Trail in Palm Beach.  Children arrived by boat, bicycle or on foot from Lake Worth families and were all taught together in one room.  The school ceased operation in 1901 and became a tool shed on the John S. Phipps property, falling into decline and deterioration in future years.  

Preserving past educational history and its artifacts is so important to the school children of today.  There are interesting positive lessons to learn from the past.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE COLONY HOTEL AND CABANA CLUB IS DESIGNATED AS A HISTORIC HOTEL

 

 With its distinctive Mediterranean architecture and yellow exterior sporting red and yellow striped awnings that shade the guest rooms and hotel frontage, the 1926 Delray Beach Colony Hotel, located on trendy downtown Atlantic Avenue, recalls the romantic Flagler era and the talents of Addison Mizner, a grand period indeed.   The Hotel is smack dab in the middle of many boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants ranging from ethic to fine dining.  Lunch on the front porch can become a ritual.

The original manually operated elevator remains, along with original candelabras and chandeliers.  The lobby features French Doors and a wood burning fireplace.

Many weekends there are arts and/or crafts fairs and green markets to browse, off Atlantic Avenue.  Some nights jazz drifts though the area to the distinct pleasure of diners eating outside at sidewalk cafes.  What could be more relaxing or romantic?

The ocean and beautiful white sandy beach are only 5 blocks walk heading east.   The Colony Cabana Club, a private beach club located two miles from the hotel, where seagrapes, coconut palms and native flora sway in the breezes of the Atlantic. Hotel guests have use of 250 feet of private beach with complimentary umbrellas, cabanas and chaises,  right on the beach. 

The emphasis is on casual, but this is a sophisticated, worldly, enticing environment. 

DECEMBER 26 & 27, 2010 HEAD TO 4TH ANNUAL DELRAY BEACH HOLIDAY ART & CRAFT FAIR

Delray Beach will hold the next Art & Craft Fair in Pineapple Grove, north on NE 2^nd off Atlantic Avenue, from 10 am to 5 pm.   More than 100 booths will be featured.   Items to browse and purchase will include some of the finest arts and crafts in the US e.g. life sized sculptures, paintings, handmade jewelry, pottery and some very unique treasures.  Don’t miss the adjacent crafters market place with handmade body products, beautiful candles, wood plant holders and an expansive green market.

Show is now closed in jewelry category and only wait list applications will be accepted for this category.

Exhibitor parking is at City Hall on NW 1^st Avenue.  Both size is 10’x10’ but a double space may be available too.  For show fees email info@artfestival.com

DESPITE FORECLOSURES, COOL WEATHER, RAMPANT UNEMPLOYMENT - NOW SEE THE GOOD NEWS!

NOTE THAT OUR PART OF FLORIDA

RANKS HIGH IN LIFE EXPECTANCY!

NEW APPRAISAL GUIDELINES FROM FEDERAL RESERVE

A joint version of property appraisal guidelines was released 12-6-2010 by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration.  It is expected that this will be the final version.

Appraisal independence is cited, with lenders exchanging information with appraisers, but not being able to “directly or indirectly coerce, influence, or otherwise encourage an appraiser or a person who performs an evaluation to misstate or misrepresent the value of the property.”  Lenders cannot tell appraiser of any expected or qualifying estimate of value, nor mention a minimum value requirement for approval or condition of the valuation being ordered.  Lenders can’t tie compensation to appraiser to loan approval, nor blacklist an appraiser if valuations do not meet expected thresholds.

BPOs (broker price opinions) do NOT comply with minimum appraisal standards.

OH MY, WHAT IS THERE TO DO?

Head over to the Delray Art League Show: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on weekends, Dec. 11, 12 , 18, and 19 at Veterans Park, 802 NE First St., Delray Beach. Free. 561-843-2311. Note that the cruise boats leave from the pier in Veterans Park for a delightful trip up and down the Intracoastal Waterway, viewing gorgeous mansions and luxury condos.

Narrated Bus Tours of Historic Delray Beach: Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History. Registration 10 a.m., departure 11 a.m. Dec. 18 from Boynton Beach Mall, 801 N. Congress Ave. Adults/seniors $15; under 18 free. delraybeachbustours.org; 561-243-2662.

ADDITIONS COMING TO BOCA RATON REGIONAL HOSPITAL

BRRH has received a $10M donation from business woman Christine E. Lynn and is developing the Christine E. Lynn Womens Health & Wellness Institute with this donation.  Another donation will enable renovation and updating of the orthopedic rooms beginning in early 2011.

Some revenue slid IN 1Q 2010 because the hospital started a discount program for uninsured patients who now get 50% off gross charges at the hospital.  With uninsured patients paying smaller bills, there was less bad debt on the hospital’s books.  The loss was less than the same quarter last year which was $4.1M.

Typically, 3Q is the slowest part of the year for admissions as more patients are seen when the snowbirds are in the area in the winter months.

FORMER SEA HORSE BATH & TENNIS CLUB IN GULF STREAM AREA WILL HAVE NEW CONDOS

The first new planned condo in Palm Beach County is set to begin construction at 4001 North Ocean on A1A along the beach.    This is prime beachfront   property and only 2 ½ miles north of the bustling dining, arts, cultural and entertainment trendy downtown Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue, and near Gulf Stream.

The builder will use in-house contractors and local subcontractors as well.  There will be 34 condo units in the 6-story building, each about 3000 sq ft and priced betweent $1.4MM and $3MM.  Four separate villas will be built on the west side of A1A priced similarly but 4000 sq ft with 2-car garages.

Featured will be 10’ ceilings, glass and hurricane-resistant constructions, and delivery is expected in early 2013.  The Grand Opening is planned for mid-January 2011 and needs 10 to 12 contracts to”go vertical.”  Three are reported already sold.