Palm Beach Post, May 26, 2006

May 26, 2006, Palm Beach Post, County clears way for major project at Callery-Judge, By Mitra Malek.

This will be an illustrative portfolio of real estate projects which uses all available public information on this actual Palm Beach County project. Information required for portfolio (city building) simulation which is not publicly available will be estimated based on similar projects. Thus our illustrative economic model will not have any proprietary information and can be given to anyone. Our model might show a complex $3 billion development spread over a decade or two.

A massive development project that could have 10,000 homes and span 5 miles won approval from Palm Beach County commissioners Thursday, even though it clashes with growth plans the same commission adopted last year.

With a 5-2 vote, commissioners sent Callery-Judge Grove's proposal to the state for feedback. The project would spread across the 3,900-acre Loxahatcheecitrus grove and would include a hotel, a golf course, a college campus and millions of square feet for shops and businesses. Callery-Judge's width is equal to the distance from Okeechobee Boulevard and Florida's Turnpike to CityPlace in downtown West Palm Beach.

State planners will comment on the plans and in several months report to commissioners, who will consider the state's opinion, then vote on specifics of the project — including how big it can be and how many homes, offices and shops it can have, points of concern for opponents.

The proposal approved Thursday's asked specifically for road and land-use changes. Without them, the grove could build fewer than 400 homes and no shops or businesses.

"I'm 100 percent against the plan," Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti said. "People not from the area don't realize the limitations of this area as far as traffic."

Masilotti, who represents the district where the grove is located, and Commissioner Karen Marcus voted against the proposal.

County engineers had hoped to present commissioners with a regional study of traffic impact for Callery-Judge and other projects expected nearby atthe former Indian Trail Groves, Vavrus Ranch and land owned by Boca Raton-based EB Developers. About 25,000 homes could be in the pipeline.

"I don't see how we can make a decision without that," Marcus said. "This is a big, big deal."

The only traffic information the board had in hand — which county engineers didn't entirely agree with — showed about 113,000 new daily trips in and out of the grove.

But other commissioners stressed that sending the grove's plan to the state wouldn't seal the deal. Instead, it would get the ball rolling.

"We're at a time where we need to start planning for these parcels out there," Commissioner Mary McCarty said. "Certainly the growth patterns in this area were a mistake in the past."

The county's recently adopted growth plan was supposed to fix the messy growth in the county's central-western area. The "sector plan" was supposed to create town hubs and regulate traffic, among other things. But the state hasn't signed off on it.

Also, lawyers for environmental groups have lined up to challenge the plan, while attorneys for developers are preparing to defend it during a hearing scheduled for July.

Thursday's decision may further muddy the waters.

If county commissioners give final approval to Callery-Judge's proposal, likely to be discussed just after the July hearing, the sector plan may become moot, County Planning Director Lorenzo Aghemo said.

Under the sector plan, Callery-Judge would be allowed to build just under 3,100 homes.

Neighboring residents were infuriated that the project trumped seven years of work on the sector plan, which included town meetings and focus groups.

"We had a sector plan we wanted," Loxahatchee Groves resident Rita Miller said. "We put our hearts and souls into it."

Thursday's vote, they said, made it easier for commissioners to OK the project in the end. "They're not going to give it a hard time," Loxahatchee Groves resident Joan Shewmake said.

Callery-Judge officials said the vote meant something different to them.

"I think one message that came through is that the form of development matters," grove attorney Bob Diffenderfer said. "Things like housing, education and jobs... may be more important than traffic."

Callery-Judge's project would include about 2,000 affordable homes, as required under county guidelines.

Townhouses, single-family homes and apartments are designed around a town center, one that ideally will include jobs ranging from restaurant work to biotech research. Few businesses are now in that area. The 60,000 or so Loxahatchee area residents travel miles to catch a movie or shop for groceries.

Some say they like the country living. Others want a dry cleaner nearby.

Callery-Judge has agreed to pay for construction of several schools on its property, saving taxpayers $90 million. County school officials said it was the first time a developer made such an offer.

E-Mail

Page Top

HomePage