HomeMy WebLinkAbout1956-11-11 Now It Takes Millions to Subdivide the Land (Miami Herald)VILLAGE — DEVELOITENT AND
HSSTOPY — #1 (no.7)
Sunday, November 11, 1f56 THE MIAMI HERALD 3•F
[NowIt Thkeslllillions to Subdivide the Land
NORTH PALM BEACH DEVELOPERS ARE PROUD OF THEIR 'SEWAGE PLANT THE PARADE OF HOMES PUT UP BY PALM BEACH COUNTY BUILDERS
, state health officials call it one of the finest inthe nation .. , gives you an idea how the village is going to develop
s
r
r
RI
11
The Price Is High
But So's the Goal
By FREDERIC SHERMAN
Herald Real Estate Editor
WE HAVE COME a long way here
in South. Florida when a land developer
and builder kicks off a new project with
the following quote from Thomas Adams,
the British architect
who died in 1940:
"A home is not a
detached unit but a
part of a neighbor-
hood, which in turn
becomes a town; and
the good quality of
the home usually de-
pends at least ',as
much on its sur-
roundings as on its
design and construc-
tion. Hence the vital
importance of
ground planning and control of the devel-
opment of neighborhoods.
It doesn't sound like it could happen
here, but it has at the Village of North
Palm Beach . which is being developed
by Herbert and Richard Ross.
The 1,200 acres lying across U.S. 1
some three miles north of Palm Beach
can be pointed to as the model for future
development in Florida:
I hope we can afford it, because. de-
velopment of this type comes high.
* * *
PRICE OF THE LAND was $3,700,000.
The Ross brothers bought it last Novem-
ber from John MacArthur, the Chicago in-
surance man who is a major investor in
South Florida real estate.
Another $1 million has been poured
into a water and sewage treatment sys-
tem that is among the finest in the coun-
try.
Seward H. Mott Associates of Wash-
ington were called in to design a residen-
tial community in what once was the Har-
ry Oakes estate. The planning has yielded
3,500 homesites, about half of them on
canals and waterways that will connect
with the Intracoastal Waterway, Earman
River and Lake Worth.
SHERMAN
The Ross brothers have been build-
ing homes in South Florida for six years.
In this project they are acting as land de-
'velopers and will sell lots to individual
builders.
Price on a 75 by 100-foot minimum lot
is $3,000, figured at $40 a front foot.
There are about 500 of these available
now. Streets on the first section are in
and these are of asphaltic concrete, so
maintenance should be no problem f o r
years to come.
Waterfront lots are going to run from
$6,500 to about $9,000, with. the highest
prices going on Lake Worth frontage.
* * *
THE DEVELOPERS originally h a d
figured this as a five-year project, ,but
that $42 million Pratt and Whitney engine
plant going up in Palm Beach County
should cut that time by two years. Engi-
neers coming down to staff the new plant
makes a minimum of $6,000 a year and
they are prime prospects for home build-
ers. Houses are expected to fall into a
range of $16,000 to $38,000, similar to
the prices posted for Parade of Homes
erected on the property last month by the
Home Builders Assn. of Palm Beach
County. -
A 10-acre tract, has been set aside for
a school. The town's administration is
nearing completion.
One thing certain to appeal to home
buyers is the 18-hole golf course and
country club that now exists at the north
edge of the village. It willbe operated ' —
pay -as -you -play until the area fills up.
Then the residents will have it on a
membership basis.
In the future are a marina and an 80-
acre shopping center.
The Ross brothers surveyed the nation
for the best in deed restrictions to assure.
respect for property values. There will be
architectural control over the houses
which must be a minimum of 1,200 square
feet.
It all adds up to a $20 million solid in-
vestment in the future of South Florida.
Aavdal7 mend H0V3a W1Vd HANOM