HomeMy WebLinkAbout1957-05-24 Florida Builders Convert Sand and Swamp Into Nucleus for New Town (Christian Science Monitor)L"+
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Real Estatem.Uullfflng T TE C RISTrAN ' SCIENCE 31'.Nl IT f
irtBu it altd
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ey.. oimliul
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r Coin eted
By Sue Fad
Special to The CAr s
M.West Palm Beach, Fla
This is the story of a town:
f
startedh with a $125 '000
h•.
j village hall, a city manager,
mayor, town council, police and. -.
y. I Are protection, •otection, before it had,
single resident,
Y ,, ... villageThe North Pa
f .- •:.:' Beach is a planned commurit,
built by two brothers, Richar&
y`'f s::
y
E. and Herhert A. Ross. They
turned four square miles of san
and swamp into a subdOislo
Jr r '
rc'• %::' '
r :Y {. i conforming to strict codes d t
1 -beauty and sanitation. It w
ready for action before a how
f, f.._: •..:,.:::. / " .. ;'x:' of building plot was offered td.
the public.
Residents now moving* int
the villagefind pa Tc,d streets,,
hal `
h r
fa e -.foot concrete sidev,-alks,
Sam. R. Quina; midi Raom se%vase connections, fire ht - '
The village of 'Forth Palm Reach fronts on and not a, temoorary flash like the land booth j Brants, and soft tti-ater already-,
1 provided and tree ofTakeWorth. Houses now +•ompleted or tinder of the 11920's. The village or toNvn halt can be
assess-.
mel ts.
construction ivere not starrteci aintil the, village i seen backing lap to the J ke in the background. The land lies along US High.- had been officially set up -with a torr hall, The North Palm Beach Country Club (below).
XX,av No. 1 north of the town. mayor. fire department. and other services. It built in the earlier boom liars (19.25), is beim' of Lake Park and about 12 milerisanothermajorindicationthattheFloridai
i
used by the nen%, developers as a nucleus for
north of West. Palm Beach. To,, . building boom is looking solidly into the future 1 present -da social activities. y the east of the highway, it bor-
ders Lake Worth. Some of the:
Flori-daG-) y r :' r
land «, as so low that proper,
ray
r'
r . ' / ,. j drainage had to be provided,
S e e S 1.00044000 River Widened
t 'J l '?,C'{',.rtr 'Y L: •r,,.. ?: f'•} l'•'
I'hP Farman R.ii-er, f1n;.-in
r t
r f. r.
fyj
th t nugt'l the property, is being
l,rr r , pe to T'l7P ('7?•tSt9!?11 '1'!r!1('F 3fnr, r1 °
f r ,r!/; , fr
r
J.. ' I ; 4 S rrwidenedto18ttfeetandgiven ae
f}h •'?<!r f' Jr 11, ,iWest _#alai Reach, Fla.
ti •{'{ryl.•iC . n •
r., f .:rv,;: f•E.y r?.• < /,
4' 'l //' .•:!• /%:'' .r '}'•' +
C. . ' w .xh. 16 -foot nal1depth, An eceptio r a. A
There seems to be no end to ?:
1:•al.•.. , . j,
f ;.. ,
r : 1;;,• ' ''?:f f,4: .;.f lo,.v spot is being' dredged to d
Florida's building n iThe w.,;•'.h. r, .:.`. r,,, <'. form two art.iiicial lakes and a
latest ar(-a to feet f1he consti•tic-- cnal mtlniCation 'anal flows inti
tion splurge is Palm Beach ;> `
f
l :L'•••. i'r l
the intracoastal water-wa v
which now h..as a pop- r:>- t
r .w • bom linor the propertyt on theCo+_int- P p Y
Illation of 1871394 as con-pared F.
north.
l 'These steps alone would have
with s
4 rr. 114,700 0111Y five yearsears . provided drainage from heavy
ago.
By 1971.5a special cerl us
t rainfall, but t•he builders added
rr s 41 inchasystemof41' -inch culverts
a, wormitteeapointectbyFlol' .L•
h f`% which preclude any standingGov. L,eiclas Roy Collins esti
r• water.
Fl..
rr ates that F alm u :. Beach Coun 1l cle I water at c1 sewage Bis_
tv s population will past pn..saI plants are aut,ol iacre10.000. .. lr Vater is pumped from 19 - 19-acre.
Pratt c- Whitney's derision to ,rr r
f.. >::..,s:,, area into a treatment plant. from
build a $42,000,000 et, ;, : j ermine four wells, each 55 feet deep,
plant. northwest of West. Palm The plant takes care of color,
Beach triggered the current odor, and hardness of water. The
rush of industry into this area. Y arca is hull headed against sarlr_
Air Products, in ,.-%, foll owed sur L:a>
fr[ - water intrusion and additional
l( 1S I1O I P1 '(_tin a plant 1Il
tr. •:Y: .• h ill: :`l `.N 1 • l r
f?}:, :.,r f.: •
i
wells will he sr.In1L a needed,''
4t tt//• thea Salliee l oca t I l n, i+ . y
i5 hs''' 7[r`y} !
J.:
J ,.F•
rG;.``4J;'•.
n.• Stn- . '•:ti / '.'J•i.- Yi%p':••' r J Furthermore, these buildii-i si - y;
Establishment of an 1,800- , t.. wo }•. ., J:rr•y=>L
ay.r., i:. :
r.,r ,.
4 ,; /
r ,. ,
r
r. :.
r.
f
y ys. h ` }' rJ•yCK ,4 I )tc 'esc Ile so that the sr_rr-. C , l t T7i
acre. Palm Beach Comity In , L r .i. L .^
tl itdi ,., area1IEa .1; a r e c ae a t i o n
dustriat District near ie Pratt :Va/r:.}
F•::Yh r.. -4 . y,.-' <<..,' {
r''.,:,
p•k which will a small
x.entt - s +l istost /. ':`.'
s •/
7
yl
J•' .,:'.,
Y
L.•
y1/`
tWhitnevlaunchingfieaproviding
mnVe in this county.
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r.
J.
whether or not livirrtresents,
AJA RMACH
BOSTON FRIDAA, AIAY "'14, V9 .5`7 Real Estatem=UulldlngW
Tfwamntoiucleusf -or lNe 01wil
N x.
jny aci ines, . ...... .
4
4 r
efore Hoines .. ....
Burkhardt
q n Science 'If onitor
n a waterway, i,ith access to
a k e Worth and the fishing' I,
11TOLRICtS of the Atlantic.
Ti-nmediately after the town
I'vRs chartered by a special ses-
Lsion of the Florida Legislature ----- ---
ji 1956 the brothers began con-
Aruction of the water- and sew- I John Volk-, Architect
ice systems. Their next step was To-viln functions revolve around the 'village It backs up to Lake Worth and fronts into theodonate10acresforapublichallofNorthPalmBeach, built in the one- village itself, like a mother hen watching overschoolsite. County school- archi-
Itects are draxving plans for story, ranch -type styling of the village homes. her brood. a
14 classroom building estimated
t!Or,.v of Palm Beach County 'petted to become a community, Florid, cost $294,000 and to become points nut that all
which chose the site for its ini- of 500 homes by the end of 19057. : buildings must be submitted to4,4 Part of the Palm Beach County
oublic school system. tial "Parade of Homes" last Oc- i Motels are to be erected along an architectural committee,
tober. Fifteen builders erected the highwav and a shopping cen- While there is regulation
Ifil
aquiring the property from. ion as to
3 lie estate of Sir Harry Oakes, 17 model homes, and since that'ter will be built on the south 'types there is not aset minimum
time 105 other homes have been side of the .barman r. ie builders also acquired for Rivc price for homes.
1 -t -he village a ready -made coun- completed or are now under There is also to be a professional The developers paid $31700.. construction. ry club built in 1925, All resi- 1 building to care for community ()00 for the land and tip to Tav
d1onts of the community are needs, but all commercial proj- of this vo-ar buil lings ereIac0ed
menibers of S1]0PP*11fr Center Slated `eCtS 'X7ill be strictiv s.-.arecrated. 4utomatically the came to a total of $1,52t.o7ll1-J.1ib with the use of all its facil- The village has a potential of according to Albin R. Olson) city Mr. Olson states that 'the ch;ar*
free of membership fees 3,300 homesites on a five- manager, who considers the
11 nnenl- year ter calls for all couric'
0.1-intil sometime in 1.958. In the community a distinct chal-
i 0
near future an Olympic swim-
construction plan. At present, lemge" and "a model for the
ers to be residents of the,
area and that, March, 19,39, hasMIrigpoolistobeaddedtothethepopulationis971but, -v%,hole country.1)
been set as the date for the first
t F
f RcJit'es v,hick now include an - bulldozers, graders asphalt Mr. Olson who holds a degree election.
8 -hole golf course.sprea leders and other mechanics of city, management in the Planning was done by Seward4FirstsalesoflandvreremadeconstantlygoaheadofbuildersSchoolofBusinessddministra- 1 H. Mott Associates of Washing - A, the Home Builders Associa- preparing for what is fully ex- tion from the University of ton D.C.
I II'M I I M
A typical North Palm Reach villag
the residential buildin ,
e 11orne is also typical nf low slanting nr flat roofs (many are tiled), a. wealth of zlass,
kr boom styling throtizhout Florida. 31ost
11
and garales or rarports, generally including extra space for - r toolofthestate's ne%v families insist on one -store construction with 1 houses, utility services, stall showers, laundries, and food fr"7,f-rs