Florida Builders Convert Sand and Swamp Into Nucleus for New Town (article) (Christian Science Monitor) 5-24-57L"+
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Real Estatem.Uullfflng T TE C RISTrAN ' SCIENCE 31'.Nl IT f
irt
Bu it altd
:J
ey.. oimliul
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Coin eted
By Sue Fad
Special to The CAr s
,'
M.West
Palm Beach, Fla
This is the story of a town:
�+�f
..
.:. ..>�� ..started
h 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 ,, .�..
village The 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 of
Take Worth. 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 miler
is another major indication that the Florida i
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'{',�.r tr 'Y
-:L: •r,,.. �?�: �f'•}� l'•'
'I'hP Farman R.ii-er, f1n�;.-in
.
r t
r f. � r.
/
'fy�j
.
th t nugt'l the property, is being
l,rr r ,
pe to T'l7P ('�7?•tSt9!?11 �'1'!r!1('F 3fnr, r
1 °
f r ,r!/; , fr
r J.. '
+I ;� 4 S
rr
widened to 18tt feet and given a
e
> < :f}h •'?<!r f' Jr 11, ,i
West _#alai Reach, Fla.
�,. }.�.•:ti •{�'{ryl.•�iC . n •
r., �f .:rv,;: f•E.y r?.�• < /,
4' 'l //' .•:!• /%:'' .r '}'•' +C��. .� '�
w .xh.
16 -foot nal1 depth, 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 property t 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 years
ears �.
.
� provided drainage from heavy
ago.
By 1971.5a special cerl�us
,.,
t rainfall, but t•he builders added
rr� s
41
-inch
a system of 41' -inch culverts
a�, w
o r mittee ap ointect by Flol' .L•
.;� � .�.,. /
h f`%
which preclude any standing
Gov. L,e
icla s 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�iacre
1 0.000. �..
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 Sallie
e 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 s
i - y;
Establishment of an 1,800- , t..
wo }•. .,
, J:rr•y=>L
•,• •a
��.; y.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 �T
' `• .'...!7i
acre. Palm Beach Comity In ,� L���
/�'�
. r .i. L �.^
tl itdi ,�., area
1IEa .1; a r e c ae a t i o n
dustriat District near ie Pratt :V
:�� a/�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/`
��tWhitnev
launching fi ea providing
mnVe in this county.
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r.�J.
whether or not livirrtresents,
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'AJA RMACH
BOSTON� FRIDAA, AIAY "'14, V9 .5`7
Real Estatem=Uulldlng
W
Tf
wam nto i ucleus f -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 the
o donate 10 acres for a public hall of North Palm Beach, built in the one- village itself,
like a mother hen watching over
:school site. 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 to
4,4 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 ere
I a c0ed
menibers of S1]0PP*11fr Center Slated �`eCtS '�X7ill be strictiv s.-.arecrated.
;4utomatically the
came to a total of $1,52t.o7ll
1-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, has
MIrig pool is to be added to the the population is 971 but, -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 le ders and other mechanics of city, management in the Planning was done by Seward
4 First sales of land vrere made constantly go ahead of builders School of Business ddministra- 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 tool
of the state's ne%v families insist on one -store construction with 1 houses, utility services, stall showers, laundries, and food fr"7,f-rs