Royal Palm Beach green lights apartment complex on State Road 7

By BOB MARKEY II
Neighborhood News Group
Posted Sept. 7, 2011

The Royal Palm Beach Village Council happily approved a long-sought agreement between owners of almost 30 acres of former agricultural property and a developer to build a 268-unit multi-family apartment complex west of State Road 7 and south of Southern Boulevard.

The approval brings to an end a fight between owners of the land and residents of the adjacent Victoria Groves subdivision. Residents of the subdivision had objected to the density and lack of amenities of the project, which will abut their homes.

A small group of property owners in the old neighborhood called The Enclave have tried to rezone and sell the property for years, following a decade of development of strip shopping centers, banks, eateries, a major car wash, the single-family Victoria Groves and its adjacent multi-family Shoma Homes development.

The size of the project was cut from 333 units during negotiations.

Mattioli said he was happy the deal – years in the works – was finally completed.

“Good job,” Valuntas said.

Councilman Fred Pinto questioned the reduction of unit sizes from 1,000 to 800 square feet for one-bedroom units, from 1,200 to 1,000 square feet for two-bedrooms and from 1,350 to 1,250 square feet for three-bedrooms.

Bradford O’Brien, senior planner, said open space and amenities for outside living space would offset the reduction of the square footage of the “luxury” units.

The sizes are “very well accepted nationwide for luxury apartments,” Collins said.

“This is a miracle,” Councilwoman Martha Webster said. “I think it’s just wonderful.”

Archstone, the proposed developer, has 180 days to buy the land from the residents, who had been angry that their land was annexed into the village with a low-density designation, despite the building of commercial projects all around them.

The residents will now likely receive what they believe is the full value of their land.

“Hopefully it’s going to be win-win for everybody involved,” Valuntas said.