Palm Beach north to the Treasure Coast offers a laid-back lifestyle in a seaside paradise
by Peter Lioubin
FLORIDA'S TREASURE
Palm Beach has long had a reputation as the winter playground of the world's most affluent and well-heeled individuals. But the fabled island of Palm Beach, with its building restrictions, stratospheric prices and limited land on which to build, is becoming less and less of an option for second-home buyers. Indeed, many potential buyers are looking north, where the lifestyle is equally glamorous and the real estate options are plentiful.
Singer Island, another barrier island on the north side of the Palm Beach Inlet, is a completely different world from its neighbor to the south. Equally pristine and green, Singer Island offers luxury high-rise options, something Palm Beach lacks by design. For years, Singer Island was a sleepy village with a few condo towers, but a recent development boom is changing all that. Now, megaluxury condominiums are dominating the landscape.
Dan Catalfumo, president of Catalfumo Construction & Development, was one of the first developers to get into the act. Catalfumo is building 2700 North Ocean on eight acres of oceanfront. The project, he says, will be the only one with unobstructed views of the water and island of Palm Beach. "No one can build on the south side of us and block the view," he says. "It's the only southeast exposure that is uninterrupted." The units are priced up to $6 million and are 60 percent sold.
Also coming to Singer Island is a new residential concept. Amrit Resort & Residences will feature luxury residences with a wellness focus. The complex will encompass an Aveda spa and an outpost of the Pennsylvania-based Himalayan Institute, which offers yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, breathing classes, and other spiritual and holistic practices. The property will also include a private beach club-the only one on the island-and a boutique hotel. Residential offerings will include condominiums, priced from $1.1 million, and beachfront villas averaging 4,000 square feet, priced from $5 million.
The reason for the resurgence in Singer Island's popularity is twofold. First, it is one of few beaches that keeps growing rather than shrinking, due to its location and favorable currents that dump more sand onto the beach. The charmed location gives owners the ability to enjoy beachfront living and deep-water activities while enjoying the relaxed pace of an island lifestyle.
Another reason Singer Island is so hot is the development boom in the north end of Palm Beach County. Palm Beach Gardens has grown into a bona fide destination, with shopping that rivals that of Worth Avenue and a popular new mixed-use project called Downtown at the Gardens. In the coming years, the biotechnology giant Scripps will be relocating to the area, bringing even more growth.
But the growth doesn't stop there. Further north, on Florida's Treasure Coast (so named because of the abundance of sunken Spanish galleons), are some of the nation's most rapidly growing regions. Port St. Lucie, for example, the population has jumped from 150,000 in 1990 to more than 241,000 in 2005, and the upward trend is continuing, according to Chamber of Commerce statistics. "Port St. Lucie is probably the hottest real estate market in South Florida," says J.R. Congdon, director of club operations for Tesoro Club, a luxury residential development in Port St. Lucie. "From a lifestyle standpoint, this is the destination everyone is coming to. Folks are relocating from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach."
Development in Port St. Lucie has typically appealed to the middle class, but new communities like Bobby Ginn's Tesoro are altering the equation. The master-planned development will encompass 886 homesites with golf and/or lake views, priced from $400,00 to $700,00-plus, in several distinct neighborhoods. Homes will cost an additional $500,000 to $5 million.
The most impressive element promises to be the 60,000-square-foot clubhouse. The massive building will offer seven dining venues, a spa and fitness center, 11 Har Tru tennis courts, croquet lawn, and salon, all overlooking a 120-acre lake and 45 holes of golf. The community will also feature jogging and bicycling paths, and, eventually, an oceanfront beach club. Service is also a priority. Tesoro will offer everything from planning a private party to lining up a handyman.
"We're in a class of our own," says Congdon. "Tesoro has opened up a whole new market for Port St. Lucie."
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FLORIDA'S TREASURE Cont...
Also in Port St. Lucie is a new "town" called Tradition. Modeled after a quaint, family-friendly small town, Tradition will offer services, shops, dining, children's activities, a spring training field for the New York Mets, a corporate park, green spaces, and a town square, all within the confines of this sprawling community. Some 600 homes are already occupied, and another 1,600 are under contract. At build-out, Tradition will encompass 7,000 residences built over 3,000 acres.
A bit further north, in Vero Beach, the lifestyle is very sophisticated despite the village-by-the-sea atmosphere. Communities such as Windsor, where Prince Charles comes every year to play polo, draw the crème de la crème of society-mainly aristocrats who crave privacy and a quiet, low-key environment. Design by New Urbanism pioneers Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Windsor offers a Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed golf course, tennis courts designed by Stan Smith, an extensive equestrian center, a gun club with sport clays, a beach club and world-class polo. Homesites here cost from $300,000 to $4.5 million, with homes ranging from $1.4 million to $15 million. No more than 350 homes will be constructed.
What makes Vero Beach so attractive? The lifestyle, says Matilde Sorensen, co-owner of Dale Sorensen Real Estate. "It's very low-key," she explains. "Life here feels like a vacation. We don't have the social things you have in Palm Beach, and if you want nightlife, Vero Beach wouldn't really be for you. We're more casual here."
Vero's population isn't as large as that of other parts of South Florida-and that's what residents like about it. "We're like what Naples was 25 years ago," Sorensen says. "We have all the charm, but not the population. We don't have high-rises. Our limit is three floors. We're low density, but we have some wonderful civic offerings like a museum of art, a theater, a children's theater, and great exhibitions. Plus, it's so safe. People don't even lock their cars."
The main focus of Vero Beach's development is quality, not quantity. Exclusive communities like Grand Harbor and Orchid Island offer superb amenities for a select few. Grand Harbor features two golf courses, one by Joe Lee and the other by Pete Dye, and an impressive clubhouse with fitness center and a variety of dining options. Tennis courts and a beach club complete the picture.
At this 1,300-acre community, real estate offerings include town houses, condominiums and estate homes. At Grand Harbor's new neighborhood of River Village, prices begin at just under $1 million. At The Falls, another new Grand Harbor development, homes are priced from the $400,000s.
At Orchid Island, a village atmosphere and community spirit are paramount. The homes are designed to look like classic West Indian structures. Natural areas, including a pristine riverfront and preserves, abound. And thanks to a low-density development plan, neighbors get to know neighbors. It feels like the Florida of yesteryear, only more sophisticated. The Beach Club, golf courses, and sporting facilities encourage a genteel lifestyle of leisure. Prices begin at $1.3 million.
Despite all the new development, these communities are maintaining a quaintness that is becoming more and more attractive to those tired of the hustle and bustle of big-city life. "Most of our buyers are coming from New York City, Chicago and South Florida," says Sorensen. "There is a constant exodus from there to here. The good thing about this area is there is a limit to how much we can grow. That's a big plus for people who want a low-key, but luxurious, lifestyle."
SOURCES:
2700 North Ocean,
(877) 350-2700, www.2700northocean.com;
Amrit Resort & Residences,
(877) 267-4811, www.amrit.com;
Grand Harbor,
(877) GRD-HRBR, www.grandharbor.com;
Orchid Island,
(800) 910-3888, www.orchidislandrealty.com;
Tesoro Club,
(888) 297-3339, www.tesoroclub.com;
Tradition,
(800) ST-LUCIE, www.traditionfl.com;
Windsor,
(800) 233-7656, www.windsorflorida.com
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