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West Palm Beach Real Estate, West Palm Beach Houses, Grandview Heights, Flamingo Park, Sunshine Park, West Palm Beach, El Cid, Old Norhwood
It's more fun on the mainland: from great antiques shopping to steamy bar-hopping, this Florida city is heating up.
West Palm Beach and its more ballyhooed neighbor, the golden isle of Palm Beach, have long been locked in a symbiotic—if occasionally antagonistic—relationship. Palm Beach prides itself on privacy, discretion, and stone-cold snobbery; its neighbor, immersed in a billion-dollar boomtown period, is proud to flaunt its monuments of commerce. Still, West Palm has plenty of historic neighborhoods—El Cid, Prospect Park, the Mango Promenade—with beautiful 1920's Mediterranean-Revival, Frame Vernacular, and Florida Bungalow architecture. One heiress of my acquaintance, with an impeccable background, rebelled and moved to the mainland to escape the psychic baggage and staid cocktail-party circuit. Unlike the island, with its short, seasonal pageant, West Palm Beach is a town for nesting (antiques shopping, house hunting, and money saving). It's the ultimate in tropical chic on a budget, Palm Beach without all the fuss.
Urban redevelopment is no longer the exclusive province of real estate titans. Many of New York City’s “glitterati” are entering the field by purchasing small homes in West Palm Beach historic districts. During the past several months, writers, designers, publishers and other boldface names have been acquiring houses in Sunshine Park, Flamingo Park and Grandview Heights—further driving up prices in these already up-and-coming neighborhoods. Tiffany’s design director, John Loring, already owns three houses in the Sunshine Park area. “One for me,” he explains, “a nearby one for my guests—and another because it has a swimming pool.”
BIG NAMES MOVE IN
So, who’s buying? Noted New York attorney Michael Kennedy, for one. Author/editor/photographer Alexandra Penney is another. Designer Alan Reyes, marketing geniuses Lisa and Michael Schultz, former Random House chief Howard Kaminsky—and the list keeps growing. Socialite Lady Sharon Sondes and her companion, Geoffrey Thomas, recently purchased a large home in the nearby Orchard Estate section. Architectural Digest editor Paige Rense, who certainly has a keen eye for trends, recently bought an apartment nearby in West Palm Beach as she awaits completion of her new home on Murray Avenue in SoSo (South of Southern Blvd.).
The historic districts driving this part of the West Palm Beach renaissance boast different histories, which give each its own particular appeal. Tucked further from downtown West Palm Beach than Grandview Heights, Sunshine Park and Flamingo Park experienced their rebirths first. Blessed with beautiful Mediterranean Revival style houses from the 1920’s, Flamingo Park’s housing stock captured the attention early on.
North of Flamingo Park, with its top edge partially abutting the new convention center, Grandview Heights took longer to come alive. But the area has taken off in the last couple of years. The majority of the housing stock is craftsman-style bungalows, with a smattering of Spanish and Mission-style architecture, too. Howard Park, sited along the neighborhood’s western edge, is another asset.
THE BIG PICTURE
Of course, beyond advantages like strength of existing architecture, the revival of downtown West Palm Beach and the creation of CityPlace deserves some credit for the boom in these historic districts. It’s safe to predict the trendsetters just now moving into these areas will be popular guests for hostesses on the Island (Palm Beach) who want to add wit to their dinner table conversations next season. By then, it’s likely there will be many more interesting Manhattanites wintering in the historic districts.
Hot Housing Markets - West Palm Beach Steps into the Limelight
Anyone looking for signs of weakness in the real estate market will be disappointed, according to the National Association of Realtors. Las Vegas topped the list as the market with the greatest appreciation over the past 12 months, with a 47.3 percent gain. In San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California, prices were up 34.7 percent.
"The Boomers are in their peak earning years, buying second homes and retiring to Florida," said Lereah. "We're seeing a lot of development and a lot of building but demand is greater than supply."
June 25, 2003
The index measures where jobs are being created, economies are growing and businesses are thriving.
Unlike past years when technology-oriented metros dominated the top of the ranking, this year’s leaders have all earned their high marks the old-fashioned way – with traditional businesses like retail, a growing population, and reliable growth industries such as government and health care.
The top four metropolitan areas on this year’s ranking all follow that pattern: Fayetteville, Ark., home to retail giant Wal-Mart; Las Vegas, Nev, one of America’s fastest-growing cities; Fort Myers, Fla., a growing retirement community; and travel destination West Palm Beach, Fla. Of the top 10, only two cities – San Diego (#1 in 2002) and San Luis Obispo, Ca. – could be considered high-tech towns.
The top 10:
1. Fayetteville, Ark.
2. Las Vegas, Nev.
3. Fort Myers, Fla.
4. West Palm Beach, Fla.
5. San Diego, Calif.
6. San Luis Obispo, Calif.
7. Laredo, Texas
8. Brownsville, Texas
9. McAllen, Texas
10. Monmouth, N.J.
West Palm Beach Real Estate, West Palm Beach Houses, Historic 1920's Neighborhoods, Grandview Heights, Flamingo Park, Sunshine Park, West Palm Beach, El Cid, Old Northwood, Downtown Real Estate Investment, Investors, West Palm Beach Downtown Condos, CityPlace Condos, Downtown West Palm Beach Real Estate Development