Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
60 home sales in six weeks at Dakota in West Delray
Pent-up demand for new housing? Unequivocally yes, according to GL Homes.
Sunrise-based GL says it has secured sales contracts for 60 homes in six weeks at Dakota, on the southeast corner of State Road 7 and Atlantic Avenue in West Delray.
“That’s exceptional,” said Marcie DePlaza, chief operating officer for GL. “We aren’t even on site yet. It’s all pre-construction.”
DePlaza said the builder found a sweet spot on prices in the 387-home development. The homes range from $449,900 to $579,900. DePlaza said demand is so strong that the builder bumped up prices by $15,000 since sales started March 11.
DePlaza said buyers have parents who live in one of GL’s “active adult” Valencia communities nearby. The builder also is selling to empty nesters who are downsizing, DePlaza said.
Model homes will open in the fall, and the first Dakota buyers will move in early next year.
Privately held GL closed 666 homes and started 732 across Palm Beach County last year, by far the most of any builder, according to data from the Metrostudy research firm. GL does not build in Broward County.
On March 4, GL started selling at the 57-home Berkeley in West Boca adjacent to Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park. The builder has totaled four sales there so far, but DePlaza said the slower pace was expected, given the more expensive price range of $865,900 to $1.1 million.
Sales start at Hidden Trails in Tamarac
Miami-based 13th Floor Homes says it has 20 sales contracts at Hidden Trails, one of the most affordable new-home developments in Broward County for first-time buyers.
Prices for the three-and fourbedroom homes start in the high $200,000s. The 214-home community is just off Florida’s Turnpike at Commercial Boulevard.
Hidden Trails is 13th Floor’s third development at the turnpike in Tamarac. The first project, the 253-home Central Parc, sold out in two years. Last fall, the builder broke ground on the 239-home Manor Parc, where nearly half the homes have sold.
Fort Lauderdale center getting $1.9 million upgrade
The Gallery at Beach Place, the Hooters-anchored plaza along South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, is getting a face lift and an infusion of new tenants.
Rafael Romero, a vice president of CREC, said the commercial real estate firm is renovating the complex and adding destination restaurants and retailers, as well as a fitness center and offices.
Escapology, an entertainment retailer, plans to open a 7,070-square-foot location, while Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory will take 1,366 square feet. Both are expected to open on the next few months, Romero said.
By the end of the year, the entire third floor should be leased, he said. Hooters and CVS will remain at the 95,769-square-foot center, which is about 30 percent vacant.
CREC has managed The Gallery at Beach Place for more than two years and was hired by owner Thor Equities in March to also handle leasing.
Aside from the new tenants, the plaza is being repainted, and the common areas will have new floors and furniture. The entire project is expected to take 12 to 18 months and cost $1.9 million.
“It hasn’t had any major change in a very long time,” Romero said. “There’s a lot of vacant space that we need to fill, but we want to fill it with the right type of tenants.”