Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Life on the farm
Community near Wellington offers fresh food as a lifestyle.
An “agrihood” is coming to South Florida. Think of a romantic vision of the countryside suitable for a novel — a planned community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood, all within driving distance of the bustling downtown of West Palm Beach.
The 2,000-home project, called Arden, is under construction with a 5-acre working farm that will grow tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. It’s in the town of Loxahatchee, across the street from the Wellington boundary in Palm Beach County.
Carolina and Richard Jaramillo and their children, ages 7 and 12, moved to Arden from Southwest Ranches during the first week in June. They wanted to be closer to her husband’s work and to the land.
“It’s the perfect fit for us,” she said. “We want [the children] to be able to grow up free, outside, where they can play, go to the farm. The freedom of the outside, the fresh air.
“And we’re very excited about the vegetables and fruit,” she added. “We can eat what we grow.”
Agrihoods are a growing trend across the country, as developers choose to create rural living. There’s a farm-to-table home community called The Cannery in Davis, Calif., and another, Willowsford, in Ashburn, Va.
Willowsford is 4,000 acres in size — half of that set aside for preservation and a 300-acre working farm.
Arden, west of Lion Country Safari off Southern Boulevard, is being billed as the first farm-themed community in South Florida. Elsewhere in the state is the Pine Dove Farm in Tallahassee.
“It’s something that’s catching on,” said Susan Moguel, spokeswoman for Bostonbased Freehold Communities, which created the master plan for the 1,200-acre Arden development.
The community has two full-time directors who will maintain the farm and create programming in the event barn. Residents will be encouraged to help the directors plant and tend the crops, and share in the harvest.
Four developers are permitted to buy homesteads and build:
offering homes that range from two to five bedrooms and start in the low $300,000s
Ryan Homes,
offering homes that range from three to five bedrooms and start in the $400,000s
with homes ranging from three to four bedrooms and starting in the mid-$400,000s
Kennedy Homes, Lennar,
offering homes that range from four to six bedrooms, with lakefront lots available, and start in the mid-$500,000s
About 120 townhome units will eventually be constructed; the rest will be single-family homes. The first homes closed in October 2017 by Ryan Homes, and residents started moving in. About 115 homes have been sold so far among the four builders.
“It really is intoxicating,” said Christopher Leimbach, vice president of sales and marketing for Lennar’s Palm Atlantic Division, which includes Broward through Melbourne counties. “Enter through the gates and you are in this destination place.”
Lennar has 86 lots so far, with plans to purchase more home sites.
He called it a compelling lifestyle — country living with a connection to an urban environment.
Kenco Communities,