GL Updates Plan for Eagles Landing: Boca Stream

gl-lazy-river
We previously reported that GL Homes is working on a 43-home development just south of Eagles Landing Middle School.
GL-43
Today they released further details about the community, to be called Boca Stream. The name comes from a key feature that will be the first of its kind. There will be a “lazy river” built into the lake system so that most of the residents will be able to walk into their backyard and ride it to the clubhouse. The image at top shows the route it will take, with green heading toward the clubhouse at right and red taking residents back home.
lazy-river
For most of Boca Stream, prices will start from the low $1.6 millions with 2-story floor plans of 4000 square feet and up. Each home will have an elevator and 3-car garage, along with a 10kw Tesla Powerwall. GL spokesperson Patty Campbell said: “We got a great deal on the Powerwall units, as they were just discontinued.” Higher-end models will include two elevators and heliports on the roofs.
Eight of the lots will not be on the lazy river feature and will sell for less. “The County wanted us to do something for low income seniors, so these will be one-floor models with at most 3600 square feet and will start at no more than $1.3 million.”

New Tests for School Kids

Superintendent Robert Avossa of the Palm Beach County School District; all images copyright Warren Redlich, free to use by crediting West Boca News.
Superintendent Robert Avossa of the Palm Beach County School District

Moving forward with progress on the new strategic plan, Superintendent Robert Avossa announced new tests will be added to the schedule for all schools in Palm Beach County.
Hand completing a multiple choice exam.
Hand completing a multiple choice exam.

“We found we just weren’t measuring enough,” Avossa said to a group of parents at Spanish River High School. “Parents were complaining that their kids were spending too much time learning and not enough showing that they had learned.”
He also reassured parents that there is adequate funding for all the new testing. “We’ve got a new sales tax coming, and we’ll also save in other areas by cutting down on unnecessary spending on subjects that don’t matter any more, like music, arts and foreign languages.”
Supplementing the wildly popular FSAs that replaced the nearly-as-popular FCATs, the new tests will be called the FAILs.
The full details are available at: Palm Beach Schools Strategic Plan.

Cemetery Village Real Estate Report

cv-wide
Here’s the latest real estate news from Century Cemetery Village.

129 Gravestone D
129 Gravestone D

129 Graves D sold last week for $33,000. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bath unit with under 1000 square feet on the second floor. Close to the elevator, it has view of the parking lot and neighboring buildings. Road noise is minimal.
129 Gravestone D
666 Tombstone Z

666 Tombstone Z sold for $41,999. The two-bedroom, one-bath unit has under 1000 square feet. A rare basement location makes this a find.
129 Gravestone D
4997 Morgue F

4997 Morgue F sold for $27,425. The one-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath unit with under 1000 square feet on the top floor has great views of the Florida Turnpike. Thanks to its location, the new owner can also see and hear trucks as they climb the Yamato bridge over the Turnpike.
129 Gravestone D
32 Deathbed A

32 Deathbed A sold for $75,000. This upgraded unit has granite countertops, stainless appliances, and a garden view with minimal road noise. There are two bedrooms, two baths, all in under 1000 square feet.
If you’re interested in buying a unit in Cemetery Village, there are only a few hundred left on the market. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Trump Announces Trump Sandalfoot

Donald Trump’s main holding company, The Trump Organization, LLC, announced yesterday that it will open the Trump Sandalfoot Golf Resort and Casino in West Boca. The company has purchased all the properties in West Sandalfoot, aka Watergate Estates.

The area comprises approximately 150 acres of land. The golf course is expected to take up 100 acres with a hotel and casino to occupy the remaining 50 acres.

Often Trump pays substantial sums for existing resorts, such as the $150M he paid for Doral, and then improves them. In this case he was able to acquire the various properties for significantly less, reportedly $150.
Also, Trump developments often face significant hurdles from local government, as he did in Mar-a-Lago. But with Sandalfoot it appears Palm Beach County is letting him do whatever he wants. West Boca’s county commissioner, Mary Lou Berger, said it was an easy call: “We did a survey and 85% of area residents preferred a landfill to the existing use. So a golf club is huge!”

The biggest hurdle Trump faced was a hold-out resident who did not want to sell. But he was able to win the man over after a conversation.

“I’m a great negotiator,” Trump said, “but in this case it was easy. We saw eye to eye on a lot of issues, especially social issues. So we found a way to include him on our team in a role that fits what we do. It’ll be great. I promise you. Believe me.”
Trump Sandalfoot is expected to open a year from now, on April 1, 2017. A rumored expansion into Palmetto Pines was nixed by Trump. “It doesn’t have the same cachet.”