Townhomes at Juno Beach site expected to sell for $1.5 million-plus, architect tells residents
JUNO BEACH — Residents of one neighborhood near Juno Beach's busiest intersection weighed in last week about the 40 three-story, million-dollar townhouses that Pulte Homes wants to build next to their single-story houses.
Their concerns and those of about 40 residents who filled the Juno Beach town council chambers Thursday ranged from increased traffic on U.S.1 and Donald Ross Road and cut-through traffic to parking and landscaping if the development takes shape on what is known as the Christmas Tree lot.
Some called the preliminary design of the townhouses uninspiring.
If approved, the townhomes would be built on the south side of Donald Ross to the west of the Juno Square center, which includes tenants such as the Juno Beach Café and the Thirsty Turtle Seagrill. A rezoning to moderate density from commercial would be required.
“We don’t want the new neighborhood cutting through our street. We have to put up with trucks from the Thirsty Turtle feeding into our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is a neighborhood,” said Glenn Black, who has lived on Floral Drive in the New Palm Beach Heights neighborhood for 30 years.
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Juno Beach's busiest intersection facing changes
Big changes are on the way for the small town’s biggest intersection. Caretta, a five-story condominium complex with 95 units ranging from $1.5 million to $8 million, is already approved on the northwest corner of Donald Ross and U.S. 1. It is slated to be completed in 2025.
Plaza La Mer, a sprawling 111,361-square-foot older shopping center on the north side Donald Ross Road is under contract and merchants fear it could eventually become residential also. Loggerhead Fitness, in the plaza for 18 years, is its largest tenant.
Donaldson Hearing, president and owner of Cotleur & Hearing Landscape Architects of Jupiter, provided details about what Pulte wants to build on the 4.7 acres. The L-shaped property consists of the Christmas Tree Lot fronting Donald Ross and an abandoned bank on U.S. 1.
Dubbed the Juno Square Townhomes, the plans call for seven buildings with the number of units per building ranging from four to seven. The three-story, three-bedroom, 2.5-bath residences would also have elevators, two-car garages, driveways and balconies.
Pricing is expected to be $1.5 million per unit on average and going up from there depending on options and design selections that buyers make, said Andrew Maxey, vice president of land acquisition at Pulte Group.
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Addressing traffic concerns, Hearing said the entrances and exits to the townhouses would be from Donald Ross.
“We were encouraged to minimize access onto Floral Drive,” Hearing said. “We want to avoid cut through traffic and anything that would impact the residential neighborhood.”
A planned enhancement includes a 10-foot-wide sidewalk with landscaping on both Donald Ross and U.S. 1, Hearing said, along with an 8-foot-wide meandering, shaded walkway on Floral. Native trees such as Gumbo Limbo, Live Oak and Seagrape are among those selected along with Royal Palms that will tie in with what Caretta has planned.
Residents said they were relieved that after receiving input from them and the town staff and council, Pulte decided not to do the two six-story condominium buildings it had put forth earlier this year.
Cynthia Frasher, also a Floral Drive resident, said, “I really like what you’ve done, especially with reducing the height. I know way back in February, we were all, in our neighborhood of New Palm Beach Heights, really freaking out about the tall towers there.”
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Frasher said a wood fence currently serves as a buffer between the commercial property and the neighborhood. However, she envisions a black wrought iron fence with beautiful landscaping on the south side of the townhouses. Installing one around the entire townhouse development would give it a more exclusive and private feel, she said.
Jonathan Butler and other residents said the architecture depicted didn’t appeal to them and they worried the townhouses could end up being boring and boxy. Some suggested coming up with a Key West-style design instead.
Hearing said Pulte is open to suggestions and the goal is to do something contemporary, but not as contemporary as Caretta.
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Residents asked if John C. Bills Properties, which owns the entire corner, including the shopping center and the parcel Pulte wants to buy, is interested in upgrading the center, built in 1976.
Hearing said Bills had no plans to revamp the shopping center and does not want to sell it.
Pulte will install 66 parking spaces on the U.S. 1 side of the property after the abandoned bank is demolished. That will be shared with the existing commercial property.
Residents asked if another traffic signal would be installed, but Kimley-Horn traffic engineer Adam Kerr told them that under Florida Department of Transportation regulations, additional traffic lights would not be permitted as they would be too close to those already in operation.
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If the Juno Square Townhomes are not approved, then Bills will seek another purchaser who might do something with higher density, Hearing said.
The application must be submitted to the planning department, then presented to a Development Review Committee and the Planning and Zoning Board before the Town Council considers it.
The plans do not include a swimming pool. Asked why, Hearing said, “We have a beautiful swimming pool called the Atlantic Ocean that we want people to take advantage of.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pulte Homes proposes townhomes starting at $1.5 million in Juno Beach
