Page 23 - Habitat Container Magazine Winter Issue

Habitat Container Magazine Smart and Sustainable Habitats Winter 2017
Habitat Container Magazine November 1, 2017
8-Christie: Do Palm Beach County Millennials really want micro-apartments?

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Billionaire developer Jeff Greene’s seemingly abrupt decision to scrap his much-anticipated plans to build Banyan Place is doing nothing to stifle concerns about a reputation for not following through on big project ideas. (The Palm Beach Post). Well, that was disappointing. I’m talking about billionaire West Palm Beach developer Jeff Greene’s seemingly abrupt decision to scrap his much-anticipated plans to build a 12-story, 348- unit micro-apartment project called Banyan Place. Yep. Greene — handing ammunition to critics who say he doesn’t follow through on big project ideas — is telling all those West Palm Beach Millennials who were looking to him for some relief from Palm Beach County’s workforce housing crisis to look elsewhere. At least for now.
“I jumped the gun,” he told the Post’s Tony Doris. “I should have done a lot more research before I went through the entire entitlement process and spent a lot of people’s time on it.” No kidding. Greene announced this project back in February, and has jumped through all the necessary zoning hoops to get final city commission approval in June. Not that it means that much to South Florida Baby Boomers Greene says the projected rents — about $995 to $1,200 a month for 340 to 560 square feet — are just too low to make sense; especially when you add in upscale kitchens, bathrooms, and washers and dryers. But is it possible that when it comes to space, the county’s Millennials don’t fall too far from the family tree when it comes to elbow room? Especially if you’re asking for $1,000 for what is essentially their bedroom in their parents’ home (sans mom’s home-cooking to boot)?
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