Minto Communities cut the ribbon on Oct. 26 at Westlake, its 3,800-acre master planned community located in the newly created City of Westlake, Fla., that, when fully built out, will have 4,500 homes.
The first neighborhood in Westlake, The Hammocks, offers single-family homes ranging from 1,482 to 4,320 square feet on 50- and 60-foot home sites. The homes, which start in the $270s, will have between two and seven bedrooms, two and five bathrooms, and two- or three-car garages.
After the ribbon cutting ceremony, attendees toured six fully-staged homes in The Hammocks, which will include 211 homes in phase one and 325 homes in total. Guests also checked out the sales center’s interactive displays on the community and homes, and toured its full interior design center.
“We hope that with our state-of-the-art sales center and model homes, potential buyers can get a full appreciation for the unique lifestyle that we are building,” said John Carter, vice president of Minto. “We want Westlake to truly be a special part of Palm Beach County.”
Westlake will feature an Aquatics Center with lagoon-style pool, tower slide, and splash pad, plus an adult pool with swim lanes and shade cabanas.
“I believe that Westlake is the most exciting city in Florida, and even the country,” said the City of Westlake’s Mayor Roger Manning while addressing the crowd. “Building a city from the ground up is quite exceptional.”
The community will also boast 2.1 million square feet of non-residential uses, including commercial, retail, employment centers, educational facilities, and medical/healthcare uses. The City of Westlake became Palm Beach County’s 39th municipality in June 2016.
“This is definitely setting a new height for all the other developers who come in,” said Mary Lou Bedord, CEO of the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce. “It is creating job opportunities in an area that so needs it.”
Minto is offering a discount program for public servants and a workforce housing program that will assist income-qualified buyers with down payment assistance.
On Oct. 28, Minto will be holding a family-fun grand opening event, which is open to the public. The day will feature lawn games, pumpkin carving, obstacle courses, music and food, along with tours of the model homes and sales center.
Minto, based in Florida since 1978, has been busy as of late. It’s working on multiple projects with Margaritaville Holdings, including One Particular Harbour in Bradenton, Fla. and Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, Fla., which is designed for 55-plus buyers who seek a “uniquely fun and relaxed lifestyle experience.” Latitude Margaritaville will include more than 3,000 homes with a proposed future expansion of up to 7,000 homes. Ground was broken on the latter project in March.
