Guest swirlundergrounder Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Trailer town strikes it richFlorida site owners stand to make millions from developerKevin Dwyer paid $37,500 for his mobile home in Briny Breezes, Fla., nine years ago. He stands to make $800,000 by selling to a developer.By BRIAN SKOLOFFAssociated PressBRINY BREEZES, FLA. Ñ The owners of nearly 500 mobile homes in one of the last waterfront trailer-park towns in South Florida stand to become instant millionaires if they agree to sell to a developer. But some are holding out, saying there are things more important than money."You just can't buy a way of life," said Tom Byrne, a 68-year-old retired sales executive from New York who doesn't want to sell even though he would make a little over $1 million on the trailer and site he bought two years ago for $150,000.Briny Breezes is a relic of old Florida, surrounded by glamorous multimillion-dollar homes and splashy high-rise condos.The Briny Breezes brochure calls it a "self-governed mobile home community of kindred souls." Residents of the Palm Beach County town cruise the narrow streets on golf carts, passing palm trees and tiny, neatly manicured yards. They wave to each other and chat about the next neighborhood outing Ñ water aerobics at the community pool, shuffleboard or bowling night.With 600 feet of oceanfront property and 1,100 feet along the Intracoastal Waterway, real estate like this in southeastern Florida is pure gold.Boca Raton-based Ocean Land Investments has big plans for the property if the deal goes through, as many residents are certain will happen. The company envisions about 900 low-rise multimillion-dollar condo units, a high-end marina and a 300-room luxury hotel."There really is no other piece of property like this in Florida," said Logan Pierson, the company's vice president of acquisitions.The 43-acre town sprouted from a strawberry farm in the 1920s, back when Florida's charm was its subtropical weather and quiet, coastal bliss Ñ long before the days of Art Deco and Walt Disney World.So-called "tin-can tourists" came down yearly with their trailers to escape the northern cold. A group of regular visitors bought the property in 1958, and it became a town in 1963.It is run as a corporation by a board of directors, and residents own shares based on the size and location of their lots.Briny Breezes' board recently approved the sale for $510 million. The owners of the 488 trailers have until Jan. 10 to ratify or reject the deal. A two-thirds majority is needed to sell.The amount each person would get depends on how many shares the resident owns. Each share is worth roughly $32,000 under the developer's offer. Owners would not get any cash Ñ and wouldn't have to move out Ñ until 2009.Kevin Dwyer, 47, is all for the deal. Dwyer, who paid just $37,500 for his trailer nine years ago, would make about $800,000."See these pockets? They're empty," Dwyer said, a stack of unpaid bills sitting on a table in his trailer less than 100 yards from the ocean. "I've nickeled and dimed my whole life. I hit the lottery."Pierson acknowledged that the loss of Briny Breezes means a piece of old Florida will be gone forever. But he said that because of its location on a barrier island, a hurricane could wipe out Briny Breezes.Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty is not so sure it's a done deal because of constraints on zoning, water, sewage and traffic."I find the developers extremely optimistic to the point of being delusional," she said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest swirlundergrounder Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 God damm people WTF are you thinking? TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN!!! You could easily buy a nice home on an Intercoastal in Hollywood or Lauderdale for a $1 Million Dollars and have enough money to live out your lives with also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I can sympathize only because of my biases against developers. In pure theory, yeah, take the money in run. In practice, I hope they hold out just to irritate the developers. Capitalism goes both ways. People tend to forget that. You have the right to make money, and you have the right not to make money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest michael^heaven Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 They're lucky! What developers are doing up here is petitioning the city & the city seizes the property from the owners using eminant domain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slamminshaun Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 They're lucky! What developers are doing up here is petitioning the city & the city seizes the property from the owners using eminant domain.Thank you liberals for making that possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HouseJunkie Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Its not just about money, you just can't buy a 'way of life' like living in a trailer on the waterfront in Hurricane alley.They probably won't sell now but next hurricane season they will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mr.miami Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I mean you are on the water. That in a fact is pretty rare up there probably. They will probably find some way to take it away by imminent domain. Would be curious how much they plan on selling those 900 condos for. Cus if it is a million dollar condo i could see that as a reason to not to take the money. They pay you a million build million dollar condos there and for you to live there you have to pay a million when already there. If they were smart they should offer the people there if possible discounted condos in the complexes as incentive to sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coach Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I'd agree with taking the money, generally. However, we can't really say since we do not live in their community. It sounds like they have built a nice quiet, clean, simple way of life right on the way. It sounds quite nice and relaxing, if that is what you like. And that kind of thing is getting harder and harder to find around here. Which is why the developers are willing to pay millions for a piece of land that was nearly worthless 10 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest swirlundergrounder Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I mean you are on the water. That in a fact is pretty rare up there probably. They will probably find some way to take it away by imminent domain. Would be curious how much they plan on selling those 900 condos for. Cus if it is a million dollar condo i could see that as a reason to not to take the money. They pay you a million build million dollar condos there and for you to live there you have to pay a million when already there. If they were smart they should offer the people there if possible discounted condos in the complexes as incentive to sell.The develpoers plan to sell the condo's starting at $3 Million for the low end ones.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest swirlundergrounder Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I'd agree with taking the money, generally. However, we can't really say since we do not live in their community. It sounds like they have built a nice quiet, clean, simple way of life right on the way. It sounds quite nice and relaxing, if that is what you like. And that kind of thing is getting harder and harder to find around here. Which is why the developers are willing to pay millions for a piece of land that was nearly worthless 10 years ago.That's what some of the people are saying that don't want to sell. One lady they interviewed on ABC World News was 72 years old and still working as a waitress at a nearby diner makiing $4 an hour + tips to pay for her trailer she bought 9 years ago for $46,000. She showed ABC News her intent to sell letter stating that she has worked hard all her life and has nothing. This is the first time in her long life that a large amount of money has fallen into her lap and she wants to cash out.... At 72 years old I would not blame her for wanting to sell. She can go buy a condo or a house even, somewhere else and retire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mr.miami Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 I mean you are on the water. That in a fact is pretty rare up there probably. They will probably find some way to take it away by imminent domain. Would be curious how much they plan on selling those 900 condos for. Cus if it is a million dollar condo i could see that as a reason to not to take the money. They pay you a million build million dollar condos there and for you to live there you have to pay a million when already there. If they were smart they should offer the people there if possible discounted condos in the complexes as incentive to sell.The develpoers plan to sell the condo's starting at $3 Million for the low end ones.. If that is the case i'd expect a better offer lol. 3 million for what a 1200 s ft condo. : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 You know how some people are, they're willing to pay exorbiant prices for location, location, location. I see it all the time down here. People who have no real reason to live on the Beach do so because it is "cool" and pay a huge premium for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bling Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 good for them....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xmuzik Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 deep within' the grully nothing . surprises me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tru1 Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 what they are not saying in these articles is just how affuent the neighboring areas are. I was at a new years party at a mansion within walking distance of Briny and let me tell you...$ 20 mil for the place is conservative.you know pod..you may not like developers...but their vision has helped shape florida into the florida we love.If these people don't sell out they are complete idiots.They are trailer park people that hit the lottery because of where their park is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMT Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 my parents live just north of briny. this is a big deal in the area. lots of dissention among the residents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest swirlundergrounder Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 good for them....... Good for them only if they get the 2/3 vote among the residents to sell out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 you know pod..you may not like developers...but their vision has helped shape florida into the florida we love.The Florida I love had nightclubs in it. Then the developers set up shop and their clients bitch about the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Electric Eel Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 2/3 of the vote was for selling, bye bye trailer park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 More condos. Woo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mr.miami Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 I wonder how long it will take the people once they move out of there to realize they got a raw deal. Where once they lived on the water now they have to fork over 250,000 for some house way out in the everglades. Or they can buy a condo with over priced maintenance fees and higher property taxes. They definitely should have waited for more money. Especially hearing them planning on putting out 900 condos and charging more than a million a piece for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Exactly. I'd rather live in a trailer by the waterfront than a stinking condo near a swamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMT Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 More condos. Woo!thats exactly why people in the area are divided about it. who knows what monstrocity will get thrown up its place. but it might cause property values to go up.this isnt a ghetto trailer park either. its all retirees and people who have permanent houses somewhere else. its very clean and maintained. they have it made with the land, no doubt. the beach is right out their front doors. hard to say what i would do if i lived there. this is the second offer that has been made on the land in the last couple years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coach Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 you know pod..you may not like developers...but their vision has helped shape florida into the florida we love.Ha ha! SO not true. Perhaps in the early days, 1930s or so, the developers helped shape it. Since then, there has been a big fight between the local and the developers, pretty much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pod Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Most developers see a slice of land with either single-family dwellings on it or something fun like a nightclub, bordello (i wish) or something, and they instantly think: "OK, how many people can we cram onto here and charge them a million a pop for the privilege?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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