Royal Palm Beach sells 151 acres to Lennar for $34M

The Village of Royal Palm Beach just sold a huge swath of land for $34.277 million to homebuilder Lennar Corp., which plans to erect a housing community.

Included in the deal is 151 acres of wooded and vacant land at 980 North Crestwood Boulevard. The village had long debated what kind of development would fit best there, including early proposals for a business campus to try and attract tech firms.

But flack from residents caused the municipality to ditch that idea, according to the Palm Beach Post, so Royal Palm Beach instead decided on a new housing community.

Then in early 2015, Lennar won a bid to develop the acreage into 385 single-family homes. Its contract to purchase the land closed Wednesday. The price breaks down to about $227,000 per acre. In addition to the village’s property, Lennar also picked up an adjoined piece of land owned by the Saratoga at Royal Palm property owner’s association. That sale was for $722,560 and includes another three acres, according to Palm Beach County records.

Miami-based Lennar is one of the largest homebuilders in the country. The firm recently purchased a large chunk of the Bonterra housing community in Hialeah, where it’s also planning to build an array of new houses and townhomes.