Water Tower Commons heading to Lantana

The Lantana Town Council may soon approve the first phase of residential development for the town’s much-ballyhooed mixed-use project: Water Tower Commons.

The Town Council could act as soon as Sept. 12 on the plan for 15 three-story apartment buildings with 360 apartments, Mike Langolf, managing director of Boca-Raton based Southeast Legacy, told The Real Deal. Southeast Legacy, which is headed by Ken Endelson of Boca-based Kenco Communities, is developing the project, which is also owned by Wexford Capital of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Water Tower Commons occupies 73 acres of land on Lantana Road just east of I-95, sitting on the site of what used to be A.G. Holley State Hospital. The project has site plan approval for 1,091 residential units in total and 315,000 square feet of commercial space.

“Certainly for a little town like Lantana [12,000 residents], this is the biggest thing ever,” Chris Fleming, a senior broker for Strategic Realty Services in West Palm Beach, told TRD.

“The big story is the dynamic effect this will have on the town,” he added.

Overall, Water Tower Commons represents one of the biggest mixed-use project going up in South Florida, he said.

The 360 apartments are aimed to be upscale and oriented toward young families, Langolf said. But the fact that they are walk-ups in low-rise buildings with surface parking in Lantana allows for a lower rent than luxury apartments in Delray Beach or West Palm Beach. Rent will be $1.65 to $1.70 a square foot, totaling $1,500-$2,000 a month for one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

“The biggest segment of the rental market with unmet demand is working class,” Marc deBaptiste, vice chairman of ARA Newmark, a multi-family housing specialist in Boca Raton, told TRD. “To have new product within reach of that market, this should do very well.”

Langolf said residents will be attracted to the project’s proximity to I-95, the ocean, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton. He hopes construction can start between March 31 and June 30 and then finish about 18 months later.

The developers already have approval for the commercial section of their project, including a supermarket, fitness center, pharmacy and restaurants. Langolf can’t name any tenants yet. But he said construction should begin next month, and he hopes to begin completing buildings by the end of next year.