The village of Wellington is moving forward with annexing nearly 450 acres of farmland owned by the Kolter Group, despite objections from Palm Beach County.
Wellington’s Village Council unanimously approved on first reading an ordinance for the annexation of Artistry Lakes at 18551 State Road 80, on Southern Boulevard, at its meeting on Monday. Records show those properties are owned by Kolter’s KH Artistry Lakes LLC, which paid about $75 million assembling 446 acres. Kolter has the right to build 534 residential units.
Palm Beach County has already approved zoning that will enable the development of 480 single-family homes and 54 workforce townhomes, Tim Stillings, Wellington’s director of Planning, Zoning and Building told council members. Artistry Lakes also includes areas zoned for 23,500 square feet of commercial office and 23,500 square feet of retail.
The area is just north of Wellington and west of Arden, a 1,210-acre master planned community zoned for about 2,300 single-family homes where Lennar, GL Homes, Kenco Communities and other homebuilders are active.
A second reading vote on the annexation is tentatively scheduled for March 10. Because no one lives on the property it won’t require a referendum. And while the annexation is listed on the village agenda as “involuntary,” a letter from Kolter vice president Brian Grove stated that the developer so far has no objections to the annexation.
The county, however, filed an objection on Monday, since Artistry Lakes is not yet developed and separated from the village by Southern Boulevard and a canal. Additionally, the land immediately south of Artistry Lakes within Wellington consists of thousands of acres of undeveloped land owned by the South Florida Water Management District, wrote Palm Beach County Planning Director Thuy Shutt.
Stillings countered that 60 percent of Artistry Lakes’ borders are adjacent to single-family subdivisions, which complies with state law.
County officials previously objected to Wellington annexing 258 acres of rural land at Southern Boulevard and Seminole Pratt Whitney Road about a mile away. However, that land was officially made part of Wellington last year following a referendum and later rezoned for residential and commercial development.
There are three proposals to build in the newly annexed area, including a pair of Live Local Act projects, each with 106 residential units, and a townhouse project with 206 units, Stillings told The Real Deal via email.
Kolter has been busy.
Led by CEO Bobby Julien, Kolter affiliate Kolter Urban closed on $425.3 million in condo deals at its recently finished Selene Oceanfront Residences in Fort Lauderdale. Kolter and Perko Development Partners are also launching sales for a 19-story Maison d’Or condo tower in West Palm Beach.
Known for its polo fields, Wellington has attracted increased interest from developers including West Palm Beach-based builder Steve Ross who intends to build a private school with 500 residential units and a 180-key hotel. The council also recently approved zoning changes that developer Mark Bellissimo needs to build Marketplace at the Wellington, an 18-acre project with 80 hotel rooms, 89 condo units and 117,000 square feet of commercial and office space.