Homebuilder acquires one of Palm Beach’s last parcels

Callery-Judge Grove
Callery-Judge Grove

Coconut Creek-based homebuilder Minto paid $51 million for an expansive citrus grove in unincorporated Palm Beach County.

Minto SPW LLC acquired 18 parcels totaling about 3,724 acres from Loxahatchee-based Callery-Judge Grove LP. The company paid a little under $13,700 per acre, or a scant 32 cents per square foot, for land that has been citrus groves for nearly 50 years, according to the Daily Business Review.

“Homebuilders are active in tying down significant parcels to ensure their future pipeline,” Don Ginsburg, president of Fort Lauderdale-based Realty Masters LLC, told the Review.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Minto, which has built and managed homes in Ottawa, Toronto and South Florida, according to its website, and three affiliates secured a $25.5 million mortgage from the Prudential Insurance Co. of America for the 4000 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road acquisition, the newspaper said.

Previous attempts to develop the site into a master-planned, mixed-use community failed, but the state has since loosened growth-management controls. [Daily Business Review]Emily Schmall