Gainswave Therapy in Westlake, FL

This might come as a surprise to you, but new cities are still being created here in Florida.

One of the newest Florida cities is called Westlake, which is located in Palm Beach County, between Wellington and Palm Beach Gardens, and it is home to Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake:

ADVERTISEMENT

Westlake got it's start in 2013 when developer Minto Communities (yep, the same company developing Latitude Margaritaville in partnership with Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville) purchased 3,800 acres of orange groves with the intent to develop it into an all new city from the ground up.

When complete, Westlake will feature a town center with Publix, restaurants and other stores, an adventure park, schools, a fire department, an Emergency Room, and more.

Here's a look at the overall Westlake site plan:

How Cresswind Palm Beach Came to Be

Like other Florida master-planned communities, Westlake will have a section dedicated to those aged 55+, and that's where Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake comes in.

Minto sold Kolter Homes 270 acres, which should be enough for approximately 800 homes. Cresswind is Kolter Homes' brand of 55+ communities, and they build them in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

You might be asking why Minto, a developer with experience and a track record building 55+ communities, would let another developer come in and build this part of the community.

For one thing, I'm sure they got a nice chunk of change for the property they sold to Kolter Homes, and an influx of cash is always nice.

Also, if you look at most master-planned communities, they feature multiple builders. Why? Well for one thing this helps from a marketing standpoint because each builder will do their own marketing and attract different kinds of potential buyers to the community as whole.

Maybe a buyer that you attract doesn't end up buying from you but they end of buying from a different builder in the same community because the homes they offered were a little better fit. Of course the opposite could happen and a buyer that you did not reach with your marketing efforts comes into the community because of another builder and ends up buying from you.

It's sort of “a rising tide lifts all boats” kind of thing.

Something else that I'm wondering but have yet to confirm is that perhaps Minto is precluded from developing any new 55+ communities while they are locked into an agreement with Margaritaville to jointly develop their Latitude Margaritaville communities.

A Minto-only 55+ community could possibly be seen as being in competition with Latitude Margaritaville, so this theory might make sense. Yes, Minto has developed their own 55+ communities in the past but I don't believe they've started any new ones since their partnership with Margaritaville began, so there might be something to this theory.

Either way, Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake it is!

ADVERTISEMENT

Home Prices

At the time this review was first published (Dec 2021) the homes at Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake started in the high-$300k's and go up to more than $600k. (Check the link provided to check current pricing.)

Homes range in size from roughly 1,500 sq. ft. to 3,000 sq. ft. of living space.

Amenities

You can see the full list here.

Cresswind Palm Beach HOA Fees

The HOA fees at Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake are broken down into two parts, the Cresswind Palm Beach Association Fee and the Westlake Master Association Fee.

The Cresswind Palm Beach Association Fee is $288/month at the time of this writing. It covers:

The Westlake Master Association fee is currently $47/month, which brings your HOA fees to a grand total of $335.

Nearby Health Care

ER at Westlake opened in 2019 and is owned and operated by Wellington Regional Medical Center. The facility is more than 10,000 square feet with a total of 11 treatment spaces, and is staffed 24/7 with an ER physician and other medical staff.

Final Thoughts

If you're looking for a new 55+ community in this part of Florida, you should certainly give Cresswind Palm Beach at Westlake a good look.

On the plus side, the home prices are a little less than you'll see at other communities in Palm Beach County, but on the minus side it's a little further away from the action than some people might like, but that really depends on the person.

Want Even More Reviews Like This?

Save 1,000+ hours of community research, get Florida retirement input from other members, access exclusive content, and more with a Florida Retirement Insider membership.

Members of the Westlake City Council and the Seminole Improvement District (SID) Board of Supervisors met in a joint workshop Wednesday, April 26 to begin shaping the vision for a planned 50-acre park off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.

The site, directly south of Seminole Ridge High School, is “the last open space in the city, the last open space for miles,” SID President Scott Massey said. “It’s important to keep it flexible.”

Even though serious construction of the park is likely a couple of years away, Kenneth Cassel, who manages both the city and the district in which it resides, said, “It’s important to set the scope of programming because that impacts everything else. Without the vision, you can’t create a game plan for financing or anything else.”

The park likely will be phased in over a three- to five-year period depending on financing, which could come in the form of grants, taxes, bonds or some combination.

“We want to make sure we’re getting the biggest bang possible for every buck spent,” Cassel said.

Council members and supervisors were shown five concepts developed by the landscape architecture firm Cotleur & Hearing, which does much of the design work in Westlake for its principal developer, Minto Communities USA.

The common elements in all of the concepts were a walking trail, restrooms, at least six soccer fields, numerous pickleball courts, a “tot-lot” playground, hook-ups for a portable concert stage and a number of food trucks, along with 275 automobile parking spaces and 100 golfcart parking spaces.

Some of the concepts also include tennis, basketball and beach volleyball courts, concession stands and a two-story, 7,000-square-foot community center.

Councilwoman Charlotte Leonard urged planners to keep at least one basketball court in the mix but said she was impressed with the playground area for younger children.

“We see this as becoming a gathering place… where moms bring their kids on Saturday mornings,” said Donaldson Hearing of Cotleur & Hearing.

Mayor JohnPaul O’Connor asked about including baseball and softball fields.

Councilwoman Pilar Valle Ron suggested construction of several tiki hut-type structures with barbecue grills that can be used for family gatherings.

Now that Hearing has direction from both boards, his team will sharpen plans.

“This park is going to be an incredible asset for the community [of Westlake] and for the entire western communities,” O’Connor said.

After the joint workshop, the Westlake City Council met for its April session. During that meeting:

• The council congratulated Western Pines Middle School student Isabelle Jo Petit for taking second place in the statewide “If I Were Elected Mayor” essay competition conducted by the Florida League of Mayors. FLM Executive Director Scott Dudley was on hand to present a plaque and a gift certificate for $250 to Petit.

• The council approved a replat of the Terraces of Westlake. The 23-acre property is on Ilex Way just east of the new Christ Fellowship Worship Center. The property will eventually have 250 total units, including 109 attached single-family townhouses.

At a brief meeting on May 2:

• The council approved the first reading of an ordinance that amends the city’s comprehensive plan to update the Five-Year Community Investment Program.

“Our development numbers are pretty much what we projected five years out,” Cassel said. “Many of our projects that didn’t have to be built [at this point] are already built.”

• The council heard that according to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office, there are now 3,097 voters registered in Westlake.

• The council moved its regular July meeting to July 11, since it would otherwise fall on the Fourth of July.

Valentina Palm

WESTLAKE — Built over an old orange grove, Westlake is showing its first signs of becoming a place where people do more than sleep.

Visitors can see residents unloading boxes into spacious homes and driving golf-carts, while construction workers are erecting the walls of commercial developments.

Financed by Minto Communities, Westlake became Palm Beach County's 39^th city when it incorporated seven years ago. Homes range from the $400,000s to the $800,000, and the city is projected to see stores, restaurants and even an attraction park come to the rural western suburbs of West Palm Beach.

John Carter, Minto's vice president, speaks of Westlake as pedestrian and golf-cart oriented city and said it was planned to offer options to “live, work and play” for people in the area, rather than driving 15 miles east to West Palm Beach.

Here are five things to know about Westlake, Palm Beach County’s newest city.

For subscribers:Wellington to Glenn Straub: Pay $6.7M in liens or lose Palm Beach Polo properties

Help, hope for ailing babies:Five things about Palms West Hospital's new $6M NICU

Welcome, Lili!Baby chimp is Lion County Safari's newest addition

Westlake's population is growing, diverse and upscale.

In 2017, the city had a population of five people, according to the U.S. Census Data. By 2020, it was home to over 906.

In terms of demographics, white residents accounted for 40% of the population, followed by Hispanics at 35.7% and Blacks at 17.3%. The median age is 34 and the median income is about $100,000 a year, U. S. Census Data shows. By comparison, the county’s median income is $65,000.

Minto projected Westlake will have over 11,300 residents in the next six to 10 years, or about equal to Lantana's population.

Halfway there: Half of Westlake's 4,500 homes already have been built.

Minto has built 2,500 homes, just over half of the 4,500 approved for the city.

At the rate of 400 homes built a year, Carter expects Westlake to be built out within five years. Neighborhoods are designed in pods and connected by pathways to the city's commercial strip.

Carter says Minto built townhouses, single-family homes and estate homes to address the lack of available housing in Palm Beach County, especially in its western suburbs, and to appeal to young professionals, families and multigenerational households.

Westlake offers programs to help buyers with down payments and closing costs. They are income-based and available for those who qualify for workforce housing.

What already is open in Westlake?

What businesses are coming to Westlake?

Westlake wants to be a 'downtown' for western Palm Beach County.

Westlake’s commercial and entertainment area is planned as a strip along its main street, Seminole-Pratt Whitney Road. Carter hopes it will become the downtown for residents of west-central Palm Beach County.

"It's centered on providing basic services that really not only serve Westlake but will certainly serve the over 20,000 homes that are immediately surrounding us," Carter said.

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

No longer in its infancy, the seven-year-old City of Westlake must now stand on its own fiscally, with no more handholding from the municipality’s largest developer, Minto Communities USA.

Since 2016, when Westlake incorporated, Minto has supplied millions of dollars to prop up city government services, including a $776,000 “lifeline” in the 2023 budget. For 2024, there is no lifeline to underpin Westlake’s $9,030,000 budget, with the developer’s long-term agreement with the city running out.

“The last few years, we’ve been trying to make sure that when we reached this budget… that we’d be non-dependent [on Minto],” City Manager Kenneth Cassel said during the Westlake City Council’s Tuesday, Aug. 1 budget workshop. “So that’s where we’ve been very cautious and very careful.”

In fact, that caution, along with the city’s rapid growth in residential property tax revenues, made it unnecessary for Cassel to draw from the 2023 Minto “lifeline.”

“Which I think is pretty impressive,” Mayor JohnPaul O’Connor said.

To maintain that fiscal discipline, Cassel proposed that Westlake continue its tax rate at 5.1 mills.

Westlake’s tax rate was 5.125 mills from 2016 through 2022. Last year, O’Connor pushed for a reduction to 5.1 mills. That means that the average Westlake property owner, with an assessed home value of $450,000 and a $50,000 homestead exemption, would pay approximately $2,040 in city taxes. That does not include taxes levied by other Palm Beach County taxing authorities.

O’Connor wants another cut, even if only a symbolic one, he told Cassel.

“I’d love to shave something off that, even if it’s just to say we lowered taxes two years in a row,” he said. “It sends a message to residents that we’re fighting for them.”

“We’re running a very lean operation in all areas already,” Cassel replied.

The city’s proposed $9,030,000 budget represents a $1,131,000 or 14.3 percent increase over the 2023 budget funded by a 53.3 percent or $1,782,737 increase in property tax revenues — for a total of $5,128,300 — as Westlake continues to be one of Florida’s fastest-growing municipalities.

Among the largest areas of proposed budget increases are:

Councilwoman Charlotte Leonard questioned whether the city should be spending a quarter of a million dollars on a community party. Cassel agreed that was one of the few areas that could be trimmed without affecting city services.

O’Connor, who has championed the event since its inception, pushed back.

“Aside from July 4, the city has been unbelievably fiscally responsible,” he said, adding that a lot of sponsorship dollars that could have eased the cost of FourthFest 2023 were “left on the table.” He suggested it would be good to engage an events coordinator who also could seek sponsorship dollars.

Cassel said there are advantages to having such a person on the Westlake team, and that he is looking at whether it would be better to contract with someone or create a staff position.

O’Connor said that he believes the city has made a commitment to its citizens regarding the annual party. Later, he said he hopes that the 2024 event can be held in the 50-acre park being developed along Seminole Pratt Whitney Road south of Seminole Ridge High School as a joint project with the Seminole Improvement District.

Some $700,000 that Westlake has received through the federal American Rescue Plan will be used to jumpstart infrastructure work — ground leveling, stormwater drainage and more — for the project, O’Connor said. That work should be completed within 12 months, he said, calling that a “conservative estimate.”

The park will need to be done in phases, and O’Connor hopes that sports fields, food truck hookups, parking and a multi-modal trail can soon follow.

Looking ahead, O’Connor said he is committed to cutting residential property taxes significantly once more commercial property comes onto the tax rolls, even though 5.1 mills is in the middle of the pack among the county’s 39 municipalities.

“We don’t want to be an average city. We’re an above-average city… a low taxes, high services city,” O’Connor said. “We believe in government lite. We have the rare opportunity to do things right the first time.”

Following the workshop, the council held its regular monthly meeting, taking up several action items:

“We’re ready to break ground and get rolling,” said John Carter, senior vice president of Minto Communities USA. “This is going to be an excellent addition of product to the city.”

He said this will be a different product, containing smaller townhomes. Carter expects homes to go on sale in early 2024.

When Phase II of the project comes online, the Terraces will include 250 townhomes.

The Terraces is located in the southern portion of Westlake, south of Waters Edge Drive and east of Ilex Way. Behind the Terraces on the east side will be a lake and a multi-modal path.

The Pines Phase II is located in the northeast portion of Westlake, east of both East Town Center Parkway and the Woodlands of Westlake. It will be surrounded on three sides by long, linear lakes.

“The lakes won’t be hidden [behind homes],” Carter said. “They’ll be there for people to enjoy.”

The area also will feature a long, multi-modal path that will give broad community access to Golden Grove Elementary School and Western Pines Middle School to the east. Exactly how that access will be accomplished is still being worked out, Carter said.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County recently announced that Kevin Elwell has been appointed as chair and Charlotte Leonard as vice chair of its board of directors.

Elwell, a native of Palm Beach County, is a member of BDO’s Transaction Advisory Tax Services team. He offers advice related to the buying and selling of businesses, including due diligence and structuring suggestions.

Elwell earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Central Florida and later pursued a master’s degree in taxation from the same institution.

In addition to his involvement with Habitat for Humanity, he is an active member of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and has been a part of Leadership Florida Connect Class X and Leadership Palm Beach County Class of 2018.

“It is an honor for me to serve as the board chair of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County,” Elwell said. “Having grown up in Palm Beach County, I have always been passionate about making this community a better place to live, work and play for everyone.”

Leonard, a Westlake resident who serves on the Westlake City Council, grew up in Pleasant City, the oldest African American community in West Palm Beach. She is a healthcare operations executive who has achieved great success through her hard work, dedication and passion for serving others.

In recognition of her accomplishments, Leonard was designated one of South Florida’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Leaders in Business.

She holds a master’s degree in health law from Nova Southeastern University and is also a John Maxwell certified coach, trainer and speaker.

“I hope to help bring awareness to the community about Habitat for Humanity while also helping to find community partners in areas of community builds, volunteering and fund development,” Leonard said. “I want those who have the need to know about Habitat and maybe one day be a recipient of a home for their family.”

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Palm Beach County is a nonprofit organization and an affiliate of a global nonprofit, Habitat for Humanity International, serving Palm Beach County. Families and individuals needing safe and affordable housing partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home.

Learn more about the organization at www.habitatgreaterpbc.org.