Conversation with a friend...

A long time friend of mine is a real estate agent in Charlotte County, Florida. We were chatting today. He was at an open house for one of their listings and things were kind of slow. During the course of our conversation, I asked him about the property and he said that it was new construction, built in 2007 - a 3/2 with a split plan, two car garage, no pool, upgraded kitchen. It's on the market for $213,000. He then read the listing as it appears in the MLS and one of its selling points is that it is close to shopping. Only 11 miles away!

Now, just think of all the shopping choices we have within about an 11 mile radius of Lake Worth. That would be west of 441, north of 45th Street and south to Boynton Beach Boulevard. Think about how our society is going to service this new single family house - through gasoline, hydrocarbon emissions, roads and other infrastructure. Now, think about Lake Worth's compact development pattern and opportunities for in-fill projects that would help meet some of our broad societal goals - affordable housing, close work/home distances, access to mass transit alternatives, a strong sense of place and a coastal location. Regardless of the current state of the residential real estate market - which is part of a national phenomenon, Lake Worth and places like it represent the future if we plan to be kind stewards of our physical and social environment.

Related to our future and not to be missed is the presentation scheduled for this Tuesday's City Commission meeting from a representative working on the South Florida East Coast Transit study and the probability of a transit stop in Lake Worth on the FEC (eastern) railroad tracks sometime in the future. The transmittal memo from City staff appears below. If you can't be there, try to listen to the stream on the Internet. If not, I will be doing a review on this blog.