Energy-efficient rentals propped with public cash
Boynton Beach expects to pay out $2 million over 10 years
BOYNTON BEACH —
Seabourn Cove, an apartment community nearing
completion, has been an expensive, painstaking effort to build,
involving special windows and lights, car chargers in every garage and a
double ceiling, so air-conditioning ducts never pass through a hot
attic."Go to any other construction site, you'll never see that," said project manager Rick Lococo, a development partner with Gulfstream Gardens LLC, as he toured the top floor of an unfinished rental unit Tuesday.
But the Tampa-based company wouldn't have bothered if not for an infusion of millions in public money from the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. An arm of city government, the CRA agreed to rebate about $2 million over 10 years from the tax revenue the complex generates.
The project, at 3501 S. Federal Highway, sits on what was vacant property, city officials said. By mid-July, when the first residents could move in, Seabourn Cove will be a poster project in an effort to brand Boynton Beach as a leader in sustainable energy, developers say.
"The county has looked at our city as a model for other cities," said Boynton Beach Commissioner Marlene Ross, who led an effort two years ago to create a "climate action plan" for the city. At the time, it called for reducing the city's greenhouse-gas emissions 18 percent by 2035.
Gulfstream Gardens will pay about $2.7 million up front to outfit Seabourn Cove, which occupies almost 23 acres, with energy-saving technology.
In March, the CRA agreed to pay 50 percent of new tax revenue generated by the project to Gulfstream Gardens.
If revenue projections pan out, Gulfstream would get almost $2 million. If the revenue comes in under, the city still is on the hook only for 50 percent.
Chris Barry, a land planner with West Palm Beach-based Jon E. Schmidt and Associates, called the incentive a creative way to spark development because it dodges a big up-front cost to the city.
"It does take a decent amount of the risk out of it," Barry said.
The builders took much into account, installing extra insulation and sealing off cracks where heat or cold can escape. The toilets use less water. And the high-efficiency light bulbs last more than 14 times longer than traditional incandescents.
"Every light in here is a special type of light bulb," Lococo said. "You can't buy this at Home Depot. This is next generation."
Tenants are signing up faster than they can build the units, Lococo said.
After all 456 apartments are complete, it will be the largest project loaded with this much energy efficiency, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
The rentals, which range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units with balconies, go for about $1,100 to $1,700 monthly, Lococo said. But developers estimate residents will save 40 percent on electric bills and 20 to 25 percent on water.
