How Palm Springs is growing: More than 400 apartments come to central Palm Beach County town

PALM SPRINGS — Three multifamily developments are bringing more than 400 apartments to Palm Springs, a central Palm Beach County town long known for single-family homes.

The new projects are the Palm Springs Residences, which will bring 264 apartments to the site of the former YMCA; the Lakewood Apartments, with 96 residences built with an innovative construction system; and Village of Valor, an income-restricted complex for veterans and their families.

Over the last 10 years, the population in Palm Springs has grown over 40%, the fastest growth rate in Palm Beach County, to nearly 27,00 residents.

Palm Springs and its neighbor Greenacres have become the place where many families arriving in Palm Beach County from Latin America and the Caribbean rent and later buy their first homes. Apartments, however, have not been a priority in the past for the town, which consists mostly of single-family homes.

The new multifamily projects reflect a shift for Palm Springs as rents and home prices have risen and a once-affordable town has become increasingly less so.

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Mayor Bev Smith said the apartment buildings will meet a big need for Palm Springs, which is home to many residents who are essential workers, have blue-collar jobs or work in the service industries across the county.

"Single-family, at this point, is unaffordable for much of your workforce, whether it be teachers, nurses,” Smith said. "These projects will be affordable to families and the working class and give residents what they need.”

Palm Springs Residences: Apartments come to site of old YMCA

Mast Capital, a Coconut Grove developer, will unveil a 264-apartment project next year on 18 acres along Congress Avenue and Lillian Road. It bought the former YMCA site last year.

The Palm Springs Residences will feature 11 three-story buildings with 96 one-bedroom, 120 two-bedroom and 48 three-bedroom apartments.

The complex will be designed as "garden-style apartments,” where green spaces surround low-rise buildings, Mast Capital said in a news release. Community amenities will include a pool, a clubhouse, a children’s playground, a dog park and a man-made lake.

The multifamily project is Mast’s first project in Palm Beach County. The company has yet to announce the opening dates and rental rates and whether any of the residences will be workforce housing.

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The Lakewood Apartments, or the 'Lego Project'

The Lakewood Apartments, also known as the "Lego Project," is a 96-apartment multifamily complex that opened last fall on 4280 Lakewood Road, off Military Trial. Developed by South Florida-based Renco USA, It features four three-story buildings with 48 two-bedroom and 48 three-bedroom apartments.

Patrick Murphy, a Renco spokesperson, said the buildings are the first in the United States to be built using a new building system made of molded blocks that interlock on top of each other like Lego bricks.

The material, also known as Renco, is made out of renewable composites — recycled fiberglass and plastic, resin and stone — that are 23 times stronger than concrete and able to stand a Category 5 hurricane, Murphy said.

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For construction, blocks of Renco are stacked on top of each other and glued with a resin that triggers a chemical reaction that bonds them into a homogeneous, impermeable structure.

"We believe this product is transformational,” Murphy said. “These buildings can be built in about five or six weeks, compared to a traditional method of concrete and that would be 10 to 12 weeks.”

Murphy said Renco is cheaper than concrete, the block system drops construction time by half and the structures have a projected lifespan of 250 years.

The first of the four buildings for the Lakewood Apartments project had 54 unique pieces. The last had 22, Murphy said.

The company chose to build in Palm Springs because of the city’s central location in Palm Beach County, its growing population and its lack of multifamily housing. He added the company wants to continue building in the area using Renco.

Monthly rent at Lakewood Apartments for a two-bedroom unit is $2,200 and $2,500 for a three-bedroom.

A property manager said apartments in the first two buildings were leased last year and the last two were opened to the public last October. Now, all four towers are 90% occupied.

Village of Valor: A place for veterans to call home

Village of Valor, a Palm Springs nonprofit, will unveil next year 54 apartments for veterans along Lake Worth Road, along Second Avenue North and the Keller Canal.

The property will feature two- and three-bedroom apartments that will be leased as workforce and low-income housing.

Roy Foster, who leads the organization, said the residential project will be designed as a village for veterans that will include housing, classroom spaces and the nonprofit's office.

“It’s going to be of tremendous help,” said Foster, who served in Vietnam. "Now, there won't be a burden for the veterans to get to our offices to do training or workshops. It’ll just be downstairs.”

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For the last 20 years, Village of Valor has helped veterans around the county with housing, medical assistance as well as job training and placement programs.

The goal, Foster said, is to remove barriers that keep veterans from integrating into society and gaining their independence.

With home prices and rents skyrocketing in the county, Foster said, veterans with disabilities or living on fixed incomes are struggling to find and afford rent.

Foster said the average one-bedroom apartment in Palm Springs that rented for $900 a month two years ago is now renting for $1,700. A two-bedroom apartment that was $1,500 is now around $3,000.

“It's impossible,” Foster said. “They are going to be priced out.”

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.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: More than 400 apartments one sign of how Florida town is growing