The Acreage, Florida
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The Acreage is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
located in
Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, United States, with a 2010
US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
population count of 38,704. It is located in the areas north of
Royal Palm Beach Royal Palm Beach is a village in southeast Florida, located within Palm Beach County. The population was measured at 34,140 in the 2010 census. It is part of the Miami Metropolitan Area. Despite its name, the village is located approximately fift ...
and Loxahatchee Groves, and is approximately northwest of
West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
. Most of the population lives in single-family homes on and larger lots. It straddles the western fringes of the highly developed eastern portion of Palm Beach County and the agricultural-rural western portions. Its large, spacious home site lots, dirt roads and many wooded areas give the area a rural character, although it is widely considered to be an
exurban An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...
outgrowth of the South Florida Metropolitan Area. The Acreage is located solely within the Indian Trail Improvement District, responsible for maintaining the road and drainage systems within its boundaries.


History

The Acreage was originally developed by Samuel Friedland and his development company, Royal Palm Beach Colony, Inc., with the name of Royal Palm Beach Colony, as a community to house workers that were employed by the nearby Callery Judge and Mecca Citrus Groves. Workers were given lots and coupled with few land restrictions. Isolated local flooding occurs yearly, leading sometimes to road closures, with
Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 At ...
being the most memorable to the area. The 2004 hurricane season, in which
Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...
and
Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Saffir–Simpson scale, Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Mitch, Mitch in 1998 Atlantic hur ...
struck the area in a three-week period, doing considerable damage to the older wooden cottage style houses while the modern houses in the area received mostly cosmetic damage.


Demographics

It is also surrounded by several nature preserves, and the area blurs the line between rural and suburban. Rapid development of the area has caused a recent push for incorporation and is now notably more built up than nearby Loxahatchee Groves, which was incorporated in 2006. The Acreage's zipcodes are 33411 (Royal Palm Beach), 33412 (West Palm Beach), and 33470 (Loxahatchee), all occurring in barely perceptible regions, resulting in much confusion even among the residents of the area. The area is known for its diverse foreign-born population, with English, Caribbean, and Vietnamese populations being most notable.


Economy

Commercial businesses, shopping and schools are mostly located on the fringes of the area, notably Northlake Boulevard/Coconut Boulevard and Orange Boulevard/Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, while the center of area is mostly residential with a few garden nurseries on the major streets. A proposed post office is expected to open up in the 33412 area of the town along with a pharmacy, supermarket food chains, doctor's offices, and bank chains. In April 2012, The Acreage Branch Library opened to serve the local community. The Acreage Branch is a 30,000-square-foot facility on Orange Blvd. just east of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. It is the first LEED-certified county building. The branch has a variety of materials including CDs, DVDs, new arrivals, books, newspapers and magazines. There are four private study rooms and a larger group study room. Express lending stations for fast, efficient service. There are two-themed areas designed especially for children and teens with ample room for materials and comfortable seating. Study carrels and lounge seating areas throughout the branch. Special features include a family restroom with child-sized facilities. The branch also features an Art in Public Places light sculpture, “Productive Light”, by Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. The sculpture includes a suspended “orange tree” light sculpture, a photovoltaic system, an interactive “sun panel”. The branch has horse hitching post stations for those arriving on horseback. McDonald's also recently made its home at the intersection of Seminole Pratt and Orange, next to Walgreens. Four country clubs are now included in the 33412 area of The Acreage including the exclusive Ibis Country Club where house prices can exceed $3 million. Land taxes and insurance prices are among the highest in Palm Beach County, far surpassing those of anywhere else in the western communities.


Housing

The Minto Westlake housing development passed with 5 votes to begin construction building its 4,500-home community. While the new development expects to have an economic impact of over $1 billion over the next decade, it conflicts with the rural feel of The Acreage, and thus has been met with a mix of opposition and encouragement in the decision to develop.


Parks and recreation

The community features nine parks. The Acreage Athletic League is the area's youth sports provider. *Acreage Community Park *Bob Hoefl Park *Citrus Grove Park *Coconut Park *Downers Park *Kidscape Park *Nicole Hornstein Equestrian Park *Sycamore Park *Temple Park


Education

The community is served by the
School District of Palm Beach County The School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) is the tenth-largest public school district in the United States, and the fifth largest school district in Florida. The district encompasses all of Palm Beach County. For the beginning of the 201 ...
. *Osceola Creek Middle School *Western Pines Middle School *Acreage Pines Elementary School *Frontier Elementary School *Golden Grove Elementary School *Pierce Hammock Elementary School *Planet Kids — Private School *ALLSTAR Kids - Private School *Palm Beach State College- Loxahatchee Groves Campus * Seminole Ridge Community High School


Media

The area is served by the ''
Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'', West Palm Beach
WPTV-TV WPTV-TV (channel 5) is a television station in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Stuart-licensed news-formatted independent station WHDT (channel 9); Scripps al ...
, Radio, the ''Town-Crier'' and ''
The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...
''.


Infrastructure


Transportation

There are a few major paved roads in the community, with the vast majority of the roads unpaved, partly due to the equestrian presence in the area. Local residents have been deadlocked for years on creating additional roadway access to the area to relieve heavy traffic on the existing roadway network, as many residents want to maintain the peace and quiet in this rural area. The ongoing State Road 7 road extension is one such example, as until recently, construction was delayed as many residents and environmental groups wanted to protect the local wildlife, but it has eased traffic coming in and out of the area.


Utilities

The area is not served by sewer and water systems and almost all homes have on-site well and septic systems. On-site ponds, large drainage swales, numerous canals, and houses on elevated land pads help alleviate flooding in this flat, low lying inland area.


Health care

*Palms West Hospital * Wellington ER at Westlake


See also

* Loxahatchee Groves


References


External links


Indian Trail Improvement DistrictTown of Loxahatchee GrovesPalm Beach County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acreage, The, Florida Unincorporated communities in Palm Beach County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida Census-designated places in Florida