Even an offer of half a billion dollars wasn’t enough to boot Briny Breezes' residents from their slice of utopia — a small ocean-front mobile home community nestled between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway,
Homeowners rejected the latest bid from a developer for their entire 43-acre community, even though it could have turned them into millionaires.
The town, which was incorporated in 1963, is located on a barrier island east of Boynton Beach, just a stone’s throw from some of Palm Beach County’s ritziest communities.
Delray Beach developer The Kolter Group had offered to purchase the community for $502.4 million, but the board unanimously rejected the offer.
Briny Breezes is widely known as a municipality that’s managed more like a corporation, with a board of directors who govern and town members who hold corporate shares.
In a statement to WLRN, board president Susan Brannen called the offer "underwhelming in price, tax consequences and development terms."
"The Board asked the shareholders in February if they wanted to list the property for sale and less than 30% voted affirmatively on that [ballot measure] question," she said.
Brannen pointed to a previous $510 million offer the community rejected from another group in 2006 — as well as skyrocketing property values in recent years.
As for now, all of the things that bring residents a sense of exploration and comfort remains intact — from the outdoor pool and cabana overlooking Briny Breezes' Marina to people jogging next to golf carts cruising beside the 630-foot private beach.
Many Briny residents, Brannen says, are more likely to consider a price tag closer to $1 billion, despite dealing with coastal flooding, sea-level rise and redevelopment issues.
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