For evidence of the impact high-rise residential towers can have on a city budget, look no further than .
The town of about 9,000 north of Riviera Beach had the greatest percentage increase in property values in Palm Beach County as of Jan. 1, preliminary figures prepared by the reveal.
And the boost came primarily from one new high-rise, the on the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Silver Beach Road.
The preliminary estimates put the Nautilus building鈥檚 value at $400.9 million. At this year鈥檚 tax rate, that would add $2 million to town tax collections, a 50% boost over the $4.2 million in collections this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a seismic shift in the tax base itself,鈥� Lake Park Mayor Roger Michaud said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e happy that it鈥檚 here and we look forward to seeing what we can do with this newfound revenue source.鈥�
He and town commissioners to get its Certificate of Occupancy to mark the completion of construction before year-end so the town could take advantage of the tax boost this year.
鈥淭hat is what I鈥檓 asking Santa Claus this year,鈥� Michaud said at an October meeting. 鈥淏ecause my wife won鈥檛 let me get me a new car or a new truck. 鈥� But a Certificate of Occupancy from Nautilus 220 is a win-win for everybody.鈥�
This year, he has the same hope for AvalonBay鈥檚 279-unit rising at the old Twin Cities Mall site within town limits. Its financial impact won鈥檛 be as great, he said, but 鈥渋t is a merry Christmas 鈥� and more 鈥� with AvalonBay.鈥�
What is the county鈥檚 most valuable city?
Overall, Lake Park鈥檚 value rose 38.5%, from $1.29 billion to $1.78 billion. That places Lake Park squarely in the center of property values countywide, ranking 23rd.
Boca Raton, at $42.5 billion, and Palm Beach, at $37.5 billion, continue to have the highest valuations among the county鈥檚 39 cities. Among north county cities, Palm Beach Gardens ranked fourth at $23.5 billion, Jupiter sixth at $19.5 billion and Riviera Beach ninth at $9.9 billion.
Also in the top 20, North Palm Beach, Juno Beach and Tequesta.
Countywide, the taxable value reached $365.7 billion, a 6.8% increase. Values have risen 75% since 2020, including three years with double-digit increases. Last year, the county valuations rose 7.7%.
The rise in property values has resulted in higher tax payments, even with most cities and counties reducing or at the very least maintaining their tax rates. The rising costs have fueled Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥� call to reduce or eliminate property taxes, particularly for residents with a homestead exemption.
He has starting June 1 to consider increasing the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 and eventually to $500,000, which would spare owners of homes valued at those new levels from paying any property taxes.
That means those homeowners would make no property tax payments to support schools, police, fire, parks, libraries and the other services they count on local governments to provide, assuming the Legislature goes along and the measure can win support from 60% of voters in November.
Tax roll growth tops $5 billion
Countywide, new construction topped $5 billion for the third straight year. West Palm Beach, which is among the most active cities in attracting high-rise residential construction, had the greatest growth in new construction at $750 million.
Smaller towns dominate among those having the greatest percentage rise in total valuation, with Lake Park topping the list at 38.5% followed by the growing community of Westlake, at 22%. Among big cities, only West Palm Beach cracked the top 10, at a 9.3% growth rate.
The valuations are preliminary because municipalities have a month to review them for accuracy and taxpayers have a chance to contest them before the end of the year.
The valuations are the first step in budgeting for local governments, as officials next must determine the tax rate. Tax bills are a combination of the tax rate multiplied by a percentage of the property鈥檚 value. The county and most cities depend on property taxes to pay for a large proportion of their spending.
Two towns in Palm Beach County, Glen Ridge and Cloud Lake, both off Southern Boulevard near Palm Beach International Airport, have no property tax.
How they rank in value
- Boca Raton, $42.5 billion
- Palm Beach, $37.5 billion
- West Palm Beach, $27.7 billion
- Palm Beach Gardens, $23.5 billion
- Delray Beach, $20.9 billion
- Jupiter, $19.5 billion
- Wellington, $13.8 billion
- Boynton Beach, $11 billion
- Riviera Beach, $9.9 billion
- Royal Palm Beach, $5.3 billion
- Highland Beach, $4.28 billion
- North Palm Beach, $4.05 billion
- Lake Worth Beach, $4 billion
- Greenacres, $3.52 billion
- Juno Beach, $2.76 billion
- Manalapan, $2.53 billion
- Palm Springs, $2.43 billion
- Tequesta, $2.37 billion
- Lantana, $2.2 billion
- Gulf Stream, $2.04 billion
- Westlake, $1.96 billion
- Ocean Ridge, $1.95 billion
- Lake Park, $1.78 billion
- Palm Beach Shores, $1.03 billion
- Atlantis, $812 million
- Jupiter Inlet Colony, $731 million
- Loxahatchee Groves, $729.9 million
- Belle Glade, $721 million
- South Palm Beach, $630 million
- Hypoluxo, $608 million
- Mangonia Park, $475.9 million
- Lake Clarke Shores, $467 million
- Village of Golf, $437 million
- Haverhill, $205 million
- Pahokee, $151 million
- South Bay, $127 million
- Briny Breezes, $116 million
- Glen Ridge, $40.5 million
- Cloud Lake, $17.8 million
How they rank in new construction
- West Palm Beach, $749.7 million
- Palm Beach Gardens, $610.8 million
- Boca Raton, $573 million
- Lake Park, $419.3 million
- Delray Beach, $305.9 million
- Westlake, $262.5 million
- Palm Beach, $179.9 million
- Royal Palm Beach, $157.6 million
- Jupiter, $131.2 million
- Boynton Beach, $82.4 million
- Wellington, $80.4 million
- Palm Beach Shores, $69.7 million
- Lake Worth Beach, $69.3 million
- North Palm Beach, $34.5 million
- Palm Springs, $31.9 million
- Tequesta, $17.5 million
- Riviera Beach, $16.5 million
- Mangonia Park, $15.3 million
- Lantana, $13.7 million
- Juno Beach, $13.2 million
- Loxahatchee Groves, $12.2 million
- Highland Beach, $10.9 million
- Belle Glade, $8.1 million
- Greenacres, $8.1 million
- Ocean Ridge, $6.5 million
- Village of Golf, $6 million
- Manalapan, $5.5 million
- Haverhill, $5.4 million
- Jupiter Inlet Colony, $3.9 million
- Gulf Stream, $2.7 million
- Hypoluxo, $2 million
- Lake Clarke Shores, $985,337
- Pahokee, $434,916
- Glen Ridge, $90,980
- Atlantis, $60,282
- South Bay, $16,245
- Cloud Lake, $10,256
- South Palm Beach, $0
- Briny Breezes, -$23,003
This story was originally published by , a SA国际传谋 News partner.
