Delray Beach and Boca Raton Real Estate and Homes for Sale

Watch as Jeff and Dave, the founders of YourDelrayBoca.com, give you their take on the local real estate market:

There is no more dynamic real estate market in the U.S. than Boca-Delray.

From oceanfront mansions and historic homes to picturesque country clubs and subdivisions the market is vibrant, the choices are endless and the neighborhoods varied depending on age range, price and taste. The area features everything from old Florida to the most modern downtown condo’s and townhomes.

You are sure to find exactly what you want in these two world-class cities.

Buying or selling in the Delray-Boca area and need a recommendation? We can help. Learn more here.

8 June, 2026 3 3 Comments

Carrying The Dream Forward

June 8, 2026 By Jeff Perlman 3 Comments

Award Winner Emmanuel “Dupree” Jackson.

When people remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they often think about the dream.

But Dr. King was more than a dreamer. He was an organizer, a strategist, and a builder. He believed that lasting change happens when people are empowered to lead, serve, and lift up their communities.

That legacy lives on in Delray Beach through the work of my friend Emanuel “Dupree” Jackson Jr. Recently, Dupree was honored by the National Education Association with the

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award. The award is given to leaders who emulate Dr. King’s leadership and philosophy.

The recognition is a very big deal. A national award! I can’t imagine a more deserving honoree.

I’ve been watching Dupree for years now. He’s a special person and a special leader.

As founder of the Emanuel Jackson Sr. (EJS) Project, Dupree has dedicated his life to creating opportunities for young people. Named in honor of his late father, who instilled in him the values of education, service, and community, the organization has become one of the most impactful youth development programs in Palm Beach County and a national model.

The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation is proud to support EJS because we believe in investing in people who are making a lasting difference in the communities they call home. Few people embody that mission more completely than Dupree.

For more than a decade, EJS has helped over 5,000 young people build brighter futures through academic support, mental health counseling, leadership development, workforce training, and paid internship opportunities. But the organization’s impact extends far beyond the services it provides.

EJS creates spaces where young people can have honest conversations about issues affecting their lives. Participants learn about history, current events, civic engagement, and the responsibilities that come with citizenship. They are encouraged not only to understand their communities, but to help shape them.

Through participation in City Commission meetings, engagement with the Delray Beach Police Department, and direct interaction with civic and business leaders, young people gain firsthand experience in leadership and public service. They learn that their voices matter and that they have the power to make a difference.

One of EJS’s signature initiatives, Purpose Pays, offers youth ages 14 to 18 compensated work experiences, and professional development opportunities. Participants earn income while learning teamwork, communication, initiative, project management, and workplace responsibility. The program reinforces a simple but powerful idea: opportunity creates confidence, and confidence creates leaders.

Anyone who knows Dupree knows his commitment goes well beyond programs and statistics. He organizes neighborhood beautification projects, sponsors after-school tutoring, and leads educational trips that expose young people to history and African American culture. For many participants, these experiences represent their first opportunity to travel beyond their immediate surroundings and see a larger world of possibilities.

More importantly, Dupree shows up.

He shows up for young people who need encouragement. He shows up for families looking for support. He shows up for a community that believes deeply in the potential of its next generation.

His personal motto—”Bout Dat Action”—is more than a slogan. It is a philosophy of service. It reflects a belief that meaningful change requires commitment, consistency, and a willingness to do the work every day.

That is why his recent recognition with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award feels so fitting.

Like Dr. King, Dupree understands that dreams matter. But he also understands that dreams become reality only when people are willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

For years, he has been doing exactly that—helping young people find their voices, discover their purpose, and realize their potential.

Delray Beach is better because of it.

Check out the EJS Project. It will give you hope for the future. https://ejsproject.org/

A Teachable Moment

I had an odd experience recently, that I thought I would share because the story contains some lessons that I think may be helpful.

I subscribe to a real estate blog that I usually find interesting. It includes a video summary that covers what’s happening in South Florida.

Recently, when it showed up in my inbox it had a provocative headline referencing an “old” Delray mayor embarking on a real estate project.

I thought, “Which of my predecessors is taking on a project in such a challenging environment—high interest rates, inflation, labor issues, and more?”

Then, I read the story, and I realized they were referring to me. Only they were using the name of a work colleague, who never served as mayor of Delray Beach.

Many things about the story were inaccurate, starting with the names.

As a former journalist, this kind of stuff nags at me. I don’t get mad, just annoyed.

Now the blogger is not a reporter, he’s a real estate broker. But still, come on folks. Two minutes of checking via Google would have cleared up a few very basic things.

I shrugged it off ( even the reference to being “old” rather than being referred to as a former mayor) but then I clicked on the video which implied that the misnamed old mayor used his political influence to get the project approved. There were a few snarky remarks, a bunch of innuendo and the impression that this is how it works—elected officials serve so they can monetize their office.

Well, I’d like to say that’s never true, but I can’t. However, it’s not true for every elected official. And it’s not true for me.

I don’t use my former position to get favors from city government. There are five elected officials in Delray, I know four of them, have never met one, have never talked to another, and the remaining three I don’t talk to unless they call me, which is rarely if ever. I am friends with Commissioner Judy Mollica. Our friendship predates any thought of her running for office.

In addition, I barely know anyone who works at City Hall these days. The folks I worked with are long gone.

It’s nothing personal. I’m at a different place in life. I wish them all well. Go forth and build a better Delray. It’s someone else’s turn now and has been since 2007 when I was termed out.

Don’t ask me about parking. Don’t ask me about beach renourishment. Don’t ask me about the Coco Market. I am no longer current. And when it comes to development, I have one piece of advice: follow the rules.

I sent an email to the blogger/real estate guy clarifying the facts. A few hours later I got a response from his “content manager” assuring me the blog was corrected and it was. The content person also said that associated materials were also corrected. But the video is still floating around, which isn’t cool.

I bring this up because I think it’s what they call a teachable moment.

We miss local journalism, done well by people trained in how to obtain and verify facts. I am not saying that the press is perfect, they’re not. They make mistakes, there are biases (reporters are human) but there used to be curation and fact checking. I miss that.

I listen to a podcast called Top of Mind Florida which is co-hosted by former Channel 5 anchor Michael Williams and long time Palm Beach Post political writer Brian Crowley. It’s on all the usual platforms and I highly recommend you check it out. What makes it stand out is the perspective these two veteran journalists bring to the subjects they cover. They know Palm Beach County, they know Florida, they know about life and it shows in the questions they ask and the context they bring to the podcast.

Journalism is the only profession named in our Constitution and it’s at risk. Democracy really does die in the darkness.

Now, I am not saying that a real estate blog that made a mistake is a threat to Democracy. But I am saying that facts matter.

On a recent visit to Chicago, my colleagues and I sat down with the president of the legendary MacArthur Foundation in his incredible office in the famed Marquette building.

John Palphrey is an impressive person. A great grandson of Teddy Roosevelt. A man who has taught at Harvard, written books, ran an elite educational institution and now is making a big mark in philanthropy around the world.

I asked Mr. Palphrey where his foundation’s investments made the most impact. His answer surprised me.

“Local journalism” he said without hesitation. He saw an immediate impact via investment in supporting local news.

It was an interesting answer. And one that surprised me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what he said that day. I heard a similar sentiment during a recent visit with the head of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation.

On another note, there’s a business lesson in how you handle mistakes, which do happen. You own them and you correct them, personally. I wrote to the real estate blogger. I got a kind response from the content manager. That’s a missed opportunity.

When I screw up, which I do from time to time, I try to take responsibility, learn from my mistakes and personally apologize. I don’t outsource that part of my life.

Often, in life and business, it’s not the mistake that matters, it’s how you handle it.

17 May, 2026 2 2 Comments

Dreaming Of What’s Possible

May 17, 2026 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

Visiting the HQ of Chicago Beyond was inspiring.

If you want to restore your faith in humanity spend a few days with people working in philanthropy.

I’m just back from a whirlwind visit to Chicago where we visited with leaders from the legendary MacArthur Foundation and organizations called Lever for Change and Chicago Beyond.

Thanks to the Bank of America philanthropic services team doors across the nation have been opened to the philanthropy I have the privilege to co-lead, The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation.

As we gear up to expand our giving, we take what is called “What’s Possible” tours to grow our knowledge, expand our network of experts we can tap into and to observe how other foundations operate.

These tours have been invaluable.

They are also inspiring and quite frankly taxing because keeping up with the thought leaders in this field forces us to stretch intellectually.

What’s wonderful about philanthropy is that no two foundations are alike.

In others words, if you’ve seen one foundation, you’ve seen one foundation.

That’s enables the new kids on the block (us) to drop in and glean ideas about how to be effective, as well as learning what to avoid. After all, throwing money at a problem is not the best way to move the needle.

What I love about this space is the generosity of the practitioners.

These are busy people. But they always make time to share their work, offer advice and hand over their playbooks. Generosity is about more than giving. It’s about sharing knowledge and helping your peers. I look forward to the day that we can help others serve effectively.

The importance of philanthropy is heightened these days thanks to tough economic conditions and government funding cuts to nonprofits and social services.

More is needed and more is expected from the philanthropic sector to fill the gaps left by cutbacks.

My belief, and it’s shared by my foundation peers, is that philanthropy can do a lot, but it cannot replace government investment in programs and research.

The key word in that sentence is investment. Lifting people and communities up pays dividends. Letting them sink creates costs. Asking everyone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps is a great saying but we all need help and some need more than others.

What we’ve learned on these trips is that philanthropy is risk capital. That makes the sector super important. In business, life and community building those who take risks move the needle. We can learn from their failures and successes. This is where innovation can happen.

At all three stops in Chicago, we heard about lessons learned, risks taken, new approaches that could be shared and further developed.

Chicago Beyond was founded by Liz Dozier, a true American hero who turned around a troubled high school and then founded a philanthropy that invests in local leaders who are in the trenches making a difference across America.

The lessons learned from those “proximate leaders” are shared nationally. Chicago Beyond is helping education, improving prison conditions and investing heavily in birth centers to help women bring babies into the world safely.

Lever for Change is helping foundations make big bets all over the world. We learned so much from their approach to vetting, managing and monitoring investments.

As for the MacArthur folks, they were truly inspiring.

We spent time with their Chicago Commitment team who concentrate on Chicagoland, a fascinating place with a wide variety of assets and challenges.

We capped the day with a meeting with MacArthur’s renowned President John Palfrey, a remarkable leader who is making big bets on programs to preserve Democracy, save local news and lift communities.

For me, the MacArthur meeting was especially personal. It was the MacArthur Foundation that funded our Downtown Master Plan in 2001, an effort I co-chaired while serving on the City Commission.

That plan added fuel to the fire lit by previous leaders, strengthening our core by promoting downtown housing, race relations, downtown parks, the addition of parking infrastructure and so much more. That plan and that process was a highlight of that era and continues to pay dividends today. All thanks to MacArthur’s bet on Delray.

A generation later, I had a chance to personally thank its president for their investment. Now it’s time to pay it forward. And we plan to.

4 May, 2026 0 Comments

Purpose Built

May 4, 2026 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

Many things have changed since the year 2000 in Delray Beach.

We’ve grown up, I suppose.

The town is big business these days. High real estate prices. Big-time commercial rents. Famous people spotted hanging out in our once sleepy downtown.

I’m not one of those who laments change. I understand that it’s inevitable and in many cases preferable. Stasis is not only impossible, it’s boring.
But I am nostalgic. Genuinely so. And I’ve learned that my favorite part of every endeavor is the climb.

I’ve been astonished at the success of Celsius, the energy drink my company’s founder discovered years ago and poured his heart into building. But as much as I’ve enjoyed seeing the company soar, I still recall the early lean years with fondness.
There were unsung heroes along the way — people who worked hard to build the brand. They were special. They were essential. Many didn’t make it to the mountaintop with the company, but their efforts were early bricks. They mattered.

I’ve also enjoyed watching Delray evolve over the nearly 40 years I’ve lived and worked here.
Those were my thoughts last week when I attended the Purpose Built Communities annual conference in Jacksonville. Purpose Built is a nonprofit network that brings proven tools to its members to help revitalize neighborhoods. The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation is invested in Rise Coleman Park, a Purpose Built network member in West Palm Beach. We’ve also visited and been inspired by Lift Orlando, which has done a remarkable job lifting up a community holistically.

Sitting with network members from across America, I was reminded of my early days in Delray — a time of visioning, organizing, investing and dreaming. This is what I fell in love with. The civic pride. The aspiration. The neighborhood leaders who stepped forward and became something larger than themselves.

It was a time of high civic engagement. Charrettes — community visioning meetings — drew large, spirited crowds. Town hall meetings filled the Crest Theatre. Church gatherings to craft neighborhood plans attracted people of all ages. There were different ideas and opinions, but there was unity as well. Everyone was committing to lifting this city up. And they did.

When I ran for office in 2000, there were two animating issues — neighborhoods and the downtown. Neighborhood leaders were concerned about crime and appearance; they were asking for more information and hungering to be involved. It made for an exciting and lively time.
Same for the downtown. People wanted restaurants and retail. They wanted vibrancy, but they also wanted human-scale development and beautification that made the downtown pedestrian-friendly and safe.
These thoughts flooded my mind as I attended sessions and chatted with community members from across the country who came to Purpose Built Communities to learn, connect and better their neighborhoods. It’s intoxicating being with these kinds of people. They are change agents. Civic heroes.

While much has changed in the generation since 2000, one truism remains: it’s people who drive change. Their passion. Their love of community. Their ambitions and dreams. The technology has changed, the scale of money needed has changed, the dynamics of our economy are very different — but sit in a room full of people who are fired up about their neighborhoods, and none of that feels like the point. The human factor is the point. It always has been.
If you can inspire and support people to get off their couches and make change, your city will thrive. It’s just that simple and just that complex.
When we move together, we move differently. I borrowed that line from Jotaka Eady, one of the speakers at the conference. She lit up the room. Her message: we are enough. Indeed. We are more than enough.
People are joyful when they work in community together toward a common goal. We need more of that in our world today. A whole lot more. We can live in silos. We cannot thrive in them.

1 December, 2025 2 2 Comments

Celebrating Placemakers

December 1, 2025 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

Carol Coletta

Here’s to the placemakers…the visionaries who build our communities.

Placemaking– the art of planning and designing public spaces that strengthens the connection between people and the places they share—breathes life into our cities.

The best placemaking is community-driven and focuses on the social, cultural, and emotional life of a space—not just its physical features. At its best, placemaking helps communities create public spaces that are welcoming, active, inclusive, and reflective of local identity.

It turns people into co-creators, honors everyday life as rich with possibility, and transforms parks, streets, plazas, and neighborhoods into vibrant places where community can flourish.

It’s an art form.

I’ve been thinking about the special people attracted to this pursuit of late.

First, we lost Kathy Madden, a legendary placemaker, with long time ties to Delray Beach and then my friend Carol Coletta received the 2025 Urban Land Institute’s Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, the most respected and prestigious honor in the land use and development community.

If the name Coletta rings a bell its because two decades ago, we hired Carol to help us draft the Delray Beach Cultural Plan, a wonderful vision that in a roundabout way led to the creation of the Arts Garage, which has become a local jewel and an important cultural institution in South Florida.

I discovered Carol through her excellent radio show “Smart City” which used to air on public radio. I used to wake up early on weekends to catch the program. Later, I was thrilled to be on the show to talk about what we were building in Delray Beach.

I recruited Carol to help us devise a strategy for the arts and culture in Delray Beach. She worked with the community and produced a plan that 20 plus years later is still relevant and actionable. Yes, she’s a visionary.

Since those days Carol has left her mark on cities. As president and CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership from 2017 to 2024, she led an effort to raise more than $100 million for riverfront improvements, including $61 million for the award-winning Tom Lee Park, a national model for inclusive public space.

These days Carol is a Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins. Prior to her current position, she held leadership roles at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

She’s the real deal. But besides her resume, she’s a terrific person whose passion for cities and placemaking is contagious.

I’ve kept up with Carol through the years following her work and occasionally reaching out to say hello. Here’s some things she’s taught me and others.

Four lessons for transformational placemaking:

You Have to Really Want Change—and Be Ready to Persist

Transformative placemaking is not for the faint of heart. Carol reminds us that change always meets resistance, and nostalgia—“the most powerful hallucinogenic”—can stop a community in its tracks. Visionary leaders must be prepared to push through doubt, fear, and opposition. You can’t create great places unless you’re willing to fight for them.

I’m intrigued by her reference to the nostalgic “hallucinogenic.” I get caught up in nostalgia—often. And when I was an elected official I ran into that mindset whenever we proposed change. In hindsight, just about every major project or initiative was met with resistance—often tied to nostalgia. Such an interesting insight.

Think Bigger and Smaller at the Same Time

Great public spaces require a big vision—not just a single park or plaza, but the context, connections, and complementary uses that allow a place to thrive. But we can’t forget the small stuff either: plants on a porch, a flag on a stoop, a neighbor’s handmade sign.

Carol calls this the balance between engagement and agency. Engagement is when people show up to a meeting. Agency is when they shape their block with their own hands. Transformative places embrace both scales.

Lead With Narrative—the Soft Infrastructure of Place

Storytelling is not decoration; it’s foundation. Carol’s work at Tom Lee Park shows how a powerful local story can animate an entire public realm, giving a place emotional meaning and civic identity. Narrative turns a park into a memory, a plaza into a shared inheritance.

Great placemakers don’t just design spaces—they surface stories that bind a community together.

Frances Bourque, the founder of Old School Square, was the best example of a local storyteller that I’ve encountered. She used narrative (and it was natural for her to do so) and built an army of civic changemakers who bought into the vision.

Design for Belonging—On Purpose

Connection doesn’t happen by accident. Carol argues that public spaces must start with the explicit intention to mix people across lines of class, race, and background. At a time of increasing income segregation, parks and plazas may be among the few democratic spaces left where diverse people can encounter one another.

Placemaking at its best creates welcoming, inclusive, human environments where everyone feels they belong.

As for Kathy Madden…well she leaves behind a remarkable legacy. We lost her in October. It’s a big loss for those of us who value placemaking. While I’m in fairly regular touch with Kathy’s husband, Fred Kent, legendary founder of the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), I only met Kathy on a few occasions. But she was Fred’s partner in life and placemaking, serving as co-founder of PPS and later co-founder of the Placemaking Fund, Placemaking X and the Social Life Project–global networks aimed at expanding the reach of placemaking even further. Despite health challenges, she remained active and engaged, still showing up (virtually or in person) to conferences and summits, including recent gatherings in Mexico City and Toronto.

Kathy is perhaps best known for her work in placemaking education. She co-authored and wrote several books and articles, including the PPS best-selling publication “How to Turn a Place Around”, translated into more than ten languages. She also launched PPS’s popular training course of the same name. In fact, the very term “placemaking” first appeared in Kathy’s educational materials, describing PPS’s collaborative approach to the design and management of public spaces.

I’ve read many of her works and she taught me a lot about what it takes to make a place.

She wanted people to understand that great places aren’t designed by experts working in isolation; they’re shaped by the people who use them, love them, and depend on them every day.

Delray was Kathy’s second home for 68 years. She had deep family ties to our town. Fred remains deeply involved and the two created a series of interesting in-depth articles about Delray that can be found on their Social Life Project website.

Delray was not just one more project location — it was part of her personal geography, a place she kept returning to and cared about deeply.

I recommend reading “How Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue Can Become the Best Main Street in Florida.” Here’s the link: https://www.sociallifeproject.org/delray-beach-atlantic-avenue/

We Remember, We Mourn

This has been quite a year.
I’ve literally lost count of the friends I’ve lost. Today, I want to call your attention to two more special people who passed in recent days: Keith O’Donnell and Tom Johnston.
I don’t relish writing these tributes but I think it’s important to celebrate the lives of extraordinary people who made a difference in our community.
Keith was a local legend in real estate and civic affairs. He was a thinker, a believer. He liked big ideas. He saw the big picture and remained focused on what I call “the big rocks.”
He played a major role in bringing corporations to Boca Raton and Palm Beach County. He was involved in just about all the big initiatives that you can think of in Southern Palm Beach County and beyond.
Lynn University, the Arvida Park of Commerce, the Congress Avenue corridor in Delray, downtown Boca, Mizner Park and the list goes on.
I can’t remember exactly when I met Keith. I know we served on the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County together. I know he was active when I was elected official and he was at the center of some of my company’s work in recent years including the purchase of the old Office Depot headquarters and the Bank of America assemblage on US 1.
I considered Keith to be a friend and a teacher of sorts. He always left me with something to think about. He was a big believer in Boca, Delray, Boynton and all of Palm Beach County.
He saw places and immediately knew how they could be better.
I will miss Keith. He left his mark on our community. He was a long term player. And we need those.
Last week, we also lost Tom Johnston, a retired teacher, all-around good guy and the man known as “Mr. Garlic” thanks to his long term affiliation with the Garlic Festival.
Tom was a former neighbor of mine. He was a favorite teacher for many children who attended Banyan Creek Elementary School in Delray and he and his late wife Beth were active in many local activities.
Tom had a wonderful laugh. He also had a great sense of humor and was always quick with a kind word, a timely text and a good joke.
They don’t make em like Tom or Keith anymore.
I sure wish they did.

29 September, 2025 0 Comments

The Shape Of Things To Come

September 29, 2025 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about stories lately.

Storytelling is a fundamental human art form and the most powerful way to convey ideas, create connections, and understand the world.

It has been said that all great literature is one of two stories; a person goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town.

I have to think about that one, but it sounds about right.

Anyway, I was thinking that places have stories as well. America has a story (and may need a refresh to bring us together) and certainly cities and regions have their narratives as well.

Recently, I tuned into a webinar presented by a cool company called Mission Impact Strategies which is led by my friend Alex Price. Alex is a talented leader with lots of energy and vision. His team is skilled in coalition building, strategy and leadership development. I think he’s going to make a big impact across our state in the next few decades. I look forward to watching him soar.

On the webinar, he interviewed another talented leader named Imran Siddiqui. Imran is another friend that I expect will do big things in his new role. He’s a super smart, deeply connected and driven individual. I enjoy our too infrequent chats because I always come away with a deeper understanding of our community.

Imran recently became CEO of South Florida Tech Hub which seeks to build, grow, sustain and brand South Florida as a globally recognized innovation hub. It;s a big and important mission. A heavy lift as they say, but Imran is a talent. He’s going to make a difference.

One of his main strategies—outlined on the webinar—is to create a new narrative (story) for our region emphasizing collaboration, talent and connection.

He has his eye on places like Austin, Texas, Silicon Valley, Denver and Atlanta—metros that are known for their tech talent, venture capital investment and job growth.

Imran told us that tech innovation in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are on an “upward trajectory” based on job growth, VC money, deal making and reputation.

“Talent doesn’t have to leave South Florida to have a career,” he told listeners on the webinar, a group that included nonprofit executives, public officials, business leaders and academics.

Still, there are the usual headwinds which include affordability, fractured politics, competition from other regions here and abroad, the promise and peril of AI and the usual barriers to regional collaboration, which includes a parochial mindset that prizes winning over partnership.

The webinar was a fascinating overview of what’s happening in our economy, but Imran noted some of the factors creating momentum.

Among them:

The arrival of big players.

“Ken Griffin’s presence alone is a momentum shifter,” he said referring to the business titan who went to school in Boca and founded hedge fund giant Citadel.

Griffin has been making a splash throughout the region with his investment and philanthropy. Joining him is a raft full of Wall Street financial firms and real estate magnate Stephen Ross who has adopted West Palm Beach.

All of these data points, which include several high profile deals (Bain Capital investing in Boca’s Aerospace Technologies Group, a private equity giant buying a majority stake in Boca’s ModMed at a $5.3 billion valuation, Celsius’ remarkable growth which has turned the energy drink company into a company with a $14.5 billion market cap etc.) is changing South Florida’s narrative from a place to retire into a place where serious business is being conducted.

“Narrative matters,” Mr. Siddiqui told his audience. “Because perception drives investment.”

He’s right.

And so, I wonder what is our story in Delray?

Where do we fit in?

South Florida’s brand is driven by three dominant cities: Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. But the other cities in the region matter as well. Boca is punching above its weight with more than half of Palm Beach County’s corporate headquarters calling Boca their home.

Boca is a compelling story and has been for a while now. The potential redevelopment of its city hall campus, the transformation planned at the former IBM campus now known as BRIC (Boca Raton Innovation Campus) and the announcement of a $1 billion fund by 1789 Capital (Donald Trump Jr. is a partner) is said to be focused specifically on Palm Beach and Boca. The fund is described as “anti-woke” (whatever that is) and is named after the year the Bill of Rights was adopted, according to the firm’s website, 1789 Capital.

Meanwhile, West Palm Beach’s newly announced Service Now deal is an important milestone for the local AI economy and comes with a promise of 850 plus jobs. Vanderbilt University is coming as well.

I recently had a chance to hang out with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis at an FAU football game. There’s a lot happening in his city as well; it’s dizzying. Fort Lauderdale often gets lost in the conversation relative to Miami and West Palm Beach, but the one-time Spring Break Capital has been transformed with more investment on the horizon.

I think stories and narratives need to be shaped and updated by citizens and policymakers. They can grow stale. They must be true, or they are quickly discounted or even turned into objects of derision. If you bill yourself as a city on the move, well you better be.

Anyway, a lot is happening. And investment, opportunity and jobs will go the places that are switched on, visionary, open for business and tell a riveting story.

18 August, 2025 3 3 Comments

Lessons in Lift, Lessons in Leadership

August 18, 2025 By Jeff Perlman 3 Comments

Lift Orlando provides actionable lessons for other communities seeking lasting and meaningful change.

A few weeks ago, I told you about a business trip we took to Central Florida.

We were there to check out other foundations on what we call a “What’s Possible Tour.” The trips are designed to expose us to different types of thinking and models that we may customize and bring home with us.

While in the Orlando area, we visited a number of successful philanthropies and a few innovative programs.

In a trip full of stand-out experiences our visit to Lift Orlando stood out.

Lift is part of the “Purpose Built Communities” movement, an effort to lift distressed communities and help them meet the hopes and dreams of their residents.

The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation recently invested in a “Purpose Built Community” in West Palm Beach called Northend Rise. We are bullish about the future of the Coleman Park neighborhood and believe strongly in the formula honed by Purpose Built Communities. What I like most about their model is that the needs, hopes and aspirations of residents come first; frankly it’s the only way you can be successful.

So, we visited Lift Orlando armed with excitement to see what we can learn from a community that has been hard at work since 2013.

What we saw was remarkable.

Unfortunately, when we visited, the president of Lift Orlando, Eddy Moratin, was on vacation. His talented team took great care of us, but everywhere we went in Central Florida people were talking about Eddy. I wanted to meet him.

Recently, we made it happen, via Zoom.

It was worth the wait.

Eddy is a dynamic, energetic leader willing and eager to share his insights. He’s one of those guys who has an intangible quality—yes he’s charismatic, passionate and smart. But there’s something else too. He has what our founder Mr. DeSantis called the “it” factor. In short, he’s a leader.

Anyway, the Lift Orlando experience contains lessons for communities trying to achieve lasting and sustainable change in neighborhoods that have been plagued by neglect, crime, blight and bad health outcomes.

On our Zoom call, we reviewed five takeaways Eddy learned from his Lift experience. I thought I’d share.

Take it away Eddy…

Eddy Moratin

“After $100M in Community Building Investments, here’s “Five Things I’ve Learned About Community Leadership.

Twelve years ago, we set out to do something that felt impossible:

Build a movement of business leaders and residents working together to create generational cycles of prosperity in neighborhoods.

Fast forward more than a decade…

Hundreds of safe, beautiful homes built.
Jobs created.
Children educated and given scholarships
A proud community celebrated

It’s been an incredible journey—and one that’s taught me countless lessons about what it takes to make lasting difference.

But perhaps the most important realization?

The best way to multiply our impact is by helping others do the same.

Doing the Impossible Is Often Easier Than Doing the Reasonable

Big, bold visions are magnetic.

People want to believe in something transformative.

But trying to get buy-in for “good enough” ideas? That’s where the real resistance lies.

The World Is Malleable When You Have a Clear and Compelling Vision

People don’t follow spreadsheets, they follow stories.

Cast a vision so clear and hopeful that it feels inevitable, and back it up with the spreadsheets.

You’ll find that moving mountains is easier than you thought, with the right partners.

Everyone Talks About Collaboration—But We Don’t All Mean the Same Thing

True collaboration requires shared sacrifice for there to be shared wins and shared credit.

The most successful partnerships come from clarity and humility-not convenience.

Caring More About Impact Than Credit Can Be a Superpower

The less you focus on getting the credit, the more trust you’ll earn.

The more clearly you’ll see the path.

The more opportunities you’ll attract.

And the more lasting change you’ll create.

Your Greatest Influence Comes From Your Hardest Lessons

It’s the missteps, the failures, and the moments of doubt that shape the wisdom others need most.

Don’t hide them—share them. That’s how we help others do more, better, faster.”

It’s me again, I’m back.

Isn’t that great?! Thanks Eddy!

When we toured the many triumphs of Lift Orlando, I couldn’t help but think about my leadership experience in Delray.

In the early 2000s, we created a bold, transformational vision for our downtown. We called it Downtown Master Plan.

The plan was a success, because we invited the community to the table and they showed up in record numbers. It was the most gratifying policy experience of my brief career in local politics.

One of the animating ideas of the process was the redefinition of the boundaries of our downtown. Traditionally, East Atlantic Avenue from Swinton to A1A was thought of as the downtown. But the master plan expanded those boundaries to include West Atlantic Avenue and a few blocks north and south of the Avenue, all the way to I-95.

It was a simple but important distinction. We were seeking to erase the invisible dividing line in Delray. We were trying to achieve what we called “community unity.”

We invested in sidewalks, decorative lighting and landscaping all the way to the interstate. And we added a “welcome” feature at the I-95 exchange to signal to everyone that you were entering a special place. That’s the entrance feature you see today, which if you slow down, depicts the rich history of Delray Beach and the diverse cultures that shaped our community.

There was also an investment in trying to restore some vibrancy to Northwest and Southwest 5^th Avenue, a traditional hub of commerce.

An artist worked with the community on sidewalk art, the historic La France Hotel was redeveloped into senior housing and there was city support for a grassroots effort to create the S.D. Spady Museum. We also saw the first significant private investment in the corridor—the Atlantic Grove development—which today is home to offices, housing and great restaurants like Ziree. That development was led by a private sector developer, New Urban Communities, and two local nonprofits that shared financially in the success of the project.

Running parallel to the master plan was an effort called the “southwest plan”, a grassroots effort by neighbors to revitalize the southwest neighborhood located south of West Atlantic. That effort yielded a plan that led to the creation of The Village Academy, the first new school to open in the neighborhood in decades. Later, that plan would be updated into the Set Transformation Plan, another grassroots effort to revitalize neighborhoods north and south of West Atlantic. Tens of millions of dollars were invested in neglected neighborhoods, building sidewalks, paving dirt roads and investing in projects to improve water pressure. A new splash park was built and named after the first female mayor of Delray, Catherine Strong.

I was reminded of those days when we toured Lift Orlando. When the tour was over, we spent time with Lift’s Board, staff and area residents. At that time, I shared that what I saw in Orlando reminded me of what I failed to see in Delray when I was involved as a commissioner and mayor.

We really were making progress. We had a great CRA, a committed city staff, residents who were engaged and a supportive business community and so I thought that momentum would continue. I was wrong.

Things change. Elected officials come and go. Key staff, come and go. The CRA, once independent and focused, was taken over by the commission which has a big enough job looking at the whole city meaning that the independent, somewhat apolitical focus of a volunteer board gets replaced by elected officials, who are naturally concerned with politics.

Our unity, once rock solid, developed cracks and then fissures.

The Set Transformation Plan became embroiled in politics, a great many items in the downtown master plan and southwest plan got done, but those efforts were never replaced with a new plan.

My great lesson as an elected official was the work of building community, nurturing a city, is never done. You can never declare victory, you must wake up a little scared and constantly take stock of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Complacency is a killer, so is division.

I missed all that and thought the efforts would keep going. I shared with my Lift Orlando friends my hard learned lesson, and I commended them for seeing what I missed.

Lift built an infrastructure and a model that moves them forward regardless of the politics. They move forward whether friends or enemies or those who simply don’t engage are in office. They have relationships with funders, donors, business leaders that are long term and rock solid.

They understand that success is a game of addition and so they add new friends along the way.

I never had a sustainability plan, neither did my colleagues, we just had assumptions that things would go on.

I am not one for regrets, I find it a useless emotion. But I do like to learn from mistakes and see if there is a way to apply those lessons to what I’m doing today.

So as we invest in purpose-built communities and root for those good people trying to lift up Coleman Park, I will see these efforts through the lens of experience. And I will ask those we invest in to think about a time when support wavers. It’s hard enough to make change when everyone is rowing in the same direction, but it’s very hard when the pillars you rely on fray or crumble. You have to think about what you’ll do when, not if, that happens.

Community building is like a retirement portfolio–you must diversify.

6 July, 2025 0 Comments

What’s Possible

July 6, 2025 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

Inside The Edythe

I had a remarkable experience a few months back that I wanted to share with you.

My teammates and I at the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation went on a “What’s Possible Tour” courtesy of the Philanthropic Services Team at Bank of America. We work closely with the team on all issues relating to philanthropy. They consult on governance, technology, best practices and any questions we might have about how to be good philanthropists. They are invaluable and we treasure their expertise and kindness.

They bring a national perspective to our “place-based” local philanthropy.

So, in the spirit of finding out ‘what’s possible’, we ventured to Central Florida to check in with the Dr. Phillips Foundation, the Edythe Bush Foundation, the Winter Park Health Foundation, Lift Orlando and the Central Florida Foundation. We also had an opportunity to visit the sensational Morse Museum on Park Avenue in Winter Park for a behind the scenes tour that served as a lesson in what culture can do for a community. The Morse is a local and national treasure. With our local arts scene threatened by funding cuts, we need to be vigilant and make sure we don’t lose what makes us special.

We came back from Central Florida brimming with ideas and filled with inspiration, excitement and motivation. We saw ‘what’s possible’ and we are determined to pursue transformation.

It’s a good lesson for all of us. Regardless of what you do for a living, it’s important to step back and explore what’s possible. For a small investment of time, we had an opportunity to refresh, recharge and change our thinking.

I think people crave inspiration. We want to be moved by a mission, we need to know our “why” and we long to find opportunities to pursue big ideas, ideas that will outlive us.

The best philanthropists, the leaders who matter, the entrepreneurs who make a dent in our world do so with posterity in mind. They understand that their highest calling is to plant seeds that others will benefit from. They plant trees knowing that others will enjoy the shade. In that spirit, here’s what we saw. I encourage you to design your own “What’s Possible Tour.”

Dr. Phillips Charities

We were blown away by the Dr. Phillips headquarters. Words cannot do justice to the building and the grounds…just a remarkable space and a statement that Dr. Phillips is here for the long haul.

It’s hard to overstate the influence Dr. Phillips and his family foundation have had on Orange and Osceola Counties. Phillips made his fortune in the citrus industry which shaped The Sunshine State. That fortune is now being used to enhance health, culture, education and the economic and social well-being of the region.

We turned to the leadership of the Dr. Phillips team when we were tasked with forming the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation and their guidance was invaluable in our start-up days.

To experience their work up close was breathtaking.

Dr. Phillips has significant real estate holdings, and they are busy turning those assets into places that will benefit the greater Orlando area.

Perhaps the most exciting project they have is the 202-acre “Packing District” which is being transformed into a vibrant mixed-use project.

One of the original citrus producers in the region, Dr. Phillips used the land that stretches along Orange Blossom Trail near College Park as the site of one of his multiple packing houses, creating a key place in the early economic ecosystem of Orlando. The site was the first industrial property in Central Florida and the crown jewel in Dr. Phillips’ real estate holdings. The plan includes 97 acres of mixed-use and residential development (1 million square feet or retail/office and 3,500 units) and a 105-acre regional park which will include a 40-acre urban farm which will focus on fixing a broken food system offering learning experiences and using sustainable practices from around the world to grow healthy food.

Our team was struck by Dr. Phillips long-term vision and the importance they place on being good stewards, which was a key principle of their founder.

Edythe Bush Foundation

Stewardship and legacy are the guiding values of the Edythe Bush Foundation, which also assisted us with key advice in our early days. The Edythe Bush Foundation’s visionary leader David Odahowski has been called the “dean of Florida philanthropy.” We wanted to borrow David’s brain and absorb his decades of wisdom. He was kind enough to cooperate.

The Edythe Bush Foundation has had a huge impact in Winter Park, which is somewhat reminiscent of Delray Beach in terms of scale and charm.

Mr. Odahowski reminded us that we probably won’t solve the many issues facing society, but we can move the needle and make a difference.

That’s good news for nonprofits, those of us who give to charity and those of us who aspire to move the needle in the right direction. Edythe Bush’s tagline is “providing a legacy of leadership” and they have done just that with a variety of investments that have helped make Winter Park, a jewel of a city. One of those newer investments is the foundation’s gleaming headquarters located downtown strategically near Rollins College.

We met inside their new building which is called “The Edythe.” It’s stunning. The Edythe welcomes the community with a variety of activities and offers meeting space to community groups. It’s designed like a theatre, which honors Mrs. Bush who was an actress and dancer. The family’s philanthropy was derived from the success of 3M, a Minnesota based conglomerate.

The foundation is unique because it has a local focus and serves as a convener. Over the past 50 years, Edythe Bush has served close to 900 nonprofit organizations and given over $114 million in grants to alleviate human suffering and help people help themselves, that is a concept that drove our founder, Carl DeSantis.

But what’s also interesting is that the foundation and its leader have served as beacons for the state of Florida. They were instrumental in founding the Florida Philanthropic Network, an organization that enables foundations to learn from each other and leverage their collective knowledge of challenges and opportunities facing Florida. The foundation also works closely with the Florida Chamber Foundation on future goals for the state. We have learned a lot from Edythe Bush and their talented staff.

Winter Park Health Foundation

Nearby is the headquarters of the Winter Park Health Foundation, which uses the proceeds from the sale of a hospital to offer programs that promote community health. The Winter Park Health Foundation has created a special space in a park-like setting where people of all ages come for classes, exercise, healthy food and solace from a busy world. I was especially taken by their “Nutrition Theatre” which serves as a learning kitchen where people can come to take classes. It reminded me of the work that Ali Kaufman is doing at the Community Classroom Kitchen in Delray Beach, which we are proud to support.

The Winter Park Health Foundation model is a little different from many other foundations in that they operate their own program. We saw the complexities of this model, but also its potential.

Central Florida Foundation

For 30 years, the Central Florida Foundation has been serving as the “community foundation” for their large and diverse region.

From these experts, we learned the importance of data analysis and the need to look at root causes of community challenges to ensure that philanthropic dollars are spent wisely.

The Foundation also serves as a convener and has found innovative ways to bring the community together around issues and opportunities. Currently, I’m bingeing their podcast “First You Talk” which covers issues including homelessness, housing and health.

What struck us the most was their “Thrive Central Florida” initiative which brings together the collective brainpower, funding and skills needed to address the most pressing challenges facing a region which is growing rapidly. The premise is simple: Central Florida leaders are smarter and more impactful when key players work together. A good lesson for other regions to emulate.

Armed with this information and passion for our mission, we are so excited about “What’s Possible.” I encourage you to ask and answer that simple, but profound question.

16 May, 2025 6 6 Comments

Granger’s Was A Great, Good Place

May 16, 2025 By Jeff Perlman 6 Comments

Granger’s Grille.

Note: This is an early version of the blog. I’m traveling to our nation’s capital next week on business and won’t be at my desk to write and post Monday. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion in your inbox.

I’m going to miss Granger’s.

The iconic restaurant on Federal Highway closed its doors last week with a sad sign off on Facebook thanking patrons for their loyalty.

I’d like to thank Granger’s for their grilled cheese, their turkey burgers and their home-made chips—which were unparalleled. Granger’s Grille felt like the Delray version of “Cheers”—a place where everybody knew your name. We need these kinds of places; in fact we crave them.

It was interesting to see the reaction to the surprise announcement. Lots of regulars expressed genuine sadness at the news and lamented the loss of yet another local staple—and a relatively affordable one at that. Across the border in Boca, I watched a similar reaction to the news that Belzers Hardware announced that it was closing after many decades. Locals talked about shopping at Belzers in the 50s.

We feel these losses somewhere deep in our souls. These places are what make us feel that we’re home.

As for me, I’m still mourning the closure of The Annex in Pineapple Grove—but the loss of Granger’s stings even more.

Granger’s was my “go-to”, an easy answer for lunch, a place where it was easy to park, the wait staff was friendly, and best of all you can always count on finding at least six other friends among the tables.

I was a frequent flier at Granger’s for years—first at their old location near Rex’s Hair Salon (also gone but never forgotten) and later at the new location which was spacious and featured easy and ample parking. I was there at least 1-2 times a week, even during Covid, when they were a great place to pick-up some tasty take-out.

I finally mastered the credit card machine, a considerable accomplishment for a tech luddite such as myself. And while I never made it to rib night, I had planned too. But alas that opportunity has passed unless of course they find a new location and get the band back together. (One can hope).

My friends in the restaurant business tell me times are tough for independent proprietors. Food costs are high, insurance is expensive, the workforce can’t afford to live here and rents are astronomical. There’s also an immense amount of competition. It can’t be easy to fill seats on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and the summers are long, hot and devoid of snowbirds. It’s hard to know when and if our friends from Canada will return; who can blame them.

But all I know is that places like Granger’s are important.

Life is funny, you never know when your last time doing (fill in the blank) will be. We remember the first times, but we often don’t recognize last times.

My “last time” at Grangers was two weeks ago when I had a chance to have lunch with the legendary Tony Allerton and the soon to be legendary Steve English.

Tony is a long-time friend. He’s a local icon who has literally saved thousands of lives through his work at The Crossroads Club.

Tony is in his 90s now, sharp as a tack and still working.

We share a lot of history and a love for Granger’s, what I call a “great, good place” —a phrase I’m borrowing from Ray Oldenburg.

Mr. Oldenburg is gone now. But he made a great and lasting contribution to our culture. He was an urban sociologist who coined the term “third place” to describe the importance of informal gathering spaces—coffee shops, parks, bookstores, cultural venues and the like.

First place is the home, second place is the workplace, and third places are the anchors of community life where we find connection and community.

They are important civic assets.

Oldenburg’s ideas remain influential, and the best cities embrace his “Third Place” philosophy by encouraging and supporting these gathering spots.

According to experts, there are several characteristics of a third place.

A third place accepts people from all walks of life.

Conversation is the focus.

They are accessible and accommodating.

There are regulars who hang out.

They tend to be low profile.

They are playful, fun and casual.

They are “a home away from home.”

Granger’s ticked most if not all those boxes.

Sadly, third places are declining.

We don’t go to the movies anymore, we don’t join bowling leagues like we used to do and service clubs are struggling to attract young members.

We do play pickleball, so that’s a plus.

Anyway, Grangers was a great, good place. I sure hope they find another location. But if they don’t, I will cherish the memories. I’m already wistful when I drive by….

This week, I was honored to eulogize my friend Nancy Stewart-Franczak, who passed away recently. A huge crowd turned out on a rainy night at the Delray Beach Golf Club to pay tribute to a woman who meant so much to so many. Nancy’s loss leaves a huge void in the lives of her husband, her family, her friends, work colleagues and the communities she served with her outstanding special events.

I got several requests to share my remarks so here they are…

Delray Beach has lost a true friend.

There are no words to adequately describe what Nancy meant to her family, her friends, her community.

We loved her.

She loved all of us, touched all of us, inspired all of us and led by example.

She was tough and soft. Resilient and loving. Determined and sensitive. She was fun and funny, warm and wise.

She put this town on the map with her vision and grit. She was a force —full of ideas and the rare visionary who not only dreamed big but had the skill to execute on those dreams.

She made so much happen. So much. It’s staggering what she accomplished with a small but powerful team. But she was always humble. Always willing to listen and always open to new things. Nancy never stopped growing. She never stopped learning, and she never stopped dreaming. She set an example for all of us.

I’ve had a few days to reflect on my friend Nancy and I’m left with a bunch of emotions: I feel deep sadness over this loss, I’m in awe of her legacy and like you I’m absolutely heartbroken. We were not prepared to let Nancy go… Somehow, we thought that Nancy was indestructible.

But while she is no longer here with us, she will always be with us in spirit. And the seeds she planted, the dreams she realized, will long endure.

She touched so many, so deeply. And I think I know why.

It’s because she was genuine.

In a fast-moving transactional world, our Nancy was real and rooted.

She wore her passion on her sleeve, spoke her mind and loved this place. She loved Delray Beach, even when the powers that be didn’t love her back.

What I’ve seen in the past few weeks is a tremendous outpouring of love from people in this community that Nancy touched. They never went away. They never left her side. Nancy’s community never left her. And she never left our side either. She never stopped taking pride in a community she helped to build.

I saw Nancy weather a lot in recent years. Illness. Pain. Toxic politics.

I debated whether to mention what Nancy and her team at FMG went through relative to the Garlic Fest.

But I think the story is essential to Nancy’s story and a testament to her strength and character.

It’s also a teachable moment. And it has a happy ending because after 9 years, Garlic Festival is coming back. And Nancy knew that. Her pride and joy is coming back to Delray; where she wanted it to be, and where it belongs.

I was mayor when Nancy asked me and Diane, then the CRA Director to travel with her to Gilroy California to show us what a Garlic Festival can mean to a community.

She wanted me to see her vision. She was going to build a festival that gave back to Delray. And she did. Because when Nancy set out to do something it got done.

When the powers that be sent her away, she stood her ground. She told her story. She stood up and spoke truth to power.

It was during this time that we grew closer. Being forced to take Garlic Festival to a new location was hard for Nancy and her team. But they made it work, and the festival grew. But she never gave up on bringing it home.

This is where we saw Nancy’s strength. We saw her faith. Her ability to pivot like all great entrepreneurs and her ability to reinvent and grow her business with other signature events.

She led by example, and she set an example.

When our community learned of Nancy’s passing, we saw a tremendous outpouring of love and respect.

Words like icon, visionary, resilience and kindness were used to describe Nancy.

I can add many: honest, loving, passionate and courageous are just a few that come to mind. Nancy was something else; she was truly remarkable.

I hope we have learned to appreciate and respect these special people in our midst. That’s the teachable moment.

Cities are cities. It’s the special people who show up, roll up their sleeves and get to work that make them special. It’s people like Nancy who make our hometowns feel like home.

Nancy’s life was devoted to building community, she benefited several cities in the area but none more than Delray.

We need to cherish people like Nancy. The people in this room certainly do. We need to insist that the visionaries in our midst are treated with grace and compassion. That’s what makes or breaks a village. Nancy knew that. She got up every day and worked hard to strengthen the village. And she succeeded. With kindness, humor and a fierce determination that made her uniquely our Nancy.

I’ll conclude by saying that I felt very close to Nancy. She was easy to talk to; we laughed together and cried a few times too. She was a loyal friend. A trusted confidant and someone I deeply respected. I loved her. We all did.

Her memory will be a blessing to all of us…she’ll live forever in our hearts.

Last week, during a visit to Maine, I had a dream. I dreamt that I was in a storm with winds so strong that bricks were flying.

In the dream, I was dodging the bricks.

When I awoke, I thought about the dream and what it may have meant.

I think I figured it out, I was listening to a song the day before by Willie Nelson, it’s called “It’s Open Season on my Heart.” There’s a line in the song that I think may have prompted my dream. Here’s the line.

The days go by like flying bricks

Leave gaping holes too deep to fix.

When we reach a certain stage of life, we start to lose people who are essential to us.

Every day the bricks are flying and sometimes they hit us and leave gaping holes too deep to fix.

Losing Nancy leaves a gaping hole to deep to fix. But while the loss hurts, we wouldn’t trade a moment, because the love we’ve experienced transcends the loss.

To Nancy’s husband John, I’m so sorry for your loss. You’ve shared with me your faith that she is with G-d. We wish you peace during this difficult time.

To Nancy’s family. Thank you for sharing Nancy with us. She enriched our lives immensely.

To Nancy’s family at FMG…I know how hard this has been for you. I hope you feel the support of an appreciative community who very much want you to continue Nancy’s remarkable work. We love the FMG team. And we love Nancy…

24 February, 2025 5 5 Comments

Housing: The Impossible Dream?

February 24, 2025 By Jeff Perlman 5 Comments

The high cost of housing has created a waiting game for many Americans.

I read a stunning statistic last week.

The median age of first-time homebuyers is 38.

Considering that the average lifespan in America is 77, that means that Americans are middle aged before they purchase their first home. Or looked at another way, first-time buyers are out of high school 20 years and only 24 years away from the earliest age they can receive Social Security benefits when they purchase their starter home.

Yikes.

As soon as you acquire a home (and a list of honey do projects that go along with it) you also acquire a sore back, creaky knees and a desire to nap because you’re pushing 40.

In 1991, the median age of first-time homebuyers was 28. As a twenty something in the early 90s, That sounds about right. I remember that era as a time when most people of my generation were settling down and buying “starter homes.”

Our first townhouse in Delray cost $69,000 with all the upgrades included. It was brand new, affordable; the neighborhood was cute, and it came with a pool and a tennis court. Not too shabby.

The townhouse itself was modest, we had a small courtyard, a tiny home office and room (barely) for a golden retriever. I remember being thrilled to be an “owner” and felt connected to my community.

Not that renters aren’t important or connected, but there’s something intrinsically different about homeownership. You feel a part of things. Your vested; and invested too.

Back in those affordable days, things overall felt different. There was a palpable sense of community back then, South Florida felt like a new frontier with limitless possibilities. It was affordable and on the move.

But these days it feels like we live in a very different landscape. And I think a lot of it is driven by home prices and the cost of living overall. When you factor in insurance, taxes and everything else it takes to make it these days you scratch your head and wonder: how does anybody afford this? And how are young people supposed to get started?

For example, recently I had lunch with two retired fire chiefs.

They were telling me that they are seeing firefighters living hours away from the cities they serve because they can’t afford to live anywhere in our community.

Work schedules enable these men and women to live in far flung places and make the long drive back home after working 2-day shifts in which they sleep at the fire station.

I recently spoke to a retired Delray police officer who now consults on public safety and emergency preparedness nationwide. He says he knows of firefighters in California who fly home to another state in private prop planes after clocking out to find more affordable housing.

All of this is perfectly understandable. And the trend is not limited to firefighters. Police officers, city managers, department heads and other civil servants, including teachers and nurses are finding it hard or impossible to find attainable housing—and that includes affordable rents.

If you didn’t have a home before the rise in prices, this is a hard market to crack.

I ask people that I know—some very wealthy—if they could afford to buy the home they currently live in if they had to buy it today. To a person, all have said no.

So ,what do we lose when essential workers, public servants and public safety workers can’t afford to live where they work?

I would argue a whole lot. Instead of long-term contributors we may end up with people who clock out emotionally as soon as they are off the clock. Of course, this is not universal. I know plenty of people who don’t live here who care more for this place than those who do. But it’s human nature to give back to the place where you rest your head at night. It would also be natural to quit your job in Palm Beach County if you can find something closer to your home in Palm Bay or Port St. Lucie.

But if your workforce lives locally, they often serve that community and care about that community in myriad ways. They may coach youth sports, they may serve on their homeowner’s association board, or volunteer for a local nonprofit. They get involved in schools because their kids are being educated where they live, not where they work.

I think the holy grail for a city is to create a place that people love. If you fall in love with your city, you commit to that place, you invest your time, charitable dollars and soul in that city’s success. It becomes more than just a place where you work and leave for that long drive home, it becomes home.

I was fortunate to serve with a team of city department heads and staff that lived, worked and played in Delray. Because they lived here or nearby, their hearts were here too. They were long-term players who devoted their careers to this place.

I remember being a young reporter and covering Mayor Tom Lynch and the commission he led. Last week, I ran into former Mayor Jay Alperin and former Vice Mayor David Randolph at a charity event, and I started to think about those days again. It was the early 90s and one of the bedrock principles of that particular commission was to encourage home ownership. They formed a Neighborhood Task Team to dive into issues impacting neighborhoods. They talked about code enforcement, trash clean-up, lighting, landscaping and public safety. It was all aimed at stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging people to come here and put down roots.

It was a sound strategy. And it worked. But today, it’s harder because the barrier to entry is daunting.

Clearly market forces and societal changes are playing a role in delaying the age at which people buy their first homes. People are getting married later and birth rates are declining too.

Another factor is that older homeowners with lots of equity or even a paid-off primary residence are a little less sensitive to the recent mortgage rate increases. Or they can’t afford to move because if they do so, their taxes will triple even with portability thanks to Florida tax laws.

But regardless, I think what we’re seeing is sobering and needs to be studied. As noted in a prior column, our area is changing rapidly. Major players with vast resources see our slice of paradise as an opportunity for more commerce, more luxury, more everything.

It’s exciting. “Change” my friends, is inevitable. It is not something to lament, but it is something to shape.

Hopefully, as we rapidly evolve, leaders will consider the price of housing, both to own and to rent as they shape the future. Because if we don’t find a place for our teachers, cops, service workers and young professionals we lose a lot. We lose the soul of our communities, the people who make a place, a home.

Notes:

Congratulations to Community Greening’s Executive Director and Co-Founder Mark Cassini who recently won the 2024 “Friends of the Urban Forest Award” for being an “Outstanding Advocate”.

This recognition was highly deserved as Mark is indeed a champion of urban forestry and his organization does outstanding work in so many communities.

It has been a joy to watch Community Greening grow and thrive.

3 February, 2025 2 2 Comments

The Future May Be Here

February 3, 2025 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

I ran into my old friend Kelly Smallridge while attending an event recently at the beautifully restored Delray Beach Club.

Kelly is the longtime president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. I did two stints on her board over the years and had the privilege of watching Kelly at work. Palm Beach County is fortunate to have her. She’s great at what she does. Her practice is economic development. Her job is to sell Palm Beach County as a great place to live, work, learn and play.

Kelly does all that and more. She’s also a visionary. She’s the architect of a campaign called “Wall Street South” that has rapidly gone from dream to reality.
I was involved with the BDB when that phrase was coined and Kelly reminded me that when the term was first introduced it was often greeted with laughter.

Yes, we have sunshine and no income taxes. Yes, we have an emerging cultural scene and lots of wonderful beaches, but it’s doubtful New York City’s movers and shakers spent much time thinking about us as a place to do business or as competition for Wall Street.

But fast forward a few years and here we are. Financial firms are pouring into the area and Wall Street South is suddenly very real.

At the same event, I ran into Brian Seymour, the chair of the Business Development Board, and a prominent land use attorney at Gunster. In his roles, Brian gets to see a lot. And he’s seeing a lot. A whole lot of investment, plans, vision and excitement for Palm Beach County.

Early beneficiaries are West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton.

We are experiencing huge investment in the office sector (once written off as dead), retail, industrial and residential asset classes. It’s something to see. You can feel the change that’s happening. It’s in the air.

I felt the excitement last week, when we caught up with our friends at 1909, an exciting business incubator/accelerator in West Palm Beach. The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation is an investor in this wonderful nonprofit.

We have seen the group reach hundreds of entrepreneurs with an array of programs. They also build community, which is important for entrepreneurs. They are moving into beautiful new office space in downtown West Palm, and we got to visit with an array of business owners who are seeing their dreams come to life while taking advantage of the support services offered by 1909.

At the event, we talked to County Commissioner Gregg Weiss who spoke about the county’s investment in 1909 and we learned that Boca Raton has invested as well. Both governments will surely see a return on that investment as 1909 grows.

The same week we experienced these meet-ups with people hard at work making things happen in our county, we watched with amazement a meeting in Boca Raton in which the City Council weighed four proposals to re-imagine 30 acres of their downtown, including their City Hall campus. It’s a multibillion bet that— if done right— has the potential to remake an already successful city. And that’s an important distinction. Boca’s leadership isn’t content to coast or rely on its past success, it’s striving and aspiring for more.

That will be music to some people’s ears and nails on a blackboard to others. But change doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game, you can evolve and hold onto your soul. You can progress and keep the good stuff too.

But it’s hard and it requires leadership that is not only visionary, but vigilant and sensitive to the needs and concerns of all stakeholders.

Often cities respond only to the loudest voices, which tend to protect the status quo. The need and concerns of existing residents and business owners are super important, but there is also a very strong need to consider the future, which includes people who will eventually want to live and work in your city.

It’s a balance. More art than science.

Watching the workshop, I was struck by the comments of Stephen Ross whose Related Ross company is a bidder on the project.

Mr. Ross (who owns the Dolphins) has gobbled up a ton of downtown West Palm Beach real estate, including old and new office projects. Ross sees this area as the next “Silicon Valley” and predicts that Boca will be the equivalent of Palo Alto in that scenario. He sees Palm Beach County as offering the “greatest opportunity” in America.

“I believe this will become the most important place in America, going forward, from a business standpoint,” Ross told the Boca Council.

That’s heady stuff.

Many regions have aspired to be the “next Silicon Valley” including our region with an effort called the “Internet Coast.”

Personally, I think cities and regions should aspire to forge their own identities, but I think Ross makes a larger point. We are rapidly turning into something different, something significant too.

Like anything in life, change brings both good and not so good consequences. No doubt, there will be opportunity and lots of money flying around.

Recently, Lake Worth Beach, which has enormous potential (untapped and sometimes unrealized) received an unsolicited $355 million bid to redevelop its waterfront casino and nearby golf course from a group that includes Stiles Corporation and golf great Jack Nicklaus.

The proposal includes two Hyatt Hotels. Interesting.

In addition, the new Trump administration is clearly a factor in our backyard with Mar A Lago serving as a magnet for an array of lobbying and public affairs firms seeking local digs to be near the nexus of power—at least for the next four years.

Still, there are headwinds that we should be mindful of. Those of us who came decades ago or who are natives found an affordable paradise in South Florida. That is no longer the case.
Housing costs, food costs, insurance costs and divisive and often corrosive politics have changed the personality of our region.

Executives from Related Ross, including a young executive who grew up in Boca’s Mill Pond neighborhood but went elsewhere to build his career, promised to bring jobs to Boca so that future generations won’t have to head to New York and California for career growth.

That’s wonderful, it truly is. It’s hard not to get swept up when a proven visionary like Stephen Ross outlines a big (and I think achievable future) but it would be folly if we create a place that displaces those who can’t afford seven figure homes. If we can’t accommodate teachers, nurses, restaurant workers and essential service providers we will cease being a place.

Years ago, I was part of a group that brought the president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to Lynn University for a conversation. We had a conversation about success, innovation, invention and technology. It was fascinating. But at the time and to this day, Silicon Valley struggles with a lack of attainable housing.

We struggle mightily with this issue now; can you imagine what it will be like if Ross’ prediction comes true.

Affordability, insurance, mobility and fostering enlightened and effective leadership are complex topics. Ignore them at your own risk.

Market forces will prevail, and change is inevitable and often desirable. But smart leaders and smart communities plan, shape and lead the way into the future.

These are interesting times. Frankly we’ve lost a lot of ground relative to affordability already. But it’s never too late to course correct, prepare and innovate.

Here’s to the future.

Notes:

A heartfelt congratulations to Assistant Police Chief Jeff Rasor on his new position as chief of police in Manalapan, just up the street from Delray.

Chief Rasor served 22 years with the Delray Police Department and distinguished himself every step of the way up the ladder. I got to know Chief Rasor when he spearheaded the Criminal Justice Academy at Atlantic High School, a program the commission I served on championed along with then principal Kathy Weigel. Jeff created a great program that fed a lot of talent from the academy into service to our city.

We wish Jeff lots of success and thank him for his dedicated service.

Delray continues to mint chiefs of police. It’s a very proud legacy.