The residents of Briny Breezes, a small South Florida beachfront community made up of trailer parks, have turned down a $502 million bid from an unnamed developer who had hoped to buy the coveted piece of land.
The offer was made earlier this month with community managers emailing the 600 residents about the offer, warning them there was “no clear idea of what the buyer is proposing for redevelopment.”
The residents gathered for a meeting where the $502,496,000 offer was discussed, but many refused to even consider selling.
Not on my piece of paradise! It’s old Florida. It got stuck in the ’70s. You can grab your golf cart and drive straight to the beach and put your feet in the sand. Anyone interested should get north of $1 billion. We’re down the street from Trump, all the neighbors are millionaires,” said Chuck Swift, a resident since 2016.
“We are the last remnant of Old World Florida. We are a kitschy place. I would like to stay here forever,” resident Lynne Weiner, who has lived in Briny Breezes since the 1950s, told the Sun Sentenial. “This used to be a very, very nice neighborhood. Now it’s just a very nice location.’
A developer has bid $502 million to buy the Briny Breezes trailer park town
Residents of the small beach community of 600 in South Florida’s Palm Beach County declined the offer
A group of regular visitors bought the property in 1958 and it was incorporated as a city in 1963, the year this photo was taken
Residents say their piece of paradise isn’t for sale, though some residents think an offer of more than $1 billion with favorable terms could be worth considering.
The residents’ decision not to sell their community comes as South Florida faces an affordability crisis and high demand for land.
Strikingly nestled amidst multi-million dollar mega mansions in Palm Beach County. and splashy high-rise condominiums, the quaint coastal town of Briny Breezes seems out of place.
One of the last remaining trailer park communities on the coast between Miami and Palm Beach, Briny Breezes is an island of unpretentiousness surrounded by glitz and glamour.
Residents drive golf carts through the narrow streets, past palm trees and small, neatly tended gardens. They wave at each other, exchange treats, and talk about the next neighborhood outing: water aerobics in the community pool, shuffleboard at the clubhouse, and bowling.
The 43-acre city sprang from a strawberry farm in the 1920s, when Florida’s charm was subtropical weather and quiet coastal bliss—long before the days of Art Deco, Miami Vice, and Walt Disney World.
Briny Breezes is conspicuously nestled amidst multimillion-dollar mega-mansions in Palm Beach County, including Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, pictured
Just down the road from Briny Breezes are some of the most luxurious homes in the state
Luxury homes line the intracoastal waterway on some of the most expensive lots in the state
Splashy condos, seen on the left, are just across the street from the quaint coastal town of caravan parks
Every year so-called ‘can tourists’ came down with their trailers to escape the northern cold.
A group of regular visitors bought the property in 1958 and it was incorporated as a city in 1963. It is run as a corporation by a board of directors and residents own shares based on the size and location of their lot.
With 600 feet of oceanfront property and another 1,100 feet along the Intracoastal Waterway, land like this in Southeast Florida is gold.
While some residents were inclined to consider a counteroffer, the majority of shareholders would not accept the original offer.
Still, it wouldn’t be a bad investment when you consider that some bought their homes as late as 1997 for $35,000.
“This is about it for an affordable coastal community,” says Debbi Murray of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. “It’s just another piece of Floridiana that’s going to disappear.”
And it’s not just a Florida phenomenon, said John McIlwain, a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.
‘There is enormous pressure on that country and values are skyrocketing. We’re seeing this all along the coast,” McIlwain said. “These holdouts really don’t stand a chance.”
With 600 feet of oceanfront property and another 1,100 feet along the Intracoastal Waterway, land like this in Southeast Florida is gold
Some only bought their home for $35,000 in 1997, but they’ve turned down offers to become millionaires — at least for now
One of the last remaining trailer park communities on the coast between Miami and Palm Beach, Briny Breezes is an island of unpretentiousness surrounded by glitz and glamor
A resident who attended the meeting, James Arena, a real estate agent, predicted more offers to come in the future.
“There were a few people who were inclined to make a counteroffer, but the majority of shareholders would not accept the offer or a counteroffer,” he said. “They laughed at the offer.”
“They’ll come back with more money and better terms, that’s for sure,” he predicted. “They can take their $500 million and triple it and they might have a chance, maybe.”
“The offer recently received was unsolicited and extremely disappointing in terms of price, tax implications and development terms. The board has presented this to the shareholders for the sake of clarity. The board voted to take no further action on the offer and rejected it without a counteroffer,” Gallacher said in a statement to the Sentinal.
In 2007, residents agreed to sell their town and the 488 trailers to Ocean Land Investments, a Boca Raton developer, for $510 million.
In 2007, residents agreed to sell their town and the 488 trailers to Ocean Land Investments, a Boca Raton developer, for $510 million, but the developer backed out.
For many residents of Briny Breezes, their lifestyle is more important than money.
The average payout was expected to be about $1 million, with owners of smaller inland lots getting less and owners with larger oceanfront and intracoastal lots getting a bigger slice of the pie.
However, the developer backed out, meaning plans evaporated for the ‘Brinyites’ to become instant millionaires when their beloved land became a luxury resort.
Since that offer was made 16 years ago, property values have risen significantly.
While shareholders feel there is no price on their paradise, many have indicated that an offer much closer to $1 billion could be considered with favorable terms.
However, in February 2023, residents were asked in a straw survey if they wanted to put the property up for sale. Less than 30 percent wanted that.
For many residents of Briny Breezes, their lifestyle is more important than money.
“Most people who live or stay in Briny are blessed. The lifestyle is more important to them than the money,” explains former board member Keith Black.
He said offers pop up from time to time, but many are too small to be considered.
It’s not all paradise in Briny Breezes.
Being in a hurricane evacuation area, the community has few entrances or exits and it can be difficult to get home contents insurance.
Developers would have to clear their plans through the state before moving any dirt, and neighboring communities would also have a chance to weigh in.
Nevertheless, residents want to stay in their municipality as long as possible.