Renew America Success Stories

The Preserve

The Preserve is a housing development located in Coral Springs (Florida) that, through a cooperative effort between the City of Coral Springs and the Pulte Home Corporation of Florida, has resulted in the preservation of an Urban Wilderness Area and the development of affordable housing. 

The area under consideration received its designation as an Urban Wilderness Area from Broward County, a designation that is only conferred upon property that is environmentally-sensitive and unique. However, prior to negotiations between Pulte and the city, the area was slated to be developed into a maximum of 165 single family homes, 112 townhomes and 16 duplex units -- a development strategy that would have maximized construction and, in all likelihood, would have destroyed the wilderness area designation. 

Pulte approached the city with a proposal: by making innovative use of existing government regulations, the area could be resubdivided so that housing density was reduced, more wilderness preserved, and a public park created. Not only would the character of the wilderness area be preserved, but by modifying the size of the lots, the cost of housing could be reduced from about $250,000 per unit to about $130,000 per unit, helping to meet the city's mandate to provide additional affordable housing. 

This innovative arrangement has served the interests of all parties, providing an economically-attractive development for Pulte while preserving a valuable natural resource and providing low-cost housing for the residents of Coral Springs. 
 

Program Highlights 

• Pulte was granted waivers from platting regulations in order to resubdivide a multi-family parcel into quarter-acre lots, to allow the eradication of existing single family lot lines, and to introduce affordable housing in the area.
• Pulte agreed to dedicate a 6.29-acre park to the public and to erect an eight-foot fence around the park to enable the city to monitor who enters the environmentally-sensitive area.
• In order to preserve a significant number of the area's trees, Pulte was faced with the expense of replacing and relocating numerous trees. In order to offset this expense, Pulte was given credit for the appraised value of the 6.29-acre park and the trees within it, maximizing Pulte's ability to preserve woodland area.
• Rare strap ferns were relocated to the park area to ensure their preservation.

Vital Statistics

Program Management/Partnerships: The Preserve is being developed by the Pulte Home Corporation of Florida in partnership with the City of Coral Springs. Development is being monitored by the Community Development Department. 

Budget: The latest figures are available by contacting the program. 

Community Served: The 85,000 residents of Coral Springs who benefit from the preservation of an urban wilderness area, and the Coral Springs residents who will benefit from the availability of local, affordable housing. 

Measures of Success:

A designated Urban Wilderness Area has been preserved while providing affordable housing through an innovative partnership between government and business.