High time, high style for 'low' end

Palm Beach Post Editorial

An extraordinary event took place this month in suburban Boynton Beach. A not-for-profit agency, the government and one of the area's largest home builders opened a 20-unit apartment complex for low-income farmworkers.

In the Pines, the not-for-profit agency that operated the complex damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, secured $3.3 million in federal relief money distributed by Palm Beach County.

The project got a big boost, however, when a redevelopment arm of GL Homes, a builder of suburban housing, bid $2.4 million, fully $1.5 million less than the next closest bidder, to build it. GL also donated the exterior renovations of a 3,000-square-foot classroom building. Misha Ezratti, son of GL owner Itzhak Ezratti, "really dedicated his time and energy to this project," said In the Pines President Jerry Goray.

It's more than good civic involvement for GL. It's a good learning experience. The project is rated platinum, the highest rating from the agency that judges green construction standards. It features reflective roofs, heat-blocking windows and irrigation controls. GL will add more green standards into its homes, Misha Ezratti said.

The project also got financial help from private donors, including the Junior League of Boca Raton, the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

Palm Beach County is overbuilt with high-end housing. As big builders - and home buyers - recover from the burst housing bubble, lower-price homes are the future. Granted, it couldn't have happened without subsidies. But this project, thanks to the county and GL Homes, shows what we've always suspected: It can be done.