It's the second major development in Limestone Creek, a historically Black neighborhood, in recent years and comes at a time of surging home prices.
JUPITER — Clara Barnes recalls a time when her Limestone Creek neighborhood was mostly woods.
Over the past four decades, Barnes has witnessed significant growth in the community, a historically Black Jupiter neighborhood north of Indiantown Road, including the construction of the Els Center of Excellence for students with autism.
She is preparing for more growth and change as a new residential community is being constructed near her home on Limestone Creek Road.
Texas-based builder D.R. Horton is building the Reserve at Jupiter, a neighborhood of 85 single-family houses on 21.1 acres that it purchased in December.
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The community will be the second in recent years that D.R. Horton has constructed in the Limestone Creek area. It also built houses in Stonewood Reserve, a development of two-story homes two blocks south of where the Reserve will rise.
Barnes, who has lived in Limestone Creek since 1979, said she isn't surprised to see the neighborhood of smaller, one-story houses grow and change.
"I've been expecting this for some years," said Barnes, 81. "I knew one day it was going to happen and I think it's great. I don't have any complaints."
"I know at some point things are going to change. I know it's not going to stay the same, I'm pretty sure about that. But if it is a change for the better, it would be good."
Demand for homes expected to fuel sales, set prices high
A 2019 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Limestone Creek had a population of just over 1,200 people, with Black residents making up 58 percent of the population.
Its median household income was $31,176 between 2015 and 2019, with 30.4% of its residents living in poverty in those years. The greater Jupiter area, by comparison, had a median household income of $86,027 and a poverty rate of 8.1 percent.
For the Reserve, D.R. Horton purchased parcels of land north of Limestone Creek Park for $8.78 million. The land was assembled by Stonewood Jupiter LLC in 2019 and then sold to D.R. Horton. Jupiter Community Park lies immediately to the west, and the North Jupiter Flatwoods Natural Area sits just to the north.
Homes are expected to be available for sale in early 2022, a D.R. Horton spokesperson said. Artist's renderings of the houses were not available.
Local real estate broker Rebel Cook said the new homes are likely to sell quickly due to high demand and a limited availability of newly constructed homes in the Jupiter area. The new community also is likely to raise property values in the area.
"It will increase property values because just to find a single lot to build a home on in Jupiter right now is very difficult," Cook said. "Unless something dramatic happens, I would guess that this is going be sold out quickly."
Prices for the Reserve at Jupiter homes have not been determined, the D.R. Horton spokesperson said. However, a recent study released by Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors showed that the median price of a single-family home in Palm Beach County reached $475,000 in May, an increase of almost 2% over April and more than 30 percent over the same month in 2020.
Homes in Stonewood started at $400,000 and a property in that neighborhood along Limestone Cay Road was listed at $510,000 on Wednesday.
Limestone Creek one of Jupiter area's oldest neighborhoods
Settled in the early 1900s, Limestone Creek has seen significant changes in recent years, including the additions of the Els Center, Stonewood Reserve and the Edna Runner Tutorial Center, which is named in honor of the longtime Limestone Creek resident who oversees it.
Jamie Stuve, the president and chief executive of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, said the community has a rich, although often overlooked, history in the growth of the Jupiter area.
From the Carlin House to railroad construction, Black residents from Limestone Creek and other communities played a significant role in Jupiter's development, she said.
"They worked in every area of employment in the town, from working on farms, in groves, on the railroad, building the railroads, building the lighthouse, working in people's homes," Stuve said.
A state historical marker at the former site of the L.M. Davis Elementary School, at Limestone Creek Road and Australian Street, commemorates the school that served Black students during the Jim Crow era.
A historical marker at Cinquez Park, along Indiantown Road southeast of Limestone Creek, honors Black residents who lived in central Jupiter during that era.
One resident who did not want to be identified said she had concerns that more development could mean more noise and traffic. She also wondered whether the expansion could mean the community eventually will be annexed into the town of Jupiter. The neighborhood now is on unincorporated land and governed by Palm Beach County.
"It's a quiet neighborhood," she said. "Is it going to bring more traffic, plus whatever else that might come with it? When we moved to Jupiter, we moved because we loved Jupiter, but it's just a convenience that we were under the county."
Barnes, a native of Georgia, moved to Limestone Creek with her husband, Henry Barnes. He died 10 years ago, but Clara remains in the home with other family.
"When we first came in here, it was very peaceful, quiet. Very quiet," she said. "We enjoyed raising our family here. We really just settled here and enjoyed it. I've been enjoying it ever since. I love living here."
Barnes, who also owns a vacant piece of land near her home, said she has been approached on numerous occasions about selling her properties. She could not recall receiving an offer from D.R. Horton. However, Barnes said she has no plans to sell and intends to pass the properties down to her children.
"Me and my husband worked too hard to gain this and then just let it go," she said. "It will be passed down. It will not be sold. I'm holding on for them."
jwhigham@pbpost.com
@JuliusWhigham
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