Palm Beach State College 5th campus to bring old fashioned economic boost to Loxahatchee Groves

LOXAHATCHEE GROVES, Fla. - It looked like a fifth Palm Beach State College campus wasn't going to happen after a veto from Gov. Rick Scott, but despite that plans are still moving forward for a new campus in Loxahatchee Groves.

The school decided on the location a few weeks back and expects the school to host up to 2,000 students in its first phase. 

The town it's going to is a old rural one though, full of dirt roads and people like the Parker family, who lives on 10 acres of land full of farm animals.

"That's why we moved out here," Ann Parker said. "It's kind of a quiet lifestyle and if we change it then we're going to be urban, not rural."

By January 2013, the Town of Loxahatchee Groves says a campus should be sitting on 75 acres of the Simon Brothers property off Southern Boulevard and B Road.  Also on the property, town manager Frank Spence said will go commercial space. 

"We thought that would be a better option for us," Ann said. "It would not only service us as a city, but also the surrounding area."

The cost of this property is about $4.5 million, but there is other work that's going to have to be done like work on paving B Road in some sort.  The road could bring extra traffic, which the Parker's are afraid of, but no matter what comes it all has to look a certain way.

"It's a vision that's rural and western in nature," Spence said. "They wanted to keep it home like, low density, no big box stores will be allowed here."

This means no towers, arches, tile roofs on buildings or anything too contemporary, Spence said.   What the town will accept is rustic, old fashioned, barn looking buildings, he said.

"It has character and that's what we're looking for," he added.

The town is also looking for a little economic development with the addition and the Parker's welcome that, but not too much more than that.

"We just want to keep our rural lifestyle," Ann said.