PORT SALERNO, Fla. — New townhomes are coming to Port Salerno after they were approved during a commissioner's meeting this week.
Residents of a neighborhood just east of U.S. Highway 1 and Hydrangea Street will soon have a lot more neighbors.
Seventy-nine townhomes are going to be built on the neighboring property.
"I always envisioned something going in there," Port Salerno resident Marcia Durham said. "I just didn't know what."
For the last 10 years, Durham has lived in a home next to the lot that's planned for the development.
"I don't like it of course because we miss our little intimate community," Durham said. "However, growth is inevitable."
Martin County commissioners unanimously approved the project in a Tuesday meeting.
"This is a multifamily development, so it adds to the diversity of the homes that are available in Port Salerno," Peter Walden, the deputy growth management director of Martin County, said. "We feel that it is a need that's being fulfilled."
The project will be built on 8.5 acres and just over 2 of those acres will be green space.
"That will give them a buffer between them and the mobile home park to the east," Walden said.
That is a plus for those who live in the mobile home park, but not everyone is happy about all the green space that Port Salerno will be losing.
"They're taking away all the environmental trees, and they're just putting buildings and more houses in," Port Salerno resident Donna Fox said. "They're just disrupting the whole area."
WPTV asked Jamie Zambrana, who works with the project's developer, about the cost of the townhomes. He didn't say how much the units would sell for, however, in a statement he said the following:
"The idea is to build these townhomes with good quality, but at a better cost than our competitors. We feel that the design of these townhomes fits perfectly into the budget for a family of four."
Zambrana said the townhomes are expected to take 18 months to complete, and they hope to begin construction in the next 60 days.