Wedding venue in Blue Ridge, GA for couples in Boynton Beach, FL

An unusual slice of undeveloped land surrounded by planned communities west of Boynton Beach was snatched up this month by one of the nation’s largest developers with plans to build about 130 single-family homes.

The $30.3 million purchase by PulteGroup is the latest in a patchwork of land buys the Georgia-based company has made as it adds to its growing tally of seven custom-built communities in Palm Beach County.

The former farmland is an intact 43.6-acre lot west of Lyons Road and south of Hypoluxo Road. It last sold in 1997 for $1.3 million.

“Our commitment to Palm Beach County remains strong,” said PulteGroup Southeast Florida Division President Brent Baker in a news release. “We continue to find great development sites to meet the demand for new construction homes.”

In October, the company paid a total of about $21 million to cobble together a contiguous 27 acres from five private property owners east of Military Trail and north of Hypoluxo Road.

In November, PulteGroup announced the sales launch of luxury estate homes on 2-to-5 acre lots west of Jupiter at The Retreat at Bridgewater. And this month, it hosted a grand opening for its 79-lot Enclave at Sherwood Park, which is east of Military Trail near downtown Delray Beach.

Home prices at Enclave start at around $900,000.

“There haven’t been a lot of new homes available in the eastern part of Delray other than very high-end homes of $5 million or more,” Baker said. “The interest we are getting is from both local people who want new construction and seasonal buyers from up north trying to escape the cold.”

Housing economist Brad Hunter said after the October land buy that the purchases were a notable coup for PulteGroup in a county running out of buildable land.

More:New homes to be built in central Palm Beach County in gated community by PulteGroup

“Palm Beach County is an extremely desirable address and has just become more so over the past four years as we’ve seen an acceleration of companies bringing high wage jobs to the area,” Hunter said in an October interview.

The community planned for the recent 43-acre purchase will be called Greyhawk Landing, with home prices starting around $700,000.

Sales of newly built single-family homes nationally saw a 17% boost in October compared with October 2022, according to a Commerce Department report released last month. In the South, a 17-state region that includes Florida, there was a 19% increase in new home sales in October compared with the same time the previous year.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

The Brown Bag Lecture Series is a premier Boynton Beach City Library program. Hosted annually in partnership with The Friends of the Library, guests can expect to hear informal lectures about different topics.

This year, we welcome a phenomenal lineup of speakers starting in January 2024!

Mark your calendar to attend the Brown Bag Lecture Series every Monday (excluding holidays) from January through March.

Each program begins at 12 noon until 1 pm in the Community Room - located on the first floor of the City Hall building.

Doors open at 11:30 am.

Please bring your lunch!

SAVE THE DATE!

January 8th - Protect Yourself Against Scammers, Spammers and Hackers | Brianna Tabil, Public Technology Trainer

January 15th - DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY - Library closed

January 22nd - Got Guts? Gut Health | Eduardo Quintero-Nazario M.D., Gastroenterologist, Baptist Health (postponed)

January 29th - The History of Boynton Beach | Boynton Beach Historic Society - Click here to register

February 5th - Boynton Beach Garden Club - Click here to register

February 12th - Staying Vertical: How to Reduce Falls and Modify Your Environment for Leisure, Beauty and Safety | Tammy K Sirmons, RN, CDP, LNC - Click here to register

February 19th - PRESIDENT’S DAY - Library closed

February 26th - Healthy Brain | University of Miami - Click here to register

March 4th - Maria's Exploration of India | Maria Drumm - Click here to register

March 11th - The Healing Benefits of Sound Baths | Nikki Rattinger, The Music Maestra - Click to register

March 18th - Under the Rainbow | Jeff Keene II, Award Winning Christian Author - Click to register

March 25 - Inside Mel Taylor's New Release, The Exclusive| Mel Taylor, International Emmy Award Winner and Lifetime Achievement Award from N.A.T.A.S. - Click to register

Schedule subject to change without notice. Please register to receive all program reminders and updates. Registration is not required to attend.

There's a bitey visitor in Gold Coast waters.

A 10-foot 5-inch great white shark named Rose has moved south after being tracked off the Treasure Coast Saturday and Sunday.

The 600-pound shark was outfitted with a satellite tag by the research group OCEARCH in 2020. The tag, attached to Rose's dorsal fin, sends a ping with location information to trackers when it breaks the water.

On Monday at 4:42 a.m., Rose pinged off Boynton Beach. She previously pinged off Stuart at 11:28 p.m. Saturday and off Juno Beach at the southern end of the Treasure Coast at 6:01 a.m. Sunday.

In the 1,234 days since she was tagged by scientists, Rose has traveled 14,826 miles. According to her tracker shows Rose has spent her winters around Florida since 2021, including the Gulf of Mexico in 2022 and 2023.

It's not unusual for great white sharks to be in Florida waters during the winter months. They migrate south in search of warmer water and food sources.

An 8-foot 8-inch white shark nicknamed Jekyll pinged off Jupiter Island on Feb. 7.

Here's what to know about Rose, other sharks around the Gold Coast, OCEARCH and white sharks in Florida:

More about OCEARCH great white shark Rose

White shark Rose was tagged by OCEARCH scientists off Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on Oct. 4, 2020.

She measured 10 feet 5 inches, weighed 600 pounds and was classified as a juvenile shark.

Great white sharks can grow up to 20 feet long, but most are smaller with males averaging 11 to 13 feet.

According to OCEARCH, she was named after Rose Bay near where she was tagged.

White shark Jekyll tracked off Jacksonville, Jupiter Island

Jekyll, an 8-foot 8-inch white shark, pinged off Jacksonville Feb. 4 and Jupiter Island Feb. 7

The juvenile male white shark surprised scientists when they discovered he had been traveling for 4,000 miles alongside a 9-foot white shark named Simon. White sharks were previously thought to prefer only solitude.

But it appears Jekyll and Simon have parted company. Simon's tracker pinged in the Gulf of Mexico off Marco Island on Feb. 4, while Jekyll's pinged off Jacksonville on the same day.

Great white sharks in Florida?

Yes. White sharks migrate south when the water gets cold and food sources become scarce up north, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.

Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.

Most of them tend to stay away from the beaches in continental shelf waters, Hueter said.

What is OCEARCH?

OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization studying the ocean's giants.

The group studies great white sharks and other keystone species essential for the health of the oceans.

OCEARCH recently finished up its 46th expedition, dubbed Expedition Southeast. It departed from Jacksonville on Nov. 17 and made its final docking in Morehead City, North Carolina on Dec. 15.

During the expeditions, researchers collected previously unattainable data on the animals' migrations, reproductive cycle, genetic status, diet, abundance, and more.

"If we lose the apex predator (sharks) then we lose all our fish and then there are no fish sandwiches for our grandchildren," OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer told the Courier Journal. "That's oversimplified, of course, but the idea is important because many shark species are threatened by overfishing and a demand for shark fins in Asia. Their dwindling numbers jeopardize ocean habitats."

Most shark attacks happen in Florida

There were 69 documented unprovoked shark attacks around the globe in 2023. The U.S. led the world with 36 attacks and Florida again was the state with the most bites at 16.

Florida shark attacks by county:

While the U.S. has the most attacks, South Africa has the most shark-related fatalities.

Since 1992, there have been 1,232 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.

Support local journalism by subscribing to a Florida news organization.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A lot of emotion filled the Boynton Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday night as dozens of angry parents showed up, expressing concerns about the future of a Little League program that's been around for decades.

East Boynton Beach Little League has been a part of the community for more than 70 years and made it to the Little League World Series in 2003.

The league uses a park off of Woolbright Road to host practice.

The team filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming the facility's largest field was shut down just days before the start of the season.

The Boynton Beach City Council said it's partnering with a developer to make renovations and upgrades, and the project has been in the works for months. The city said it's been in contact with East Boynton Beach Little League about providing different fields for the team to play on while the construction project plays out.

However, team leaders disputed that Tuesday night, saying other fields are not a viable alternative.

"We weren't even notified," one of the league's board members said. "We would have told our parents and our community, 'Hey, this is what's going on.' But we didn't know."

"I wasn't sure if I was going to come tonight," another parent added. "He wanted to come. These are his senior teammates up here looking at you and asking, 'Why are you doing this to them?' They want to know why. Why is it so important for this turf field to be built right now?"

"It's embarrassing that you have children out here telling you what you're doing is wrong," another parent echoed. "So, please, do the right thing and get rid of these contracts and support the parents and the kids."

The first phase of the construction project that started all of this controversy is expected to wrap up by late August. That means it will continue through the remainder of the Little League season.

East Boynton Beach Little League has previously told WPTV it wants more communication with the city. Team leaders said they were under the impression the facility would be upgraded during the offseason.

They are hoping some sort of compromise can be worked out that will allow the team to continue playing this season.

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody was in Palm Beach County on Thursday for a security briefing with state and local law enforcement leaders amid what she called "enhanced threats."

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody was in Palm Beach County on Thursday for a security briefing with state and local law enforcement leaders amid what she called "enhanced threats."

The meeting took place in Boynton Beach and included representatives from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol.

Moody referenced a Tuesday warning by FBI Director Christopher Wray that said Hamas' attack against Israel could inspire violence and attacks in the U.S.

WATCH: AG Moody speaks in Boynton Beach amid "enhanced threats"

"As Floridians who are charged with looking after and assuring the safety of our communities, we are united in saying we need to talk to you about being on guard and being alert when you have information about this potential threat," Moody said. "This is serious."

The attorney general said she didn't want to raise an unnecessary alarm but asked that Florida residents remain on guard and report suspicious activity.

"We can't do this alone," Moody said. "We need your help."

Moody asked residents to call 1-855-FLA-SAFE, 911 or **TIPS if they see something suspicious.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass and Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner were among those also in attendance for Thursday's briefing.

Both Moody and Glass discussed the ongoing border crisis and the possibility that bad actors could make their way into the U.S. However, they said there is no specific attack that they are monitoring.

"We do not have any type of known terrorist attack that is imminent in the United States that we know of," Glass said.

Glass said he wants the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to share more information about people connected to terror groups crossing into the U.S.

"We know, without a doubt, even they admitted to us last week, of how many people are coming across that border that they don't even know about it," Glass said. "We've asked over and over again for information to help us find where these folks are going, and we keep getting stonewalled."

The Department of Homeland Security sent WPTV the following statement regarding potentially dangerous people coming into the U.S.

"Encounters of known or suspected terrorists attempting to cross the Southern Border, or encounters of those associated with such individuals, are uncommon," the statement said. "This spring we began releasing monthly updates regarding encounters at our borders of individuals with records in a database of suspected terrorists."

Meantime, Florida has provided state law enforcement protection to protect Jewish day schools and synagogues.

Some of the things law enforcement urged the public to look out for include:

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.