FISCAL CONDITION OF THE 50 STATES

Note that Florida came in #6, near the 

top of the list for fiscal conditions 

for all 50 states.

BOCA REGIONAL HOSPITAL GETS KUDOS

Healthgrades ranks Boca Regional Hospital in top 5% of hospitals for 10th year in a row for clinical performance. 

Out of 4500 hospitals in the United States, only 24 have earned such a consecutive distinction.  The hospital earned six 5-star ratings for

·       treatment of heart attack

·       treatment of heart failure

·       Colorectal Surgeries

·       treatment of GI bleed

·       treatment of Bowel obstruction

·       treatment of Sepsis.

 

Ranked nationally in the top 10% for:

·       Overall Cardiac Services

·       Overall Gastrointestinal Services

·       Overall General Surgery

Healthgrades estimates that if all hospitals performed at the level that Boca Regional does, a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence, 156,036 lives could potentially have been served.

Boca Regional, an advanced tertiary medical center has 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff.  It is noted as a leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women’s health and emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The hospital is a designated Comprehensive Stroke Center, noted by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). 

Boca Regional announced an agreement with North Shore-LIJ Health System, the largest integrated healthcare network in NY state, and one of the nation's largest healthcare systems which has 16 member hospitals throughout the NY metropolitan area.  It is the largest private employer in NY with 47,000 in its workforce, a medical school and research enterprise.  The affiliation will focus on clinical care programming.

NOW is the time to buy in Florida

before prices rise again

FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET IS 

IN RECOVERY MODE....

HOW MUCH ARE HOME SALES UP?

Florida Realtors News reports single family 
home sale closings are up 8.6% compared to 
Dec 2012.  National Association of Realtors 
says prices and sales are strongest in 7 years.  

The number of listings is increasing. 
Statewide consecutive gains began 
over two years ago. 

Generally, properties are closing faster with 
median days on market 50 days for 
single family homes and 51 days 
for townhouses and condos.  
Translation: 50% of homes on the Florida 
market sell in less than two months.  

While inventories are rising, cash sales are 
declining and there are fewer 
distressed properties on the market.  
Investor activity is lower.

FABULOUS CENTRAL PARK TOWNHOUSE ON CENTRAL PARK

This 1887 six-level Central Park West and 85^th Street NYC townhouse is unusual!  Originally listed last May for $37MM, price has since been lowered to $32.5MM.  There are 12,000 living sq ft.  

A glass and steel staircase looks like a stairway to the stars.

Included are an indoor 60’ lap fresh water pool and home gym.  It is one of very few townhouses still on the Park.

The townhome has 5 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths, an elevator and finished lower level with the pool and gym.  The parlor floor and living area boast double-height ceilings and gallery sized walls.   

Natural light floods the great room from a dome-shaped skylight.  There are professional fitness/massage areas, 2 offices, bow-front window seat in the master suite with panoramic Park views.  

The chef’s kitchen is fit for grand dining, is next to the dining room and zen-bamboo garden for outdoor dining.

A theatre is included.

Interested?  Ask Marilyn for more details.

CHECK OUT WHAT A HOLIDAY GIFT OVER $100,000,000 ($100MM-USD) WOULD BUY IN MANHATTAN

The ultimate holiday gift: a 19-room mansion built in 1883 and completely renovated and embellished  in 2005, is located at 12 East 69^thStreet, a prime location in Manhattan between 5^thAvenue and Madison Avenue.  This pretty limestone mansion is already gift wrapped.  List price is $114,077,000.  The sidewalks and exterior steps are heated.

A fabulous duplex library features a celestial celing mural, 2-story rendition of Kipling’s poem, “If,” built-in black walnut bookcases and burled elm paneling. A spiral staircase connects to the parlor level catwalk to the main library below.

Grand Hall/Living Room, 850 living sq ft, has detailed gilded moldings in the coffered ceilings, a walnut marquetry floor, and Brazilian travertine fireplace.

Kitchen is 40’ wide, has brick and fieldstone walls, a brick pizza oven, butcher block center island and floors made from reclaimed railroad ties.

The museum-quality formal dining room has a carved stone fireplace which is a replica of a dining room at the Palace of Versailles in France.  Floor-to-ceiling windows have mahogany frames.  Black walnut marquetry floor has a “rug border”.  Plaster walls are adorned with golf leaf.

Romantic and lavish guest bedroom on 5^th floor has en-suite bath and walk-in closets.

Spa/bathroom resembles a Grecian temple.  Bath tub is Italian onyx with raised soaking rub carved from a single slab of stone; bidet and toilet are carved from matching onyx.  Steam shower is framed by  mosaic tile archway.

Fit for a king, the master bedroom suite features golf-leaf moldings, a sitting area with fireplace, hidden his-and-hers walk in closets and 2^ndmaster bath.

Ground floor informal family room/den has a riverstone fireplace and home office area.

The 420 sq ft home theater/media center has sound-proofed walls and red cherry wood balcony.

Lower level indoor saltwater swimming pool is heated.

Three-tiered roof terrace offers a glimpse of Central Park and Upper East Side cityscape.  Imagine watching the July 4^th fireworks from here!

PERFECT FOR YOUR POOCHES - Where can you take your dogs for a stroll?

MIZNER DOG PARK: 751 Banyan Trail, off Military down Banyan Trail where USPS is.  Areas are fenced off for different sized dogs.  There are shaded pavilions and dogs can run off-leash.  Benches can be found thruout the park.  No smoking.  Water and “poop” bags are provided.  Hours for use are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday thru Sunday from 7:30 am to dusk.  Wednesday from noon to dusk. Nine reviewers gave it 4.6 out of 5 stars.

BEACH DOG PARK: New Dog Park has opened in on the beach in Boca Raton at the north end of Spanish River Park between lifeguard towers 18 and 20.  They can roam Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 7 am to 9 am and from 5 pm to sunset.  Annual permits are needed, which can be purchased at the Boca Raton Community Center, James A. Rutherford Community Center and Sugar Sand Park Community Center.  Annual pass for Boca Raton residents is $30; non- residents, $165.  Weekend passes are $10 and available at Spanish River Park gatehouse.

CANINE COVE DOG PARK: Located north of Glades Road near Sunset Cove Amphitheater and east of Osprey Point Golf Course.  Two rotating sections, 1 small dogs only section, 3 fountains for dogs and walkers, 34 shaded benches, 15 Dogipot Pet Stations with plastic bags and waste recepticals, 1 pet washing station, nearby parking.  Open Sunrise to Sunset but closed Wednesdays noon to 3 pm for maintenance.  No food, no smoking within fenced areas.  Two dogs per person, remove if aggressive.  No female dogs in heat.  Dogs must be vaccinated and display current licenses.  Same rules for Lake Ida Dog Park in Delray Beach, Pooch Pines Dog Park in West Palm Beach and Canine Cove Dog Park.

Rules can be found at Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Ordinance.

NEW TOLL BROTHERS LUXURY COMMUNITY GOING UP ON JOG ROAD, BELOW POLO CLUB AND AZURA, "ROYAL PALM POLO"

South of Polo Club and Azura, we will soon see construction machinery and Toll Brothers crew starting to build a new gated community, Royal Palm Polo.  It is the first new single family luxury homes community to be built in this area in many years.  A model home is pictured above.

The Boca Raton City Council has given Toll Brothers the final approval to build 223 homes on 121.67 acres on the old polo grounds, single families, and a 5000 sq ft clubhouse with a resort-style pool, 6 tennis courts, state-of-the-art fitness center, spa and aqua lot.  Purchase of the land cost $83.5MM.

Description of homes, many with lake views, includes mahogany front doors and big back yards.  Plans are for each lot to be 90’wide and 140’ deep, and home will have 4 to 7 bedrooms and 3 or 5 car garages.  There will be seven home designs to choose from.  Features will include Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, and optional elevator, 24” tiles in living areas, and there will be hundreds of design and structural options.

The Sales Office will open in spring.

Location is on Jog Road, north of Clint Moore Road. Just south of The Polo Club and Azura, a Toll Brothers property.

Homes will range from 4300 to 8500 sq ft and sell for $1.2MM to $2MM.  Th entrance and exit will be only off Jog Road.  A wall and landscaping will surround the property.

Voluntarily annexing the site which is mostly vacant right now, the city could receive as much as $1.1MM in revenue annually between property taxes, fire and other homeowner fees.   The future land use map was amended to designate the land for residential use, zone the land for single family residential and give tentative plat approval.

With mortgage rates still low, demand for new housing increasing, and improved consumer confidence amidst a shortage of existing homes, this new development appears to be a win/win.  Your editor, Realtor Marilyn Jacobs, can provide you with further information (561-638-9818).

WHERE DOES OUR COUNTY’S PROPERTY TAX MONEY COME FROM?

West Palm Beach has the highest 2013 tax bill, 69.7mm with Boca Raton next at $59.1MM), Delray Beach at $47.3MM and Palm Beach Gardens at $47MM.  Palm Beach’s property tax bill of $41MM makes it 5^th highest in the county.

Largest tax bill goes to Florida Power & Light ($76.3MM), the Breakers is one of the top 10 taxpayers with the highest tax bill on the island, and includes properties in West Palm Beach. 

Other high tax payers include Boca Raton Town Center’s trust, Bell South Communications, U.S. Sugar Corp and the owner of the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Comcast, Boca Raton Reosrt & Club, and Wellington Green mall owners.

·       686,556 property tax bills are mailed out by the tax collector

·       Total tax revenue is $3,025 BB.

Tax Collector is Anne Gannon, whose name you know if you pay property taxes.

WHEN YOU CONTRIBUTE TO A CHARITY DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE MONEY GOES?

PAP CORPS: CHAMPIONS FOR

CANCER RESEARCH

PALM BEACH COUNTY SHOPPING HAPPENINGS

If you have headed north from Okeechobee recently, you have seen large cleared areas in the Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard region, right side of I-95. 

A 900,000 sq ft development is under construction at this $200MM project.  The area covers 80-acres.  Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, scheduled to open on Valentine’s Day, will have more than 100 retail stores, including DKNY Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5^th and Kenneth Cole Outlet.  These renderings will give you an idea of how nice it will look... and lure you to come and shop here once it opens.

This was the site of the former Palm Beach Mall.  An adjacent retail center whose opening is planned for next fall will include Whole Foods Market and a Nordstrom Rack.  Dining venues will be included. 

The City of West Palm Beach anticipates about $1MM annually in property taxes from this development.  About 1500 full-time and part-time jobs will be created.  Stay tuned at Facebook.com/Palm Beach Outlet.

NEWEST ZOO RESIDENT IS BEAUTIFUL FLORIDA PANTHER, MIRASOL

Next month, after “Mira” is out of quarantine, visitors can see this beautiful jungle cat, who is 12 years old.  Her elderly owner, founder of the South Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Homestead, has a terminal illness and he contacted state wildlife officials to help him find homes for his animals.

The Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society at Dreher Park is excited about their new resident and they say she is very affectionate with humans, and appears to have been well loved and cared for in her last home.  Yet, panthers are known to be solitary animals.  About 80 to 100 panthers remain in Florida, and they are now one of the most rare and endangered mammals in the world.  The Panther National Wildlife Refuges is east of Naples, Florida.  Panthers are at great risk of extinction.

Mira has a few health problems, including curvature of the spine, but otherwise is doing well. General curator Jan Steel says that having Mira, a “pure” Florida panther, is exciting and “It allows us to show the differences between the western cougar or puma and the Florida panther.

Three Malayan tiger brothers, Jaya, Bunga and Penari have left the Palm Beach Zoo for a new home at the Jacksonville Zoo.  Since 1900 the wild tiger population has decreased by more than 95% and there is a Tiger Conservation Campaign among zoos.  The Wildlife without Borders Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund funded 53 projects in 15 countries for these conservation project,  implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a federal agency of the Department of the Interior.  Here is more information.  The tiger pictured above is at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington DC.

The Zoo recently added “and Conservation Society” to its name to stress they provide care for endangered species, which has been part of their agenda for a long time.

WSJ: UNITED HEALTH DROPS THOUSANDS OF DOCTORS FROM INSURANCE PLANS

(Reuters) – UNITEDHEALTH GROUP dropped thousands of doctors from its networks in recent weeks, leaving many elderly patients unsure whether they need to switch plans to continue seeing their doctors, the Wall St Journal reported on Friday.

The insurer said in October that underfunding of Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly could not be fully offset by the company's other healthcare business. The company also reported spending more healthcare premiums on medical claims in the third quarter, due mainly to government cuts to payments for Medicare Advantage services.

The Journal report said that doctors in at least 10 states were notified of being laid off the plans, some citing "significant changes and pressures in the healthcare environment." According to the notices, the terminations can be appealed within 30 days.

Tyler Mason, a UnitedHealth spokesperson, was not immediately available for comment when reached by Reuters.

The insurer told the WSJ that its provider networks were always changing and that it expected its Medicare Advantage network to be 85 percent to 90 percent of its current size by the end of 2014.

UnitedHealth is participating in about a dozen new state insurance markets that launched on October 1 to offer subsidized health coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul.

The insurer said previously it planned to withdraw from some markets in 2014 because of the government funding cuts.

Another top health insurer, Aetna Inc , also warned in October that it expected slowing growth in 2014 in its Medicare Advantage plans.

To find the lowest priced Medicare Supplements, see http://www.naaip.org/insurewithMarilyn and you can sign up there or call 561-638-9818.

HOME PRICES UP NATIONALLY BY DOUBLE DIGITS IN MANY METRO AREAS

The national median home price showed its strongest annual growth in nearly eight years during the third quarter of this year, according to data collected by the National Association of Realtors. A whopping 144 of the 163 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) tracked by NAR showed gains between the third quarter of this year and the third quarter of last year. In 54 of those MSAs, the increases were in the double digits. The national median existing single-family home price was $207,300 in the third quarter, up 12.5 percent from $184,300 in the third quarter of last year. That's the strongest year-over-year increase since the fourth quarter of 2005 when the median home price jumped 13.6 percent. Condominium and cooperative prices rose 15.1 percent to a median $205,400 in the third quarter. One reason home prices are rising is that foreclosures and short sales are falling. Short sales are homes sold for less than what the owners owed on their mortgage. Foreclosures and short-sale homes typically sell at a discount. That can lower the value of nearby homes because appraisers look at all recent sales when they determine a home's current value. In the third quarter, only 14 percent of home sales were foreclosures or short sales. That's down from 24 percent a year ago. Across the country, about 2.21 million homeowners had their properties for sale, modestly higher than the third quarter of 2012, when 2.17 million homes were on the market. That's a 5-month supply of homes for sale, down from a 5.9-month supply in the third quarter of 2012.

THE SEVEN50 PROJECT

Two hundred plus public, private and non-profit organizations in Palm Beach, Broward, St. Lucie, Martin, India River, Miami-Dade and Monroe County formed the group to develop a 50-year plan for the region.

Issues include coastal erosion, environment and other climate issues and regional approaches to economic development, transportation and education.  One member mentioned that an expanded marine industry in West Palm Beach could create jobs and become an international destination for super yachts.

A grant of nearly $14MM has been awarded to South Florida transportation officials to upgrade rail transportation and connect train corridors on Tri Rail and the CSX and Florida East Coast Railway lines.  It will also be used for the All Aboard Florida, a rail service between Miami and Orlando.

According to project officials, three million new residents are expected in Florida in the next 50 years.  For more information see seven50.org.

UPDATE ON NEW TREND OF CREATING SPIRITUAL SPACE IN YOUR HOME

 Architects and builders are incorporating meditation gardens, yoga and tai chi studios and private chapels into home plans. 

Tea Houses with sparse furnishings are a newer addition to some homes.

Feng shui specialists are called upon to consult with about design principals or to conduct special ceremonies.  Outdoor elements are brought within vision.  Beautiful gardens with plantings and pebbles are featured.  Antique doors are popular.  Water features have become important, such as fountains and waterfalls.  Homeowners want natural materials and light colored woods such as maple, bamboo and oak. 

Asian influences prevail.  Handmade sliding screens and tatami mats are included as well as koi ponds and bonsai trees. 

Tea rooms are places for meditation and for snacks and dinners.  During the Colonial period, private prayer spaces were included within homes, but in the 1960’s, communal worship became more popular.