Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 51 Style the treacherous worlds of dating and fashion, the show a witty, pithy, stylish six-season masterclass in how to choose the right man and the right shoes. That they’re still (minus Sam) entertaining women in their 50s, in HBO’s reboot “And Just Like That ...” (a second season of which is airing today), is a testament not only to their loyal fan base, but to their own longevity. It’s rare to see any 50-something women on television – and rarer still to see them thriving. One of the very best things about “And Just Like That ...” is how the fashion still takes center stage, and is as important to its characters’ lives as it ever was. No matter that many of its midlife viewers will now be watching the show in sweatpants of the sort that Karl Lagerfeld once opined were “a sign of defeat”: In Carrie’s world, it’s still normal to rock up for brunch in a pink tulle skirt, a shrunken vest top, gold Manolos with a statement “pigeon” JW Anderson handbag. There are enough “gritty” dramas and “harrowing” psychological thrillers about divorced/depressed women in their 40s and 50s, and not enough positive (and, yes, escapist) representations of midlife on television. That Carrie is still living her best life – for all of us – is key to the show’s charm. Obviously, it helps that the woman who plays Carrie is living her best life, too. Married for 26 years to the actor Matthew Broderick, the couple have three children, and until recently lived in a covetable New York brownstone just around the corner from Carrie’s own. Life imitating art, as it does, SJP also has her own shoe range (of course), and in terms of her own style, is as blissfully self-expressive aged 58 as she has always been. Like Carrie, she truly loves fashion, as evidenced by her lifelong willingness to experiment. She was wearing Alexander McQueen long before the label became mainstream (in 2006, she wore a tartan McQueen gown to the Met Ball), and has always supported lesser-known designers as enthusiastically as bigger names. In a world where too many celebrities hire the same cabal of stylists, or dress blandly for fear of ending up on a “worst dressed” list, SJP’s individualism is refreshing. She was and is a risk-taker, one who would rather be true to herself than toe a line. Whatever she wears, she wears it her way: Witness the black-and-white polkadot Jenny Packham dress she wore for an after-party celebrating the SATC franchise’s 25th anniversary. We’re more used to seeing Packham on the Princess of Wales, who wears it beautifully. But SJP made it her own – not easy, when a brand is so aligned with a royal as globally revered as Kate. An avowed SATC fan, I was a slow convert to the sequel. I hated AJLT ... for not featuring Samantha Jones (played by Kim Cattrall). Cattrall and Parker fell out so acrimoniously that Cattrall refused to be a part of it, a stance that makes news of a cameo in season two as exciting as it’s surprising). But, slowly, I came round. Yes, there are flaws, but I would rather watch it in its flawed state than not at all. Twenty-five years down the line, Carrie and co are like family, and families aren’t perfect, either. Tempting as it is to assume its fans are all frustrated midlifers living out their vicarious dreams, this isn’t the case. As parenting achievements go, few things give me more pride than knowing I’ve raised a “Sex and the City” fan. My 13-year-old daughter is as invested as any diehard viewer who grew up with Carrie and co throughout the 2000s, a fact I partly attribute to the nihilistic, drug-fueled prism through which her own generation is so often viewed on television. “Skins,” “Sex Education” and “Euphoria” are many things, but they are not fabulous. “Fabulous” is Carrie’s middle name; the last word she uttered in the final line of the final episode of the final season. So here’s to fabulousness – one of life’s fluffier things, yes, but also one of its most fun and underrated.
52 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Style Lush, unashamedly large and almost glowing, the strands showcased by Dior in Mumbai elevate any outfit, on all occasions. If you thought it was time for greatgranny’s necklaces to be repurposed into something more modern, think again. Of the 99 looks in the stupendously beautiful Dior pre-fall collection that Maria Grazia Chiuri showed in Mumbai in March, all were accessorized with pearls. Not dinky little seeds, nor baroque gobs. No avantgarde settings. Pearls don’t need messing with to seem relevant, Chiuri points out. “They’re a symbol of a new type of feminism. A contradictory use of a stereotype. Men also love pearl necklaces.” Chiuri took eight- and three-strand pearl necklaces – as classic as anything a dowager might wear – binding the strands together with glass and metal rods, which makes them all the more striking. These she paired with everyBY LISA ARMSTRONG The Telegraph Why the new pearls are anything but granny’s necklaces
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 53 Style thing from white ribbed vests to beadencrusted shifts, cotton blouses to silk shirts and long, fluid evening gowns. It all looked remarkably modern. The lucent creaminess of pearls never gets tired. And there’s something about the way those chokers made the models hold their heads high, juxtaposed with the luxe fabrics, drapey cuts and spicy colors, that seemed so fresh. Chiuri has always been passionate about pearls, she says – in her own wardrobe as well as for her work. With her dramatic sweeps of brownblack shadow around her dark eyes and her bold peroxide bob, Chiuri has a way of mixing pearls with her slightly punk attitude (those knuckle-duster rings) and tomboy uniform. “I love all pearls, including grey and baroque ones,” she says. “I’ve worn all sorts of pearl necklaces. Nowadays, I always wear two rings: one with a white pearl and one with a gray pearl.” She wore pearls at her wedding too, and says, “I can picture my mother with the pearl choker she wore to round off any outfit, from morning to night.” It’s interesting how often there’s a sentimental memory attached to pearls. Maybe that’s because so many women over the centuries have worn them. The most expensive pearls sold at auction were part of a necklace that belonged to Marie Antoinette, snapped up for $36.8 million in 2018 at Sotheby’s, but small cultured-pearl earrings are highly affordable – the ideal christening or confirmation present. Perhaps that’s why they’ve sometimes seemed less sexy than diamonds. Christian Dior adored pearls, and his first jewelry collections in the late 1940s were a delicate riposte to the clunkier baroque pieces then popular. Six decades on, Raf Simons had one of his first hits with the Tribales pearl earrings when he was creative director for Dior. It is a design Chiuri continues to play with. But these new pearls are something else: lush, unashamedly large, almost glowing, they held their own in a country famous for its rubies and emeralds. Then again, pearls are part of India’s style heritage. Researching this collection, Chiuri says she came across images of women such as the Maharani of Indore that got her thinking about how pearls work for all occasions. From there came chokers “that would elevate any outfit with that lustrous and timeless beauty.” “They’re not just for best,” she stresses. “Pearls are living things. They need to be worn next to the skin as much as possible.” I’m in.
54 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 DINING & WINE COLUMN Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 first brought a frenzied run on supermarkets, then a sustained groceryshopping boom as people stopped going out to eat and turned to home cooking. Polling data hinted that it might be a permanent shift. It wasn’t – at least not in the U.S., where consumer spending statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis suggest the pandemic grocery boom ended early last year. After adjusting for inflation, spending on what the BEA calls “food and beverages purchased for off-premises consumption” – which doesn’t include restaurant takeout – has fallen well below the pre-pandemic trend. By contrast, spending at restaurants and other food-services providers is right on trend. This means the long-running shift away from home cooking in the U.S. has resumed and perhaps even accelerated. Food services made up less than a quarter of consumer food expenditures in the 1950s; they passed 46 percent for the first time in October and seem destined to become the majority of U.S. food spending before long. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which slices the data somewhat differently, household spending on “food away from home” surpassed spending on “food at home” for the first time in 2015, and after falling back in 2020, it’s now back on top by a bigger margin than ever. Meanwhile, despite big gains in May, payroll employment at foodservices and drinking establishments during the month was still 51,700 jobs short of where it was in February 2020. Restaurants are more popular than ever. Working in them still isn’t. • Eating Out “Food away from home” accounted for 53.2 percent of US household food spending in 2022, the USDA estimates, up from 48.3 percent in 2020 and 43 percent in 1997. • Food and Drink From February 2020 to February 2021, real consumer spending on food for off-premises consumption rose 6.9 Big Age Statements, Big Age Statements,Bold Experiments Bold Experiments June 22nd, 2023 from 6:00-9:00pm $125 per person *Exclusive of Gratuity & Tax Father's Day Father's Day Gift Gift Bottle Bottle engraving engraving BY JUSTIN FOX Bloomberg More of us eating out as COVID home-cooking boom fades
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 55 Vero & Casual Dining Fine Dining, Elevated Exciting Innovative Cuisine Award Winning Wine List Unparalleled Service Expanded outdoor dining in The Café. Proud recipient of Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award placing us in “The Top 10% of restaurants worldwide”. Catering Now Available (772) 234-3966 • tidesofvero.com Open 7 Days a Week Starting at 5 PM 3103 Cardinal Drive, Vero Beach, FL Reservations Highly Recommended • Proper Attire Appreciated Wine Spectator Award 2002 – 2021
56 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero & Casual Dining Serving Dinner Tues - Sat from 5pm (772) 226-7870 Downwn Vero Bea 2023 14th Avenue www.VeroPrime.com Prime Steaks, Seafood & Italian Specialties Happy Hour featuring Premium Spirits Nightly 5 - 6:30pm (Bar Only) Early Dining Menu Nightly 5 - 5:30pm
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 57 Vero & Casual Dining
58 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero & Casual Dining PARTY PLATTERS AVAILABLE 56 Royal Palm Pointe 772-567-4160 Follow us on Facebook & Instagram OPEN FOR DINNER WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY BEGINNING AT 4 PM. CLOSED MONDAY & TUESDAY. ORDER ONLINE FOR DELIVERY OR PICKUP THROUGH Pizzoodles.com or ToastTakeout.com SALADS, PASTA, VEAL, CHICKEN , SUBS AND DESSERTS OPEN WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY 1931 Old Dixie • 772.770.0977 fishackverobeach.com • Like us on Facebook! Gift Certificates, Private Parties & Patio Dining Available TUESDAY NIGHT l ALL YOU CAN EAT FISH FRY HAPPY HOUR 4-6 PM l TUES.- SAT. WE CAN ACCOMMODATE LARGE PARTIES TUES OPEN FOR DINNER AT 4 WED-SAT OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER CLOSED SUNDAYS & MONDAYS OFFERING Local Fish Northern Fish Patio Dining Happy Hour Best Margaritas Full Liquor Bar Large Parties Daily Specials
PETS Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 59 Even before the door opened, there was a buncha barkin’ from inside Sophia Grace Unsicker’s house. Then, when the door DID open, this very cute, very liddle, very curly-haired apper-cot colored Maltipoo zipped up to me an my assistant, jumpin’ an barkedity-barkin’ to beat the band till a Frenly Lady scooped her up. “Good morning,” I said, in my most pleasant voice, standing nice an still. “I’m Bonzo the Columnist an this is my assistant. Thank you so much for agreeing to an innerview.” Soon as the Frenly Lady set her gently down, the liddle pooch tilted her head an gave me a Serious Size-Up. “Hummm. OK. Mommy says you’re a Good Dog. Nothing personal. I just hafta be SURE. I’m very pruh-TECK-tive of Mommy (this is her, Jane), plus I had a Very Distressing Encounter with three Chuh-waa-waas in my youth – so I’m Overly Caw-shus of Other Dogs. You may call me Sophie.” She approached only slightly hesitantly for the Wag-an-Sniff. “I totally understand, Miss Sophie, an I assure you I am, indeed, a Good Dog. I am eager to hear your story, whenever you’re ready. I have heard you are quite the traveler.” Sophia led us into the living room an jumped onto her Mommy’s lap. I opened my notebook. “Ooo, yes, I AM. I LOVE goin’ places with Mommy an Daddy. (Ron Stark – he’s an AR-tist.) LOOK!” She indicated a beautiful painting on a nearby table. It was amazing! “It’s ME! It’s called a POR-trut! Daddy painted it for Mommy. Isn’t it So Cool Kibbles? It makes me feel like a QUEEN! My own POR-trut! He usually paints just humans. I’m his first pooch!” “Woof! It looks just LIKE you, in the fur!” I exclaimed. “So how’d you find your Furever Famly?” “It was back in 2012,” she began. “Me an my litter had just been born at a breeder’s in West Palm. We had PAYpers an everything! Our pooch Mama was Summer, a white Maltese, an our pooch daddy was Red Hot Chili, a brown Mini Poo. That’s how I got my beautiful appercot color. An guess what? Us puppies were named after CEREAL!” “’Scuse me?” “It’s troo! My original name was Granola.” “Shut the doghouse door!” I exclaimed. “I KNOW, right? Thank Lassie, Mommy’d already decided on my name. Which WASN’T GRANOLA. Anyway back then, Mommy was sorta bummed out an decided she needed a Liddle Buddy, spuh-cifically a pooch, an more spuhcifically, a pooch that’d always look like a puppy, an it hadda be a portable pooch she could carry inna purse or backpack an travel with. So – waa-laa – a Maltipoo! She found my breeder on line an saw my pick-chur, which was, obviously, irresistible. So that was that. I was only 2 anna haff pounds then. Now I’m 8 whole pounds! “I’m really smart, too, Potty Trained inna snap. I havva bell by the front door – maybe you noticed – which I ring when I hafta to Do My Duty. Or when I want a Treat. Or Attention. I sleep with Mommy of course. For treats I love cheese an baby carrots an the occasional blueberry. I ackshully don’t have any bad habits. It’s TROO! Mommy says so! “How about pooch pals?” I wondered. “Well, as I mentioned, I’m a liddle hesitant about my fellow pooches, mostly cuzza bein’ much smaller than most of ’em, an cuzza of my previous unfortunate experience. I do, however, have a couple of good pooch pals – Bella an Titus – they’re Cavalier King Charles Spaniels an they buh-long to Mommy’s twin sister, Aunt Joan. They’re snowbirddogs from Nantucket who visit backan-forth with us when they’re in Naples. “I also exchange greetings with neighborhood pooches on my daily leash walks. And I have the BEST Time tumblin’ around with my human neece an two neffyous when they visit. They’re liddle bitty kids, just my size!” “So, tell me about your travels,” I urged. “Woof! I’ve traveled on planes, an ferries, an motor boats, an, of course, cars. I LOVE travelin’! I guess I have Itchy Paws! I’ve been to Boston an Ver-GIN-yuh an North Carolina an O–HI-o an INDY-anna an Ella-NOY an CallaFORN-ya an colla-RAH-do – an other places. Not across The Pond yet, tho. “Playin’s fun, too. I have tons of toys – my squeaky green ball’s my fave! – but also Hide-an-Seek with Mommy. I sqwunch up all the pillows on the bed then hide behind ’em. An Christmas time’s The Best. I LOVE PRESENTS! ACK-shully, the wrapping part! I get the tissue paper out of the presents an Mommy an Daddy ball it up an toss it across the room and I zoom over an pounce on it an rip it to pieces! ‘Sometimes I chase the lizards and squirrels! I mean, isn’t that, like, the DUTY of Florida dogs? Those liddle goofballs are EVERYWHERE. But I would NEVER, you know, catch one. EEeoooo! It gives me the willies even thinking about that. “I also love dressin’ up. I mean, I AM a grrrl, after all!” “Indeed you are, Miss Sophie!” I agreed. “I have my own raincoat, anna selection of sweaters. When it’s chilly, I have PJ’s for sleepin’. On Halloween I’ve been a pumpkin anna unicorn, an on Christmas I’ve been a reindeer. “The only thing I’m NOT fond of is WATER: like the ocean or a pool. Definitely NO! I’m NOT keen on my weekly bath, either. If I hear the water runnin’ or see the shampoo, I hide. But Mommy always finds me. I DO like the post-bath treat, and gettin’ blow-dried an brushed – then it’s SPA time! An lookin’ beautiful, of course, with all my soft apper-cot curls.” Heading home, I was thinkin’ about sweet liddle Miss Sophie with her soft apper-cot curls an her love of cheese and baby carrots and travel. An wonderin’ if my Gramma an Grampa’d ever consider having MY portrait painted. Till next time, Hi Dog Buddies! Bonz meets Sophie, a sweet and sophisticated Maltipoo The Bonz Don’t Be Shy We are always looking for pets with interesting stories. To set up an interview, email [email protected]. Sophie. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS
Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ ONGOING Vero Beach Museum of Art: Treasure Coast Creates: A Tribute to Local Artists; and Jack Tworkov: Drawings, both through Sept. 3. VBMuseum.org or 772-231-0707 Riverside Theatre: Friday and Saturday Comedy Zone 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in Waxlax Theatre, and free Live in the Loop outdoor concerts, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 772-231-6990 or RiversideTheatre.com McKee Botanical Garden: Playing with Gravity stone balancing exhibit by Adam Conard through July 30. McKeeGarden.org Sea Turtle Conservancy: Guided sea turtle walks at Archie Carr NWR Barrier Island Center, Mon., Tues., Thurs. and Fri. nights through July 28. Max 20/night. Conserveturtles.org First Friday Gallery Strolls, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Downtown Vero Beach Arts District. JUNE 24 Burgers and Brews Festival to benefit United Against Poverty, 2 to 7 p.m. at Riverside Park, with slider tasting & Best Burger Competition (2-5:30 p.m.), NAPA car show (2-6 p.m.), live music, vendors, kids zone, food trucks (2-7 p.m.) and apple pie eating contest (4 p.m.). $23.18 for five sliders & two brews/sodas; $44.52 brew tasting punch card; $108.55 VIP air-conditioned lounge and complimentary cocktails. BurgersAndBrews.org 24 Meet & Greet reception with Hezekiah Baker Jr., son of Highwayman artist Hezekiah Baker Sr., 12 p.m. at Treasure Coast Collectibles and Manor Auctions. 954-557-6226 24 Space Coast Symphony Orchestra presents its free annual red, white and blue concert Spirit of America, 2 p.m. at the Emerson Center. SpaceCoastSymphony.org 28 Patriotic Concert by 208th Army Band from Concord N.C., with some 50 soldiers conducted by CW3 Robert Slade, with Vietnam vets honored in this 50th anniversary year of troops returning home, 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. Free. 772-562-9088 30 Bubble Wrap Explosion Party, 10:30 a.m. at the Vero Beach Book Center, with story hour, kona ice cream truck and stomping on bubble wrap collected throughout the year. VeroBeachBookCenter.com or 772-569-2050 30 and July 1 – Riverside Theatre For Kids presents Disney’s “Newsies,” the Broadway Musical, performed by students ages 13 to 20. RiversideTheatre.com or 772-231-6990 JULY 1 Wounded Waters Offshore War Fishing Tournament from Causeway Cove Marina in Ft. Pierce to benefit Wounded Waters, a nonprofit that helps veterans, first responders, retired/active military through saltwater therapy. Woundedwaters.org 2 Celebration of Freedom Patriotic Concert, 7 p.m. at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, with the Paradise Women’s Chorale, St. John’s Bass Ensemble, the Dolls, and the Vero Beach Pipe and Drums. Free; donations accepted. 772-584-9744 Sudoku Page 32 Sudoku Page 33 Crossword Page 32 Solutions from Games Pages in June 15, 2023 Edition Crossword Page 33 (Self-Help and Beyond) Advertising Vero Beach Services | If you would like your business to appear in our directory, please call 772-633-0753 VERO BEACH 32963 BUSINESS DIRECTORY Althea Powell, Board Certified Pedorthist State Licensed • Custom Molded Orthotics • Custom Molded Shoes • Diabetic Shoes • Elevation 2686 U.S. HWY 1 • VERO BEACH, FL www.powellshoes.com • 772.562.9045 POWELL SHOES PEDORTHIC FACILITY Oils • Edibles • Coffee • Pain Topicals • Skincare Beverages & Non Alcoholic Spirits Gummies & Vape Cartridges • Sleep Aids • Accessories 476 21st Street • Miracle Mile (next to Kelly’s Pub) hempnookcbd.com • (772) 226-7598 • [email protected] CBD & THC PRODUCTS CALENDAR
PALM ISLAND PLANTATION HOME HAS OCEAN-TO-RIVER ACCESS 406 N. Palm Island Circle in Palm Island Plantation: 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 4,108-square-foot, home offered for $1,895,000 by AMAC Alex MacWilliam Realtor Patty Valdes: 772-473-8810
REAL ESTATE 62 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Architecturally distinguished design, quality construction, attention to detail, and a high level of craftsmanship, with custom millwork and finishes throughout, are hallmarks of the homes in Palm Island Plantation built by Vero Beach luxury builder Westmark Construction Company. But that’s not what drew Karen and Greg Wilson to purchase their home at 406 N. Palm Island Circle – that was just the icing on the tropical island cake. Karen says that, after visiting Greg’s father and brother here, “we absolutely fell in love with Vero Beach. The environment, the beach and the weather. We decided when we retired, we were going to try to join them down there, and that’s what we did.” Having moved around a lot with Greg’s work, the couple had seen a lot of places. “We chose Vero Beach to retire,” continues Karen. What sold them on Palm Island, specifically, was the ocean-to-river access. “Palm Island is such a wonderful community. We can do sunrises and sunsets within our own community,” Karen says, noting the Beach Clubhouse with full beach access, the docks on the river and a gate leading to the scenic Jungle Trail. The Wilsons are avid bikers, so the Jungle Trail access is a boon. “We really do have the best of both worlds there. And it’s all walkable. You don’t have to get in a golf cart or a car to access the beach club or the river.” And the house they picked offered much charm of its own. A brick paver drive bordered by a lushly landscaped yard leads to the covered front entry. Stepping through the mahogany front door, you enter the screened portion of the courtyard, an option the Wilsons chose so they could open the house year-round. “This is a really livable house,” says Patty Valdes, a realtor with AMAC Alex MacWilliam Real Estate, of the L-shaped floorplan “You can have guests and be comfortable, but you can just be a couple and have your space too.” “I love the layout of the house. It’s perfect for Greg and me when we’re alone,” agrees Karen. “The main house has the primary suite, the family room and the kitchen all on one wing; and then we have this huge great room for entertaining when we have guests over, plus an extra guest room.” Valdes notes the extensive millwork and variety of ceiling detail in each room. Between the quality and how well the home has been maintained, she says. “It’s hard to believe it was built in 2007.” Palm Island Plantation home has ocean-to-river access BY STEPHANIE LABAFF Staff Writer
REAL ESTATE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 63 The foyer is located to the right of the courtyard entry, with the en-suite guest bedroom located just off the front entry, along with the laundry room, powder room and access to the two-car garage, making it easy for guests to come and go. The living room/dining room is graced with a cozy and elegant gas fireplace and offers ample open space with French doors that look out onto the screened lanai. The kitchen, family room and owner’s suite complete the bottom portion of the L-shaped floorplan, allowing the owners to isolate should they desire. The chef’s kitchen is fully equipped with high-end appliances, a large pantry and an island with seating. The family room wet bar is handy to the screened lanai and the dining room, so no matter what level of entertaining you enjoy, you have plenty of options. And the Wilsons have an adjacent patio where they do their grilling near the kitchen – a smart move, indeed. The spacious owner’s suite has a lovely pool view with French doors that open so you can walk out for a morning swim. On the opposite side of the room, doors open to a private patio where Karen says they hang a hammock. “It’s on the east side, so you feel the ocean breeze. You can nap and listen to the birds,” she adds. Two walk-in closets, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, a water closet and dual sinks finish the suite nicely. Outside, you can enjoy dining in the covered, screened area or swimming in the seclusion of the courtyard. Meanwhile, the casita is perfect for guests. CONTINUED ON PAGE 65
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REAL ESTATE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 65 “When you enter our front door [to the courtyard], you’re really entering the perfect Florida living space. It’s an in-out area. You’re still outside in our screened-in lanai. The courtyard pool gives you such privacy. It’s your own little perfect world within Palm Island,” says Karen. Palm Island is a guard-gated, ocean-to-river community that offers resort-like amenities. Within the 58-acre British West Indies development, the oceanfront Beach Club offers a heated pool, spa, private cabanas and a bar. You can work out at the fitness center, swim in the community pool, relax in the steam rooms or swing a racquet on the Har-Tru tennis court. Boat slips are available at the River Cabana with deep-water docking and a river deck on the Indian River Lagoon. The historic Jungle Trail and Environmental Learning Center are just around the corner, and it’s a short drive to shopping and dining in Vero’s lovely beachside village where you can also enjoy cultural events at Riverside Theatre or the Vero Beach Museum of Art, located among the moss-draped oaks in Riverside Park. VITAL STATISTICS Neighborhood: Palm Island Plantation Year built: 2007 • Construction: Concrete block Lot size: .27 acres Home size: 4,108 square feet Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 full baths and 1 half-bath Pool: Private, courtyard swimming pool View: Pool and garden Additional features: Chef’s kitchen with island; tile flooring throughout; gas fireplace; wet bar with wine cooler; reverse osmosis water system; soaking tub; laundry room; custom millwork; crown molding; French doors; two-car garage; screened lanai; detached guest casita; plumbed for summer kitchen; impact windows and storm panels; and granted beach access. Listing agency: AMAC Alex MacWilliam Real Estate Listing agent: Patty Valdes, 772-473-8810 Listing price: $1,895,000 406 N. PALM ISLAND CIRCLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 63
REAL ESTATE 66 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ In January, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a sweeping “housing compact” to grapple with the state’s housing crisis. The plan would have required jurisdictions across the state to legalize the construction of new housing, overriding local zoning rules – a prospect that alarmed voters in many affluent suburbs around New York City. But after weeks of debate (and five missed budget deadlines), state lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the governor’s proposal; the budget passed on May 2 included none of the elements of the governor’s housing compact. Hochul’s plan for New York was built around a “builder’s remedy,” a mechanism to ensure that heel-dragging suburbs comply with the state’s housing targets. Taken broadly, a builder’s remedy allows a developer to sidestep zoning rules when a jurisdiction fails to meet its permitting goals, defying local governments that deeply oppose such mandates. “Mandatory requirements and real consequences have better success than places with voluntary policies,” says Andrew Fine, policy director for the housing advocacy group Open New York. “Voluntary programs have produced very little housing.” But states such as California and Massachusetts that have already adopted builder’s remedy laws found that passing the bills is only the first of many obstacles. Their experiences offer a way forward – and a word of caution – for leaders in New York and other states as they attempt to navigate the contentious issue of compelling cities to legalize new housing. Nationwide, the U.S. is struggling to close a massive shortfall of homes. But even states with mandates set in stone find that enforcing housing production targets is an elusive goal. To succeed, they need more than laws – they need lawsuits. When it comes to Yes-In-My-Backyard laws, California lapped New York years ago. Hochul’s wishlist draws on Golden State laws that legalize accessory dwelling units and permit dense housing near transit, for example, all bills passed by California lawmakers within the last few years. Builder’s remedy has been on the books for much longer, as far back as the Housing Accountability Act in 1982, but its impact was minimal until California passed an amendment in 2017 to shore up enforcement. Yet builder’s remedy is a rule more often honored in the breach: Policies designed to fast-track housing developments have instead triggered constitutional flashpoints over land use between local and state authorities. For example, developers proposed multifamily projects to replace singlefamily homes in both the Bay Area suburb of Sonoma and the Silicon Valley enclave of Los Altos Hills under the builder’s remedy. These were among the 231 jurisdictions across the state that failed to adopt a road map to meet housing targets set by the state, which landed the cities in trouble. Local authorities in Sonoma and Los Altos Hill said no thanks to the developers’ applications, bucking the state’s view of the law. Here’s how California’s builder’s remedy works: The state requires cities and counties to submit “housing elements” – a part of a city’s general plan that breaks down the number of homes at various income levels each jurisdiction must build to meet regional production goals. Those that fail to do so essentially forfeit their right to reject an application from a developer, so long as that development achieves certain affordability goals. This ought to be a major disincentive for recalcitrant cities to ignore the state’s housing guidelines, since a developer could glide in with a rubber-stamped housing project much taller and denser than local law allows. That’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway. Leaders in Sonoma and Los Altos Hills say that they complied with state law by passing housing elements locally, according to reports, even though the state did not certify those plans. Huntington Beach has gone further: The Orange County city passed a local law in March banning builder’s remedy, prompting an immediate lawsuit from the state. “It’s a chaotic situation when the builder’s remedy kicks in,” says California State Senator Scott Wiener, the author of SB 35, which gave the state’s housing mandates bite. “Ideally we don’t want it to kick in.” The impact is more than theoretical in some places. After Santa Monica was deemed out of compliance, developers deployed the builder’s remedy to advance 16 projects, including buildings as tall as 15 stories. The Santa Monica Daily Press chronicled the stages of grief among Santa Monica authorities as they realized the consequences – a sudden windfall of desperately needed housing that nevertheless left leaders and constituents asking who is to blame. Plenty of California jurisdictions completed housing elements that have been certified by the state. But other cities got cute with the process, passing housing plans that would be impossible to fulfill under their own zoning codes. Others dragged their heels and missed deadlines but eventually got their acts together, including Los Angeles. Upzoning is a third rail for California cities, but San Francisco nevertheless drew up an ambitious plan to allow at least 82,000 new units to be built by 2032 – partly out of fear of what developers would do given free rein. Other cities are holding out. Just under half of the nearly 200 cities in southern California have their housing elements in place, according to state data; these plans were due in October 2021. Localities in the Bay Area were supposed to set their plans by February, but only around 15% of its 100-plus cities have state-certified plans. The state certification process has come under fire, too, and not just from opponents. The North Bay city of Sausalito drafted a housing element that included development potential for lots that are underwater – not financially, literally – among other squirrelly features. To the dismay of housing advocates in Marin County, the state approved Sausalito’s plan. Wiener says that builder’s remedy is not “airtight” in California. It’s not clear whether the California Environmental Quality Act, a state regulation that cities often use to hamper housing developments, applies to builder’s remedy developments, for example. Fundamentally, the mechanism was HOUSING-STRAPPED STATES REACH FOR A FRAUGHT FIX Proudly Serving the Treasure Coast for over 40 years 640 Old Dixie Highway Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-569-3874 [email protected] ISA Certified Arborist Hazardous Tree Removal Oak Tree Trimming Specialist Professional Mangrove Trimmers Fully Licensed and Insured BY KRISTON CAPPS Bloomberg
REAL ESTATE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 67 never meant to be an engine for housing construction. Builder’s remedy wasn’t designed to be used; it was designed to be avoided. “It’s a painful situation that will involve a fair amount of litigation, but once the dust settles, the law is not a suggestion,” Wiener says. For more than 50 years, Massachusetts’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act has set a benchmark for affordable housing that applies to municipalities across the commonwealth. The 1969 law, better known as Chapter 40B, holds that at least 10 percent of the housing in every town and city must be deemed affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income. Communities must either meet this standard or, alternatively, devote 1.5 percent of their total developable land area to affordable housing. Chapter 40B also established the nation’s first and oldest builder’s remedy, passed in the year after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to head off emerging patterns of racial and economic segregation. This builder’s remedy is different from California’s in a few ways, according to Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Housing Massachusetts. The vast majority of Chapter 40B applications happen within greater Boston, for starters, following a routine process for proposals for which 25 percent of the units are affordable. And the state established an agency, the Housing Appeals Committee, to oversee them. While the committee bills itself as an “impartial forum” for hearing conflicts that arise, Kanson-Benanav says that it tends to side with the commonwealth. “Generally speaking, they’re on the side of enforcing the 40B law and making sure these developments are approved.” In many places, the law is achieving the desired effect. The Boston Globe reported in October that the affluent Boston suburb of Newton was close to achieving “safe harbor” status under Chapter 40B. Thanks to new projects in the pipeline, 9.8 percent of Newton’s housing stock qualified under the state’s affordable inventory – an accomplishment for an area with a median housing price just shy of $1 million. Local authorities nevertheless still bristle under the law. Residents express shock and dismay over 40B developments that local leaders can’t block, a political sting for elected officials. The so-called anti-snob zoning policy enables developers to bypass regular channels that are essential for planning, critics say. Complaints stretch back years: A 2007 editorial in the Standard-Times, which serves coastal New Bedford, said that one developer applied directly to the Housing Appeals Committee without even briefing the local planning board; the proposal took it as a given that the land would get water and sewer service. Still other critics say that Chapter 40B enshrines a bare-minimum approach into law. Builder’s remedy proposals for rental units count all their units toward the state’s affordable housing inventory, not just the 25% of the units required to be affordable. Chapter 40B doesn’t deliver housing for poorer families who earn less – sometimes far less – than the 50 percent to 80 percent area median income band prescribed by the law. In wealthier areas, Chapter 40B affordable housing means homes for moderateincome households. Developers sometimes shortchange affordable housing to meet their quotas, with smaller units that aren’t suitable for families. And in many affluent suburbs, affordable homes exclude families altogether. A 2016 Boston Globe analysis found that 55 percent of the affordable housing built in Eastern Massachusetts suburbs was designed for seniors. For pro-housing advocates, the biggest gripe about Chapter 40B is that the 10 percent affordability standard isn’t sufficient, as it doesn’t consider differences between communities or changes over the last half-century. “Even if 40B was incredibly well utilized, and we got all 351 cities and towns to reach 10 percent in the next few years, that wouldn’t reach that delta between where we are and what we need,” Kanson-Benanav says. If there’s a fatal flaw to the builder’s remedy approach, it’s that developers aren’t necessarily inclined to fight local planning boards tooth-and-nail over apartment buildings despised by locals and their elected leaders. By and large, developers like to get to yes.
REAL ESTATE 68 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCES AND LOTS SUBDIVISION ADDRESS LISTED ORIGINAL MOST RECENT SOLD SELLING ASKING PRICE ASKING PRICE PRICE ANCHOR THE MOORINGS 122 SPRINGLINE DR 11/15/2022 $4,450,000 $3,400,000 6/15/2023 $3,000,000 WHITE SURF 2455 23RD ST SE 4/16/2023 $2,900,000 $2,900,000 6/15/2023 $2,900,000 CACHE CAY 41 CACHE CAY DR 12/21/2022 $2,400,000 $2,250,000 6/9/2023 $2,050,000 MARBRISA 351 MARBRISA DR 1/9/2023 $1,800,000 $1,600,000 6/15/2023 $1,477,000 BERMUDA CLUB 9074 CASTLE HARBOUR CIR 3/17/2023 $1,395,000 $1,395,000 6/13/2023 $1,350,000 BONITA BEACH 2086 CAVALLA RD 5/16/2023 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 6/13/2023 $1,200,000 OCEAN PEARL 150 N WHITE JEWEL CT 4/2/2023 $975,000 $985,000 6/9/2023 $970,000 ORCHID COVE 9249 ORCHID COVE CIR 2/9/2021 $719,990 $719,990 6/14/2023 $846,588 ISLAND CLUB OF VERO 834 ISLAND CLUB SQ 5/2/2023 $835,000 $835,000 6/14/2023 $775,000 ORCHID ISLE ESTATES 1850 BAYVIEW CT 6/9/2022 $700,000 $650,000 6/15/2023 $550,000 OCEAN PARK 1010 EASTER LILY LN, #201 5/3/2023 $2,895,000 $2,895,000 6/15/2023 $2,685,000 TOWNHOMES, VILLAS, CONDOS, MULTIFAMILY AND INVESTMENT Real Estate Sales on the Barrier Island: June 9 to June 15 The barrier island real estate market continued to be active in the second week of June with 11 transactions recorded, including seven for more than $1 million. The top sale of the week was of a waterfront home in the Anchor section of The Moorings. The property at 122 Springline Drive was put on the market Nov. 15, 2022, with an asking price of $4.45 million. The listing price more recently was $3.4 million. The home sold on June 15 for $3 million. The seller in the transaction was represented by Chris Butler of Villa Realty Associates. The purchaser was represented by Erika Ross of The Moorings Realty Sales Co.
REAL ESTATE Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 69 Here are some of the top recent barrier island sales. Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: 5/3/2023 $2,895,000 $2,895,000 6/15/2023 $2,685,000 Lange Sykes Premier Estate Properties Not Provided Not Provided Subdivision: Ocean Park, Address: 1010 Easter Lily Ln, #201 12/21/2022 $2,400,000 $2,250,000 6/9/2023 $2,050,000 Rosanne Moler Dale Sorensen Real Estate Inc. Collier Proctor The Moorings Realty Sales Co. Subdivision: Cache Cay, Address: 41 Cache Cay Dr 4/16/2023 $2,900,000 $2,900,000 6/15/2023 $2,900,000 Rita Curry Dale Sorensen Real Estate Inc. Danette Dieffenbach Dale Sorensen Real Estate Inc. Subdivision: White Surf, Address: 2455 23rd St SE 1/9/2023 $1,800,000 $1,600,000 6/15/2023 $1,477,000 Debbie Bell Berkshire Hathaway Florida Tripp Hernandez Dale Sorensen Real Estate Inc. Subdivision: Marbrisa, Address: 351 Marbrisa Dr
REAL ESTATE 70 Vero Beach 32963 / June 22, 2023 Your Vero Beach Newsweekly ™ Here are some of the top recent barrier island sales. Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: Listing Date: Original Price: Recent Price: Sold: Selling Price: Listing Agent: Selling Agent: 4/2/2023 $975,000 $985,000 6/9/2023 $970,000 Cliff Norris Jr. & Beth Rahaley Cliff Norris Real Estate Rosanne Moler Dale Sorensen Real Estate Inc. Subdivision: Ocean Pearl, Address: 150 N White Jewel Ct 3/17/2023 $1,395,000 $1,395,000 6/13/2023 $1,350,000 Jim & Stephanie Knapp Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Cliff Norris Jr. Cliff Norris Real Estate Subdivision: Bermuda Club, Address: 9074 Castle Harbour Cir 5/16/2023 $1,200,000 $1,200,000 6/13/2023 $1,200,000 Cheryl Gerstner & Kit Fields Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Peggie Hollinger Florida Homes Realty & Mort Subdivision: Bonita Beach, Address: 2086 Cavalla Rd 2/9/2021 $719,990 $719,990 6/14/2023 $846,588 Janyne Kenworthy ONE Sotheby’s Int’l Realty Jill Arsenault ONE Sotheby’s Int’l Realty Subdivision: Orchid Cove, Address: 9249 Orchid Cove Cir
The Vero Beach Barrier Island Newspaper www.vb32963online.com June 22, 2023 Volume 16, Issue 25 Newsstand Price $1.00