On June 22, 2006, Palm Beach County acquired the last remaining parcel in an area of northern Palm Beach County known as Unit 11, thereby ending an unprecedented 10-year acquisition program.
Unit 11, located immediately north of the Mecca Farms tract between Northlake Boulevard and the Beeline Highway, consists of approximately 1,769 acres (1,303 individual lots) which were acquired through a variety of means, including willing seller purchases, land donations and eminent domain.
Funding for the program came primarily from mitigation funds set aside through governmental agency permits. Of the 1,769 total acres, approximately 48.4 acres along the western boundary of Unit 11 were purchased with roadway funds for the future construction of the extension of Seminole Pratt-Whitney Road north to the Beeline Highway.
Unit 11 is part of a proposed, regionally-significant wildlife corridor and natural area which when completed will connect the J. W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area with Palm Beach County’s Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area and the Grassy Waters Preserve, owned by the City of West Palm Beach. Unit 11 also serves as a viable off-site freshwater mitigation area for single-family residential development that has occurred in The Acreage.
Unit 11 contains high quality mesic and wet pine flatwoods, prairie and hydric hammocks, wet prairie, depression marsh, and cypress and strand swamps which are inhabited by numerous listed plant and animal species. Roughly 39 percent of the tract is permanently or semi-permanently flooded.
As most of the lands in Unit 11 were acquired, they were incorporated into Palm Beach County’s Hungryland Slough Natural Area and are currently being restored to their native state by removing dirt roads, canals and drainage ditches which have disrupted the historic water flow. County-owned lands in Unit 11 will not only preserve, protect and enhance the existing native plant and animal communities, but will also provide passive recreational and environmental educational opportunities for area residents and visitors.
# # #
Government
