South county embraces Scripps proposal, but critics emerge

BOCA RATON — With the deadline for a decision on where to locate The Scripps Research Institute less than two weeks away, support for Boca Raton's proposal is gaining momentum among various homeowner associations.

"People think it is the right address for Scripps," said Rick Coffin, president of the Woodfield Country Club Homeowner Association, which represents 1,300 homes in Boca Raton. "It's a nice fit."

Many residents support bringing Scripps here because it would lure a "highly creative" and "intellectual population" — some of which was lost when IBM fled its sprawling Yamato Road campus in 1996 — as well as fill thousands of square feet of vacant space in the old IBM complex.

I'm posting this because of some interesting aspects of the story that FReepers may appreciate (or NOT!)

The story is (and I'm not able to include everything) that several years ago, Scripps expressed interest in moving to a large site that they wanted to construct West of Palm Beach. This move was to bring thousands of jobs into the area and tremendous local revenue. On top of this, with the influx of workers for all kinds of jobs that would be created because of Scripps, it was speculated that the very hot SoFlo real estate market in the area would boom even more (We're talking personally a 20% increase in value in the past year and triple over the past 5.) So people with money invested in the areas surrounding the site and bought land. Then they built huge, executive style homes in the 3K-7K sqft under air range.

I know several of them who did so. They were just waiting for Scripps to come down to put their homes on the market. Scripps began the construction in good faith. They build the complex, they built the roads, they prepared the utilities. All in all multiple millions of construction and investment in this osbcure area West of Palm Beach.

Then came the judge...

Some wack-job judge in Palm Beach decided that due to environmental concerns, Scripps could not continue construction at this site. Scripps got caught up in a new wrinkle that PBC officials never mentioned in the deal. Enviro-Wackkos.

So, while PBC official spun their little webs hoping for some payoff or other scumbag under the table deal, Scripps said: "F.U. We have an offer from Boca Raton, and it seems just dandy"

So now, my town is in play. Nice for me, but all those private citizens who invested in NW PBC are left hanging now. All those huge homes and no buyers? Holy cow!!! How could the Liberal Democrat jerks who run WPB blow such a deal?!? They've screwed their best and brightest over this!

And they are trying it in Boca now. Per the article:

" However, there is a potential environmental wrinkle. Palm Beach County officials are asking for an environmental review to make sure the proposed Scripps site isn't home to any scrub jays, a threatened species."

You know what? If I had a vested interest in this development I'd be eating Scrub Jays for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Can't possibly be as tough as Spotted Owl.

At any rate, I thought it was an interested take on the truly destructive force that Democrat Liberalism and enviro-wackism have on our economy and the private citizen.

Russia simply shot their people when they became inconvient, but in America, they get the royal treatment: Their dreams and hops are built up, then stripped away and crushed.

All thanks to your local Democrats.

You did an excellent job at presenting the facts of this.

Scripts did more then show an interest in the area of North Palm Beach county. They've spent millions along with the state and local govts. trying to set up a research campus that would bring high tech clean jobs to the area.
Along comes this judge with visions of granduer and imposes a moretorium on the project for reasons of environmental concerns.
Then you get the counties and cities surrounding the original site fighting to get the project moved to their little burgs.
Scripts would be wise to leave the area and go to a more deserving place where the majority aren't old blue haired domocrat ladies.
There are a few reasonable schools in the area but there are areas where scho0ls are better. Florida Atlantic U. and Palm Beach Community colleges along with .I.U. and a few other small pribates don't add up to say the Triangle of North carolina.
Go elsewhere, Scripts deserves better then the way they've been treated in Palm beach county.

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