Lake Worth Florida Property Appraisals and Home Appraisers
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Are you interested in a real estate appraiser that specializes in the Lake Worth, Florida area? Our
appraisers have extensive knowledge as commercial property appraisers, residential home
appraisers and overall property appraisals. If you need an appraiser in Lake Worth one of our Certified
Appraisers will gladly help with all of your commercial and residential home appraisal services.
Lake Worth is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, which takes its name from the intercoastal
waterway along its eastern border. The lake itself was named for General William J. Worth, who led U.
S. forces during the Second Seminole War. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census
Bureau is 36,342. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to 5,463,857 people.
Local folklore has it that the first post office in the Lake Worth area was founded in the 1880s by a
married African American couple who were freed slaves. The initial name for the post office was Jewel.
The post office was located in a small dry good shop which the couple operated to serve the lake traffic
which connected the small pioneer homesteads located along the banks of the Lake Worth lagoon.
After Henry Flagler extended his rail line south from West Palm Beach to Miami in 1896, a land
development scheme was created to plant a townsite between the railroad and the lake. Purchasers
of lots within the townsite would also receive a larger plot of land west of town for agricultural use. The
initial name proposed for the new town was Lucerne. However, the U.S. Post Office refused to accept
the name because there already was a Lucerne, Florida post office. Therefore, the city fathers settled
on the name Lake Worth, for the lake on which the fledgling town was sited. One of the main streets
was named Lucerne Avenue instead. The city was officially incorporated in 1912. Many of the first
residents were farmers from other parts of the American south and mid-west, looking to benefit from
the growing winter vegetable market of the time. The city benefited with the rest of south Florida during
the Florida land boom of the 1920's. A wooden automobile traffic bridge over Lake Worth was
completed in 1919. The first casino and municipal beach complex was completed shortly thereafter.
The 1920s also saw the completion of the Gulfstream Hotel, which towers over the downtown to this
day.
The city was severely damaged in the 1928 hurricane, toppling the bell tower on the elementary school
(today the City Hall Annex) and destroying the beachfront casino and automobile bridge over Lake
Worth. This led to a severe economic decline within the community which led into the Great
Depression. Things were so dire in the city in the 1930s, that FDR's Works Progress Administration
built a striking, moorish-styled "City Gymnasium" on the corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie Highway to
provide employment for the impoverished citizenry. The building today serves as City Hall.
Development started again after World War II with many modest pensioners, especially from Quebec,
Finland and eventually Germany, moving to the city and building 1,000 square foot cottages. These
new immigrants brought their industrious nature with them as well as their native customs,
restaurants, shops, and churches and for decades the town flourished. To this day one can find an
unusual abundance of beer halls, chocolatiers, Bavarian delicatessens and Lutheran churches, which
stand out in the semi-tropical urban sprawl of South Florida.
The South Florida construction boom brought a new wave of immigrants in the past few decades.
Central American immigrants, largely from from Guatemala, have added a Hispanic aspect to Lake
Worth's culture. Sadly, an influx of cash economy illegal aliens has also resulted in a rise in crime.
Their fear of reporting crime due to their status has contributed to a rise in criminals who prey both on
the immigrants' fear of deportation and the knowledge that these illegals are paid in cash and rarely
use the banking system. Currently, the robbery rate is over 3 1/2 times the national average, and the
overall crime rate is over 2 1/3 times the national average.
After a short period of neglect and decline in the 1980s and 1990s, the downtown area has seen a
huge resurgence in interest and development and once moribund property values have soared. The
city's charming main street, Lake Avenue, contains some of the oldest commercial structures in South
Florida, including the Lake Worth Play House and the art deco building, originally a cinema, which
formerly housed the PBICA. The re-discovery of this unique charm has spurred new interest in the city.
The city was hit especially hard by Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma in 2004 and 2005. Their
famous fishing pier was the most damaged and with the help of FEMA it is now being repaired; it is
anticipated to reopen in the Spring of 2008.
Lake Worth is located at 26°37′11″N, 80°3′31″WGR1, approximately seven miles south of West Palm
Beach and 60 miles north of downtown Miami. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city
has a total area of 6.46 square miles (17 km²). 5.64 square miles (15 km²) of it is land and 0.86
square miles (2 km²) of it (12.69%) is water.
Several geographical features in Palm Beach County confusingly use the words "Lake Worth". The
city of Lake Worth is named after a lake now usually called Lake Worth Lagoon. This lake opens to
the Atlantic ocean at the Port of Palm Beach via the Lake Worth Inlet. Another inlet exists further south
at Boynton Beach. The port and two inlets are all distant from the city of Lake Worth. The lake is a long
channel that spans much of Palm Beach County; indeed the Intracoastal Waterway traverses the
length of the lake. The man-made inlets to the ocean have replaced the natural freshwater with
saltwater, such that the lake is actually now a tidal body, instead of a true lake.
The USDA has mapped most of Lake Worth in the Southern Florida Flatwoods land resource area.
Deep, poorly drained acidic sandy soils are typical for the area; they have gray topsoil, white subsoil,
and a dark hardpan. Much of Lake Worth is built on a rapidly drained white or gray sand which is too
dry and infertile to support vigorous plant growth. The western outskirts of Lake Worth are in the
Southern Florida Lowlands area. Topsoils there are sandy, but the subsoils have a much higher
content of clay and the soils are relatively fertile. As in the flatwoods, these soils are poorly drained for
many purposes unless drainage systems are installed.
Lake Worth bills itself as "Where The Tropics Begin." Many tropical plants grow in the city; among the
more prominent examples are mahogany, royal poinciana and many species of palm, including
coconut palm. African tulip tree, avocado and many species of eucalyptus may also be found, although
they are on the city's list of trees to avoid. Temperate-zone trees native to Lake Worth or Palm Beach
County include American elm, live oak, red maple, red mulberry and slash pine. Species which are
grown south of their native areas include American sweetgum, Shumard oak and tulip tree.
Although the incorporated city of Lake Worth is small geographically, as is common in Palm Beach
County, a large unincorporated urbanized area with a Lake Worth postal address lies to the west of
the city, and includes the Census Designated Place of Lake Worth Corridor, as well as
neighborhoods such as "The Fountains", Lago Lucerne, Lake Osbourne Estates, Melaleuca Lane
Corridor, Lake Charleston, and Palm Beach National. The 2006 Census estimates this urbanized
area's population as 154,892. The total population of both incorporated and unincorporated Lake
Worth is estimated by the 2006 Census to be 190,377.
For more information visit www.lakeworth.org
appraisers have extensive knowledge as commercial property appraisers, residential home
appraisers and overall property appraisals. If you need an appraiser in Lake Worth one of our Certified
Appraisers will gladly help with all of your commercial and residential home appraisal services.
Lake Worth is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, which takes its name from the intercoastal
waterway along its eastern border. The lake itself was named for General William J. Worth, who led U.
S. forces during the Second Seminole War. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census
Bureau is 36,342. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which is home to 5,463,857 people.
Local folklore has it that the first post office in the Lake Worth area was founded in the 1880s by a
married African American couple who were freed slaves. The initial name for the post office was Jewel.
The post office was located in a small dry good shop which the couple operated to serve the lake traffic
which connected the small pioneer homesteads located along the banks of the Lake Worth lagoon.
After Henry Flagler extended his rail line south from West Palm Beach to Miami in 1896, a land
development scheme was created to plant a townsite between the railroad and the lake. Purchasers
of lots within the townsite would also receive a larger plot of land west of town for agricultural use. The
initial name proposed for the new town was Lucerne. However, the U.S. Post Office refused to accept
the name because there already was a Lucerne, Florida post office. Therefore, the city fathers settled
on the name Lake Worth, for the lake on which the fledgling town was sited. One of the main streets
was named Lucerne Avenue instead. The city was officially incorporated in 1912. Many of the first
residents were farmers from other parts of the American south and mid-west, looking to benefit from
the growing winter vegetable market of the time. The city benefited with the rest of south Florida during
the Florida land boom of the 1920's. A wooden automobile traffic bridge over Lake Worth was
completed in 1919. The first casino and municipal beach complex was completed shortly thereafter.
The 1920s also saw the completion of the Gulfstream Hotel, which towers over the downtown to this
day.
The city was severely damaged in the 1928 hurricane, toppling the bell tower on the elementary school
(today the City Hall Annex) and destroying the beachfront casino and automobile bridge over Lake
Worth. This led to a severe economic decline within the community which led into the Great
Depression. Things were so dire in the city in the 1930s, that FDR's Works Progress Administration
built a striking, moorish-styled "City Gymnasium" on the corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie Highway to
provide employment for the impoverished citizenry. The building today serves as City Hall.
Development started again after World War II with many modest pensioners, especially from Quebec,
Finland and eventually Germany, moving to the city and building 1,000 square foot cottages. These
new immigrants brought their industrious nature with them as well as their native customs,
restaurants, shops, and churches and for decades the town flourished. To this day one can find an
unusual abundance of beer halls, chocolatiers, Bavarian delicatessens and Lutheran churches, which
stand out in the semi-tropical urban sprawl of South Florida.
The South Florida construction boom brought a new wave of immigrants in the past few decades.
Central American immigrants, largely from from Guatemala, have added a Hispanic aspect to Lake
Worth's culture. Sadly, an influx of cash economy illegal aliens has also resulted in a rise in crime.
Their fear of reporting crime due to their status has contributed to a rise in criminals who prey both on
the immigrants' fear of deportation and the knowledge that these illegals are paid in cash and rarely
use the banking system. Currently, the robbery rate is over 3 1/2 times the national average, and the
overall crime rate is over 2 1/3 times the national average.
After a short period of neglect and decline in the 1980s and 1990s, the downtown area has seen a
huge resurgence in interest and development and once moribund property values have soared. The
city's charming main street, Lake Avenue, contains some of the oldest commercial structures in South
Florida, including the Lake Worth Play House and the art deco building, originally a cinema, which
formerly housed the PBICA. The re-discovery of this unique charm has spurred new interest in the city.
The city was hit especially hard by Hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma in 2004 and 2005. Their
famous fishing pier was the most damaged and with the help of FEMA it is now being repaired; it is
anticipated to reopen in the Spring of 2008.
Lake Worth is located at 26°37′11″N, 80°3′31″WGR1, approximately seven miles south of West Palm
Beach and 60 miles north of downtown Miami. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city
has a total area of 6.46 square miles (17 km²). 5.64 square miles (15 km²) of it is land and 0.86
square miles (2 km²) of it (12.69%) is water.
Several geographical features in Palm Beach County confusingly use the words "Lake Worth". The
city of Lake Worth is named after a lake now usually called Lake Worth Lagoon. This lake opens to
the Atlantic ocean at the Port of Palm Beach via the Lake Worth Inlet. Another inlet exists further south
at Boynton Beach. The port and two inlets are all distant from the city of Lake Worth. The lake is a long
channel that spans much of Palm Beach County; indeed the Intracoastal Waterway traverses the
length of the lake. The man-made inlets to the ocean have replaced the natural freshwater with
saltwater, such that the lake is actually now a tidal body, instead of a true lake.
The USDA has mapped most of Lake Worth in the Southern Florida Flatwoods land resource area.
Deep, poorly drained acidic sandy soils are typical for the area; they have gray topsoil, white subsoil,
and a dark hardpan. Much of Lake Worth is built on a rapidly drained white or gray sand which is too
dry and infertile to support vigorous plant growth. The western outskirts of Lake Worth are in the
Southern Florida Lowlands area. Topsoils there are sandy, but the subsoils have a much higher
content of clay and the soils are relatively fertile. As in the flatwoods, these soils are poorly drained for
many purposes unless drainage systems are installed.
Lake Worth bills itself as "Where The Tropics Begin." Many tropical plants grow in the city; among the
more prominent examples are mahogany, royal poinciana and many species of palm, including
coconut palm. African tulip tree, avocado and many species of eucalyptus may also be found, although
they are on the city's list of trees to avoid. Temperate-zone trees native to Lake Worth or Palm Beach
County include American elm, live oak, red maple, red mulberry and slash pine. Species which are
grown south of their native areas include American sweetgum, Shumard oak and tulip tree.
Although the incorporated city of Lake Worth is small geographically, as is common in Palm Beach
County, a large unincorporated urbanized area with a Lake Worth postal address lies to the west of
the city, and includes the Census Designated Place of Lake Worth Corridor, as well as
neighborhoods such as "The Fountains", Lago Lucerne, Lake Osbourne Estates, Melaleuca Lane
Corridor, Lake Charleston, and Palm Beach National. The 2006 Census estimates this urbanized
area's population as 154,892. The total population of both incorporated and unincorporated Lake
Worth is estimated by the 2006 Census to be 190,377.
For more information visit www.lakeworth.org
| Toll Free: 866-775-3395 Palm Beach: 561-674-0498 Cell Line: 954-415-1630 Fax Line: 561-892-0913 |
McLean & Associates, Inc
appraisal and real estate consulting
appraisal and real estate consulting
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