Home > News & Media > Historic Callery-Judge Grove in foreclosure

Historic Callery-Judge Grove in foreclosure

Palm Beach Post – March 24, 2011

Callery-Judge Grove, founded in western Palm Beach County in 1964, is being sued for more than $37 million in a foreclosure filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Callery-Judge Grove Limited Partnership, CJC Management LTD. and Managed Citrus owe Prudential Industrial Properties LLC $37 million in mortgages plus $8.7 million in interest. Nat Roberts, general manager, said Wednesday he is negotiating with lenders. The grove is privately held by more than 200 investors.

“We are confident we will come up with a solution,” Roberts said.

Over the years, a variety of efforts to develop the 3,900 acres off Seminole-Pratt Whitney Road near Loxahatchee have been stymied. In 2007 the Palm Beach County Commission rejected the grove’s plan for 10,000 homes and 3.8 million square feet of commercial development.

Since then, Callery-Judge has sought to build smaller projects, but as the real estate market has declined, that has not happened. Over the last two years, Callery-Judge has objected to nearby Loxahatchee Groves growth plan, saying it would use up capacity on nearby roads and limit its plans.

Meanwhile, production has declined in the grove that once produced more than a million boxes of citrus each season.

“Fundamentally, the diseases, the hurricanes and the weather patterns have reduced the agricultural revenues dramatically. The dramatic delays in working through the entitlements, the discussion, the issues with the county commission, and the rest postponed the ability to mitigate the decline in agricultural revenues,” Roberts said.

Michelle Damone, board president of the Indian Trail Improvement District, which helps govern The Acreage, said Callery-Judge has been a good neighbor to the district and The Acreage.

Damone said that she wishes some of Callery-Judge’s development of regional impact had been approved.

“We could have used some of that commercial (development) for jobs,” Damone said.

Damone applauded Roberts for holding charettes to get input from area residents.

“If we all had crystal balls, we should have paid more attention and been more supportive,” Damone said. “Indian Trail Improvement District is one of the few communities that did not just say no to his development. We supported it with lower density.”

Loxahatchee Groves Mayor Dave Browning said the town has been negotiating with Callery-Judge officials due to the grove’s objections to the town’s comprehensive plan.

“They said our comp plan could have affected traffic on Okeechobee and could have affected their ability to build,” Browning said.

“The problem is, right now the market is no good at all for building,” Browning said.

Although the grove still has about 400 acres of grapefruit and tangerine trees, it’s not clear how much longer production will continue.

Mark DuBois, operations manager at the grove for 18 years, said he was laid off Friday.

“Nat and I sat down and said, ‘We can’t do this any more at a loss,’ ” DuBois said. “It’s a business decision. It’s sad. The hurricanes hurt us badly, then canker and then greening finally wound it up. The crop is dwindling because of the disease.”

Click here to view this article online