Riviera Beach

Minutes from the ocean, in eastern Riviera Beach, Park Manor offers convenience at a competitive price. In fact, those two aspects appeal the most to homebuyers here, according to Jann Flowers with Realty Home Advisors. “If I had to choose two words to encapsulate the community, they’d be location and affordability,” says the Realtor, who has been working in the real estate business in Palm Beach County for nearly 15 years. “You’re just a couple miles from the beach and essentially the same distance away from Interstate 95, so it's easy to get around.” She adds that the median home price here, hovering at the $287,000 mark, is well below the national median. “It’s a more financially accessible neighborhood than some,” she says.<br><br>The residential streets throughout Park Manor are lined with narrow sidewalks that edge small front lawns. Fluffy young palm trees stand as tall as the small, Spanish-inspired ranch-style homes here. Most homes have an attached carport rather than a garage, and many still feature their original 1960s aluminum awnings shading their front stoops and windows. Flowers calls prices here “more reasonable” than those in other parts of Palm Beach. “It’s rare to see a listing higher than $400,000 here,” she says, adding that most listings fall in the $280,000 to $375,000 range. A three-bedroom, two-bathroom, cream stucco-clad ranch-style home built in the early ’60s and renovated in the early 2000s, sold for $390,000 in August 2023 after nearly 60 days on the market. “Homes here stay on the market a while, for sure, compared to the rest of Palm Beach. But the average days on market in Riviera Beach is about 50, so 60 days is only a little longer than the rest of the city,” says Flowers. <br><br>Park Manor students are served by schools in the Palm Beach County district. Many go to Lincoln Elementary between preschool and fifth grade and John F. Kennedy Middle between sixth and eighth grade. In 2023, Lincoln earned a C-plus grade from Niche and Kennedy earned a C. Teens in Grades 9 through 12 attend either Palm Beach Gardens Community High or William T. Dwyer High. The two high schools were more highly rated by Niche in 2023 than the elementary and middle schools. Palm Beach Gardens earned a B grade and Dwyer earned an A-minus. The student-teacher ratios of the two high schools are similar; Palm Beach Gardens has a ratio of 17:1 while Dwyer has a ratio of 18:1. Dwyer earned a spot on Niche’s list of Palm Beach’s best high schools in 2023, too, ranking eleventh in the county. Dwyer Panthers can apply to participate in the International Baccalaureate magnet program, one of the several specialty programs the school offers. <br><br>The Riviera Beach Public Library is less than 2 miles west of the neighborhood, down Blue Heron Boulevard, and offers a variety of ways for residents to remain lifelong learners. The library offers a selection of traditional books, as well as an inter-library loan program and e-books, as well as classrooms for community events, a computer lab and even a virtual reality room. It shares a building with the Riviera Beach Youth Empowerment Center, too, which is an after-school program for students between the ages of 11 and 20. The program emphasizes subjects like technology, health and wellness, art and culture and even career exploration. <br><br>Just a quick 2-mile jaunt in the opposite direction down Blue Heron Boulevard will get you to the beach, where you can enjoy the sun, sand and waves of the Atlantic oceanfront. Safe Harbor New Port Cove marina, less than a mile and a half southeast of Park Manor on the shores of the Riviera Beach Intracoastal waterway offers deep water access, fishing and diving. And less than a mile and a half back west down Blue Heron Boulevard, residents can enjoy the waterpark at Barracuda Bay Aquatic Complex. The aquatics center also offers classes in water safety, from lifeguarding certification to swim lessons, as well as an Olympic-sized pool for lap swimming and water aerobics. The classic playground and sunny, grassy field at Schultz Park, in the heart of Park Manor, offers residents the opportunity to enjoy dryland activities while getting some fresh air. The neighborhood park is less than a mile from most homes, between 32nd and 33rd Streets.<br><br>For groceries, stick close to home by visiting your local Publix, which is just a mile east down Blue Heron Boulevard. With Interstate 95 less than 3 miles west, residents enjoy easy access to the shopping and dining options in the surrounding metro, too. Many of the eateries close to home, along Blue Heron and Broadway, are fast food or regional chains like McDonald’s, Popeyes and La Granja. For a bite of Caribbean-style jerk chicken, visit Jerk Paradise, off Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard less than 2.5 miles southwest. With several Palm Tran bus stops along Blue Heron, Old Dixie Highway, Avenue H and Broadway all within a mile of Park Manor, it’s easy to get around even without a car.