Briny Breezes is just south of the town of Ocean Ridge in Palm Beach County on State Road A1A across the Intracoastal Waterway It is one of only two mobile home parks that are their own incorporated town in Florida. The other is Ocean Breeze in Martin County.
In the 1920's the land that is now Briny Breezes was a strawberry farm owned by lumberman, Ward Miller from Michigan. In 1919 he left Michigan with his wife Agnes and purchased 43 acres on a barrier island he named Shore Acres. On the west side of A1A he raised cattle and turkeys and on the east side was the strawberry farm. During the Great Depression he allowed "tin can tourists," an organization of northern camping and trailering enthusiasts founded at a Tampa, Florida campground in 1919 to use the land for $3 a week. When Miller wanted to retire he sold the land to the campers who pooled their money together to buy $2.500 lots. Briny Breezes was incorporated as a town with its own mayor and post office on March 19, 1963. Today the town is made up of 488 mobile homes. The community center is in a building on State Road A1A along with a pharmacy and the Town Hall is in another building that also has a beauty salon.
The town is prized for it's affordable housing right next to the water. It is located on the barrier island that separates the Intracoastal Waterway from the Atlantic Ocean. Half of the homes are on the ocean side of A1A and the others are on land that fronts on the Intracoastal Waterway with a marina and several canals. Through the years the snowbirds have transitioned to a population of year round senior citizen residents. In 2005 the town of Briny Breezes was featured in the movie, In Her Shoes starring Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine.
In October of 2005 a developer had agreed to buy the town for 500 million dollars, netting each owner 1 million per lot. Eventually 80 percent of the residents supported selling but the deal fell through in 2007 during negotiations. Today the average asking price of a mobile home in Briny Breezes is $250,000.
I love the history of Briny Breezes and the friendly attitude and sense of community you get when you visit. If you stop by Briny Breezes you can enjoy water front dining at Prime Catch, a seafood restaurant with an outdoor deck on the water across the Intracoastal Waterway from Briny Breezes. read more