I’ve always hoped to get Arden looped in here at Westlake Wanderer. I consider us western communities as kind of being in all of “this” together.
So thank you to new Arden Association President Raymond Penuela for reaching out!
First interesting fact: I always thought Westlake was older than Arden. But both communities are the same age! Established in 2016, we’ll both be celebrating our 10 year anniversaries this year. #golfclaps #patsontheback
Second interesting fact: Arden is a part of Loxahatchee and so is unincorporated county land with no local municipality or representative. Like Westlake, Arden is a part of Palm Beach County District 6 and so their Commissioner is Sara Baxter. (I definitely thought Arden had been annexed by Wellington, but that’s entirely wrong! The only relationship between the two is that Arden is zoned for Wellington’s middle and high schools.)
1) ARDEN’S HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION – Unlike Westlake which has a Master HOA and several individual neighborhood/subdivision HOAs, Arden has one and only one association.
On December 30th, this association’s very first all-resident Board of Directors was voted in and announced:
PRESIDENT – Raymond Peneula
VICE PRESIDENT – David Zita
SECRETARY – Ben Brown
TREASURER – Sam Young
DIRECTOR – Scott Weikel
President Penuela is feeling optimistic. “Arden has been like a person living life and just going through the motions,” says Penuela. “Today, it’s like a person with purpose. The aim of the new board is to place Arden on a positive path and set it up for future success. This was never possible before and the general sense in the neighborhood is optimism and excitement. A truly electrifying time.”
This new all-resident board will “have a say in budgets, contracts and spending, as well as improving the quality of life with additional layers of security, more community events, and having an official public voice for the first time.”
At 90% build-out, Lennar, Arden’s master planner (the equivalent to Minto of Westlake), was mandated to provide a majority resident board, in this case 3 out of 5 members. Interestingly, Lennar went whole hog and turned the entire board over to the homeowners.
“Even with the turnover, Lennar does still have a say in some areas.” says President Peneula. “This will potentially be a challenge with certain board decisions, but it is a small price to pay, and the board is hopeful Lennar will work with them even with this contractually obligated relationship.”
Arden currently has about 2,100 homes built, and will eventually have 2,334 homes at build-out. Not too shabby!
2) ARTISTRY LAKES BY KOLTER – While not Arden exactly, Artistry Lakes is Arden-adjacent, literally and figuratively.
In the works since 2024, this 446 acre Kolter-planned community will abut Arden from the east. Kolter plans for 480 single-family homes and 54 townhome units; 47,000 sq. ft. of commercial and office space; and a 9-acre civic pod.
Wellington Ordinance No. 2026-03 describes the voluntary annexation of Artistry Lakes to the Village of Wellington. Since no one yet lives in Artistry Lakes, it appears that Kolter is the entity agreeing to the annexation which was initiated by the Village.
For reference, Kolter is the builder of Westlake’s only 55+ community, Cresswind. Stay tuned for more details on Artistry Lakes!
3) ARDEN UP NEXT – Project Tango and the fight for a second community entrance at a possible Okeechobee Blvd. extension.
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