Home Renovation in Manalapan
Why Manalapan Is Its Own Renovation Market
Manalapan is a town of approximately 419 residents on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal, with portions also extending onto Hypoluxo Island. The town covers about 2.4 square miles total, with roughly 0.4 square miles of actual land. There is no commercial development. There are no condominiums. The homes are estate-scale, the population is small, and the residents are here precisely because of that. Renovating in this town is a different kind of project than renovating anywhere else, in scale, in privacy, and in how the town’s small Building Department and Architectural Commission review the work.
Palmhouse Design & Build has been doing this kind of work for 20+ years. We are based at 801 Maplewood Dr, Suite 25, Jupiter, FL 33458, a short drive up the coast. Our Florida General Contractor license is CGC1537109. We are a women-owned and Latino-owned firm with Certified General Contractors and a full in-house design team. Consultations are by appointment. Call 561-831-4170 to schedule.
Town of Manalapan Permitting and ARCOM
The Town of Manalapan has its own Building Department. The Town also has its own Architectural Commission, locally called ARCOM, which reviews all exterior changes to properties within the town limits. Submittals go through Town review, separate from county processes. Coastal construction permitting includes FEMA AE/VE flood-zone documentation on top of standard Florida Building Code review. Reasonable timeline expectations: weeks to months depending on scope, with ARCOM review adding time for any work visible from the street, the water, or a neighboring property.
We handle Town submittals and ARCOM coordination in-house. The homeowner does not become the postman between the contractor and the Town. Our project manager keeps a permitting checklist that tracks every submittal, every review, every revision, and every approval. Lead times for ARCOM-reviewable scope get built into the master schedule from kick-off, not surprise the homeowner three months in. The same project manager who runs permitting stays on the project through final walkthrough.
Coastal AE/VE Construction on the Strip
The town sits between the ocean and the Intracoastal. That fact shapes nearly every construction decision.
AE and VE flood-zone reality. Homes here sit in FEMA AE and VE flood zones. Construction must accommodate elevation requirements, breakaway walls in some VE areas, and FEMA-aligned specifications. The specific requirements vary by property and require site-specific engineering. We coordinate with the engineer of record and the Town’s flood-zone reviewer so that the answers come back before construction starts, not after.
Florida Building Code Wind-Borne Debris Region. Palm Beach County sits inside Florida’s Wind-Borne Debris Region (WBDR). Every new or replaced exterior opening requires impact-rated glazing carrying a Florida Product Approval. Wind-load engineering is required on structural changes. Exterior doors and panels have specific specifications. This is baseline work for coastal Manalapan, not an upgrade.
Salt-air durability on the strip. Direct ocean exposure on the east side, Intracoastal on the west. Material selection for the salt environment is more constrained than for inland properties. Hardware pits faster. Untreated wood degrades faster. Standard hinges and pulls on cabinetry in an oceanfront home can show corrosion within 5 to 7 years if the specification is wrong. We specify marine-grade or salt-tolerant finishes from the start so that the work still looks the way it did on install day a decade later.
Working in a Town Built on Privacy
Manalapan homeowners chose this town because it is small and quiet. Renovation crews need to operate the same way.
We work under NDA when requested. We keep site signage off the property. We provide a single point of contact for the homeowner throughout the project. We coordinate with the homeowner’s household staff or property manager when the homeowner is out of state, so the right people on the ground always know who is on the property, when, and why.
We respect the town’s quiet character: construction-hour discipline, controlled crew arrivals, no rolling staging on neighboring properties. Deliveries of high-value items get a Palmhouse representative present, not signed for by whoever happens to be on site. Weekly written updates go to both the homeowner and the on-site representative when there is one. For older homeowners, aging-in-place adaptations often get incorporated into estate-tier scope without reading as accessibility retrofits.
Our Team and Credentials
Palmhouse Design & Build holds Florida General Contractor license CGC1537109. 20+ years of South Florida construction experience. Women-owned and Latino-owned. Jonathan Barrig and Gabriel Barrig hold Certified General Contractor credentials. Jason Vassalotti, our OSHA-certified project manager, brings 20+ years of construction experience. We run a small firm by design. The same project manager you meet on day one stays on the project through final walkthrough. There are no handoffs to a different team six weeks in. Read our full design and build process, meet the Palmhouse team, and browse our whole-house renovation portfolio for the broader context of how we work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you handle Town of Manalapan permitting and Architectural Commission review in-house?
Yes. We submit and manage Town permit applications directly. The Town has its own Building Department and its own Architectural Commission (ARCOM) that reviews exterior changes. We coordinate both processes from our office in nearby Jupiter.
Do you build to Florida Wind-Borne Debris Region and FEMA AE/VE flood-zone requirements?
Yes. Coastal renovations here are built to Florida Building Code Wind-Borne Debris Region (WBDR) requirements and FEMA-aligned AE and VE flood-zone specifications. Our license is CGC1537109.
Do you work under NDA and keep site signage off the property?
Yes. Discretion is standard on local projects. We work under NDA, keep signage off the property when requested, and provide a single point of contact throughout.
Do you serve all of the town, including oceanfront and Intracoastal-facing properties?
Yes. We renovate single-family homes throughout Manalapan, from oceanfront properties to Intracoastal-facing homes and the Hypoluxo Island portion of the town. Consultations are by appointment. Call 561-831-4170.
Start a Conversation
Whole-home renovation in Manalapan, by appointment. Florida General Contractor license CGC1537109. Call 561-831-4170 to schedule a consultation.