| A Brief History of Real
Estate on Key Biscayne, The Island Paradise
Since 1513 when Ponce de
Leon officially discovered this island, through to the impressive real
estate market of today, Key Biscayne has a vivid and intriguing history
of its land.
Pedro Fornells was granted
175 cultivable acres on Key Biscayne by the Spanish government in 1805,
and the land sat largely untouched until almost 20 years later when an
heir of the Fornell family sold the tract of land to Mary Ann Davis, a
London born American woman, for $100. (No, we haven't forgotten any
zeros on this number!) |
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About this time, it was
determined that a lighthouse was needed somewhere between Key West and
St. Augustine in order to guard legitimate shipping against pirates.
Mary Ann Davis and her husband, William, offered three of the 175 acres
on the southern tip of Key Biscayne to the United States government for
$225. With this transaction, the Davis' realized a 13,000% profit
on their initial investment just a few years earlier. The history
of Key Biscayne real estate was truly begun. It was upon this strategic
three acres of land that the Cape Florida Lighthouse was built in 1825,
and today remains the oldest structure in Miami-Dade County. |
| Using the lighthouse compound
as a central plaza, Mary Ann and William Davis planned the first town of
Key Biscayne in 1839, offering 264 lots at $500 each. A luxury resort and
health spa were proposed but not built for more than 100 years.
Key Biscayne was opened up
to development in the early 1950’s which was led by the Mackle brothers
who built the majority of homes during this period. These “Mackle” homes
were basic "beach" homes of approximately 1,200 square feet with three
bedrooms, one bathroom and a small screened-in porch. |
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These original "Mackles"
were primarily sold to retirees and young families headed by World War
II veterans who purchased their homes with GI Bill financing.
At this time, Key Biscayne offered home buyers some of the least expensive
homes in the Miami area - after all, who would want to really live permanently
out on a mosquito infested island with a drawbridge to the mainland?
Not to mention the fact that Key Biscayne lies a mere three feet above
sea level and there was no such thing as flood insurance until 1968 when
Congress created the National
Flood Insurance Program. |
| During the early 1960’s
Key Biscayne saw moderate growth but still remained a quiet bedroom community
just minutes from Miami. As the original families grew, so did the basic
“Mackle” home with an additional bedroom, bathroom or carport. The 1960’s
also saw larger homes being built in the Holiday Colony, Mashta Island,
and Harbor Drive sections of Key Biscayne (typically where the larger singles
lots are located). |
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Key Biscayne changed forever
with the election of Richard Nixon as President of the United States in
November 1968. President Nixon made the island his “Winter White House”
and drew international attention to Key Biscayne. As a result of this attention,
development on the island began in earnest and resulted in waterfront condominiums
and communities such as Key Colony, Casa del Mar, The Commodore Club and
The Towers of Key Biscayne as well as smaller condominium and apartment
buildings rising on Galen and Sunrise Drives. This phase of development
carried on through the late 1970’s. |
| The 1980’s saw the replacement
of the drawbridge with a new high bridge on the causeway from Miami and
with that came a new appreciation of Key Biscayne in the local area. Larger
homes were being built on the small “Mackle” home lots. The original “Mackle”
home lots were approximately 7,500 square feet and building a larger home
required adding a second or, in some cases, a third floor. Today,
we are witnessing the virtual extinction of the original “Mackle” home
as they are razed to make way for larger homes of approximately double
and triple size. |
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These larger homes were
initially seen as being too big for the neighborhood and were a factor
in the initiative to incorporate Key Biscayne so as to have its own government.
The 1990’s brought us the
formation of the “Village of Key
Biscayne” in 1991, the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and
the development of the last two remaining large parcels of land on the
island. The condominium communities of The
Ocean Club (on the old Key Biscayne Hotel land) and The
Grand Bay (on the old Sheraton Royal Biscayne Hotel land) have brought
a new level of luxury to the island.
The development of these
properties has brought an even greater appreciation of the island paradise
of Key Biscayne as the island is enjoying tremendous growth in real estate
sales. We have seen properties on Key Biscayne increase exponentially in
value in recent years. |
| The year 2001 brought us
The
Ritz-Carlton Resort & Spa on Key Biscayne - the first luxury resort
built in South Florida in over thirty years. This magnificent facility
draws clientele from all over the world and brings continued appreciation
of the island paradise of Key Biscayne. |
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| As we enter our sixth decade
of the development of Key Biscayne, we see a vibrant and growing, world
renowned community on the gateway to Central and South America. The brief
history of Key Biscayne real estate promises a bright future and continued
strong growth in the real estate of this true island paradise. |
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