Abacoa Town Center

Abacoa is a spectacular master plan community located in Jupiter, Florida. During its initial stages, I was a production homebuilder, working closely with Abacoa's visionary developer, George Di Guardiola. Regrettably, a downward real estate cycle put the visionary project under pressure in the late 90s, impacting the overall design intent of the downtown.

This week, I happen to be in Chicago for a wedding. We drove by The Glen, a similarly inspired "downtown center" located in Glenview, Illinois. Seeing The Glen was the inspiration behind this post. My intent is to give appropriate praise to visionaries. We need more vision in real estate development. We need to elevate our “place-making,” the art of weaving the desires of residents with the spaces they inhabit.

Many CRE (commercial real estate) developers would criticize both Abacoa Town Center and The Glen. They would anchor their critique on the failure to develop along a major roadway. This criticism should easily bring to mind the many shopping malls that mark our landscapes and roadways.

I grew up in a western suburb of Chicago, called Hinsdale. Most would consider its downtown very charming. In fact, I took several Disney executives on a tour of this charming downtown to earn a spot as the production builder for Disney's new town, Celebration, Florida. We earned the selection in large part because of this tour. The Disney executives understood that we understood the design intent behind Disney’s Celebration Community.

Is downtown Hinsdale a success? You would have to ask the many landlords and business owners who invested and operated here over decades. It’s still, and always will be, charming. Some landlords made the “place” better. Some operators succeeded amidst the continuing turnover. And that is the tale of the Town Center Story. Charming occurs over time. Urban planning is the canvas upon which charming is built.

Earlier today, I returned from a visit to Deerfield Square, what many would call a shopping mall or strip center. I would call it a great design solution. While I would prefer more landscape and boulevards and hidden parking lots, I applaud the developers. It feels like part of the original design for the intersection. Instead, it is part of a comprehensive redevelopment of this specific part of the Deerfield community. It is very well done. And a great example to others.

My wife and I love to travel and visit small European villages. We absolutely adore Paris. The vision behind Paris' urban design is a lighthouse for all real estate developers. While there is nothing small about Paris, the urban planning understood the importance of landscaping, vistas, and gathering places. It respected the pedestrian and celebrated the art of space.

The vision behind Abacoa was inspiring. The fact that it fell short of this vision is the result of a detrimental economic cycle. Development is a difficult game. It’s why many take the easy path. This is not me criticizing. Instead, I am sharing a story that occurs every day around us. Like Hinsdale, town centers can change over time. Abacoa needs a new vision; one which can reset the canvas.