Pelican Bay History

Pelican Bay was founded upon preservation, conservation, and development. More than 2,330 acres were purchased from Barron Collier of the Collier family in 1972 by Coral Ridge Properties (CRP). CRP, a division of Westinghouse (later known as Westinghouse Community Development Corporation and eventually, WCI Communities Inc.) hired the Environmental Planning and Design Firm (EPD) to carry out the plans for what is today called as, “a model of environmental planning”.

In 1973, EPD presented two alternatives for developing the site. The first was a more conventional plan, which would have destroyed much of the 570 acres of mangroves, mainly preserving open water areas. The firm’s preferred alternative reflecting its conversations with local environmental officials, preserved the mangrove and placed higher density development along its edge. Joe Taravella, president of Coal Ridge Properties, boldly chose the second option.

Pelican Bay was originally referred to as Clam Bay, but was renamed to Pelican Bay in 1974. The mangrove forest were designated a natural resource protection area by Collier County in 1982.

As the master developer, WCI set a number of common areas aside that would be maintained in perpetuity under the guidance of the Pelican Bay Foundation, the master home owner’s association. Residents pay dues to the Foundation and taxes to the Pelican Bay Services Division (PBSD). The PBSD is an advisory board of Collier County and maintains areas such as street-scape beautification, street lighting, water management and mangrove maintenance.

Today, the Foundation currently maintains 43 acres of parks and recreation areas including, four beachfront restaurants, two tennis facilities, Community and Fitness Center. Click on the photo above to see more history images.