P
elican Bay was founded
upon preservation, conserva-
tion and development. More
than 2,330 acres were purchased
from Barron Collier of the Collier
family in 1972 by Coral Ridge Prop-
erties, a division of Westinghouse
(later known as Westinghouse Com-
munity Development Corporation
and eventually, WCI Communities,
Inc.). The Environmental Planning
and Design Firm (EPD) was hired to
carry out the plans for what is today
referred to as “a model of environmen-
tal planning.”
In 1973, EPD presented two alter-
natives for developing the site. The
first, a more conventional plan, would
have destroyed much of the 570 acres
of mangroves, mainly preserving
open water areas. The firm’s preferred
alternative, reflecting conversations
with local environmental officials,
preserved the mangrove forest and
placed higher density development
along its edge. Joe Taravella, president
of Coral 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 was 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 perpetu-
ity 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), which is an advisory board
of Collier County that maintains
areas such as streetscape beautifica-
tion, street lighting, water manage-
ment and mangrove maintenance
in the community.
Today, the Foundation currently
maintains 88 acres of parks and
recreation areas, including private
beachfront restaurants, Beach Store,
two tennis facilities, the Community
Center and the Fitness Center.
Pelican Bay History
Pelican Bay Member Guide 2018
24
PelicanBay.org
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