The Story Of Wellington: A Vision Becomes Reality
C. Oliver Wellington, a man of strong convictions and work ethics, was the head of a successful public accounting firm in New York City during the week, but when the workweek ended, he dropped all the trappings of his sophisticated lifestyle to savor the quiet, uncluttered days he could spend in the country. On weekends, he headed for the open countryside of Brookhaven, Long Island. In the nation’s preparation for World War II, Wellington worked with U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stetinius. After Mr. Stetinius died, A.W. “Bink” Glisson assisted his widow in the sale of property in Hillsboro Beach, Florida to the Wellingtons. The Wellingtons came down for frequent visits in Hillsboro as often as time permitted. Wellington loved Florida and, being a man of vision, he soon realized that there was a promising future for South Florida. He also formed an enduring friendship with Glisson. In 1951, Wellington instructed Bink to look for investment properties. Glisson assembled a number of parcels, now most of today’s Wellington, and was authorized to purchase the entire tract. The Wellingtons made many happy visits to what they dubbed “the Flying C.O.W. Ranch” — named after Wellington’s initials. Legislation passed in 1953 organized the Acme Drainage District and marked the start of flood control to reclaim the property, making it available for agriculture. Bink was put in charge of the operations, as much of it was leased to farmers. They could boast that the world’s largest strawberry patch was situated within their boundaries — as were acres upon acres of flowers, such as gladioli. This created breathtakingly beautiful vistas. As thriving groves established the fact that South Florida was suitable for growing citrus, many experimental crops and sod farms dealt in international markets, proving that once water-logged lands were capable of great productivity. Bink was the Acme district’s first employee and general manager. He often took to the skies in his supervision of the gigantic, multi-faceted operations that were taking place at the “Flying C.O.W.” The first meeting of the Acme Drainage District was held in the Circuit Court of West Palm Beach on June 26, 1953. Wellington was elected its first chairman, and Bink was also named to the original board. At the time of C. Oliver Wellington’s death in 1959, his son Roger Wellington became a co-trustee to manage the family affairs. Estate taxes and increasing costs of retaining the large land holdings led to the decision by the trustees to sell and develop some of the property. This was the impetus that led to the birth of the community now known as “Wellington.” Wellington began as a small, well-planned bedroom community — and grew into a sprawling, upscale development, where royalty and the famous casually strolled through the shopping areas. Palm Beach residents drove from their oceanfront mansions to be seen and photographed, lunching in the clubs and spending afternoons at Palm Beach Polo, which remains a magnet for socialites and the glamorous. But before all that, there was a master plan. It was Roger Wellington and Bink Glisson who developed the plan. Bink worked day-to-day with Roger and Banker’s Trust as the first steps were formulated for creating a planned community. The key to their goals for development was the realization that at last it would be possible to control the water on the large piece of land because the Federal Government was in the process of building what is now the L-40 Canal and levee. Running across the southern border of what is now Wellington, it acts to seal the community off from the rest of the Everglades. Formerly, much of the land flooded seasonally — fine for farming, but not for homes. Roger never forgot his first impression of the land. He came down after his father purchased the property and they set out to look at it with Bink. They had gone out to look at the land, with their swamp buggy cutting through a sea of sawgrass. Roger recalled it was like being out in the ocean. There were no visible landmarks anywhere around them as they rode along. They were aware of a great silence. No man-made sounds except the motorized vehicle that carried them along, and their own voices. They watched birds idly coasting along overhead and heard the grasses and brush snapping noisily under them. They were enveloped in the vastness of the primitive land, far away from man and civilization. They speculated about changes that were bound to affect the lonely wilderness when development began and tried to visualize what those changes would be. They realized soberly and cautiously that their decisions would forever change that land. There could be no turning back once they started. They resolved that whatever was to be done must be well-planned by a conscientious developer, carefully chosen to protect the remaining land from harm. While it was the senior Wellington who had taken the daring step of investing in land, it was Roger and Bink who developed a plan for the land. They knew that the northern portion was best suited for some type of development, so that was where they planned to begin. The Wellington trustees put out for bids by major industrial firms with large real estate investments. The first bid proposal was not successful. Then, in 1971, Ralph McCormack, a board member on the Acme Drainage District, put James R. Nall, president of the Investment Corporation of Florida (ICOF), in touch with Bink as a potential candidate for developing the properties. Nall had a reputation for excellence in various other developments. He entered the bidding, which resulted in the ICOF purchase of 7,400 acres for almost $6 million — and the start of the community now called “Wellington.” Nall’s original Wellington staff included Vice President Guerry Stribling, Jenny Graf, Joan Sawyer, Bill Gregory, and Serafin Leal. They were a high-caliber, dedicated, and talented team that created Wellington. By March 1972, a great deal of the preliminary groundwork was in progress. Paperwork included legal documents, government reviews, environmental studies, and public hearings. That month, Wellington received official, unanimous approval from the Palm Beach County Commission and the Palm Beach County Zoning Board. Later that year, a joint venture agreement between ICOF and Alcoa Aluminum Corporation was announced. The goal was to attract 37,000 residents to their planned, upscale bedroom community. This involved converting over 11 square miles of undeveloped farmland into residences and estates. Their plans included developing two units per acre, with a 160-acre forest, which would leave about 25 percent of the land as open space. Roger Wellington and the trustees approved the plan as proposed. The agreement between ICOF and the Acme Drainage District was the start of “Unit of Development No. One,” that became Wellington. Bink continued to oversee the huge properties. At the time, the engineering firm Gee & Jenson reported the following facts about the district: 18,200 acres; north portion, 7,375 acres to be Unit of Development No. One (Wellington); 1,694 acres west of Wellington for the Landings; and south (slightly west of the center of Wellington), 958 acres which was designated for the County Place (planned for equestrian uses). In December 1972, the Central and South Florida Flood Control District (now the South Florida Water Management District) met to discuss the proposed water and sewer project in Wellington — $4,800,000 bonds were issued to pay for the improvements. On March 16, 1973, ground was broken for the first phase of Wellington. The first residential area, South Shore, was located adjacent to Lake Wellington. Work began in November 1972 on the creation of the 150-acre Lake Wellington. Earth that was removed to form the lake was used to shape the first golf course. Almost 1,000 lots for the immediate building of homes were available on May 18, 1974. It wasn’t long before the people started coming. On June 25, 1972, the developers held a “Great Father’s Day Land Rush,” which resulted in $111,000 of land sold in one day. The young community experienced slow and steady growth during the years from 1972 to 1976. In August of 1976, Alcoa exercised its option to either buy or sell out. They sold, and ICOF decided to buy, at a cost of $30 million. In April of 1978, Gould Florida Inc. acquired all of ICOF’s interest in Wellington. Under Gould Chairman William Ylvisaker, Wellington’s reputation as an upscale, luxury community was enhanced, with the addition of Palm Beach Polo and unique subdivisions such as the Aero Club. Even as the developers continued to build and shape the young community, the rapidly growing number of residents began to make Wellington a home. By 1980, the community was home to 7,280 residents. It had its first shopping center — Wellington Country Plaza, started in 1976 — and several more shopping centers were on the way. It was that year, 1980, when public education came to Wellington with the opening of Wellington Elementary School. The first elementary school in western communities as a whole, the school served students from throughout the area. Wellington’s second school, Wellington Landings Middle School, opened in 1987, followed by Wellington High School and New Horizons Elementary School, both in 1988. The hearty Wellington pioneers were also quickly establishing new houses of worship and a wide array of community organizations. In the mid-1980s, Alberto Vadia Sr. purchased the remaining unsold acreage, including the Wellington Club and its swimming pool, 18-hole golf course, tennis facilities, and the administrative facility — but not Palm Beach Polo. The ownership of Palm Beach Polo was not resolved until Glenn Straub, a mining and asphalt tycoon, bought the country club from a federal agency in July 1993. He then resumed sales in the development. Vadia came to America as a rich man just before the Cuban government fell to Castro. He was said to be among Miami’s richest Cubans — and the least known. Before taking over Wellington, Vadia had already developed Palm Beach Point and owned Palm Beach Land and Development Company. Corepoint Inc., Vadia’s corporation created to handle the purchase, was first headed by John Zielenbach, executive vice president and chief operations officer. There was a general belief that Corepoint would be the last developer, since only 10 percent of the lots were left unsold. Corepoint ended up doing a great deal to beautify Wellington. It planted hundreds of trees to line major roadways, and upgraded the entrances to the community. But the recession of the early 1990s hit the company hard. Corepoint had 600-700 remaining residential lots under a mortgage to Southeast Bank when the recession hit. Southeast Bank went under. First Union National Bank inherited Corepoint’s loan. Three years of litigation ended when L.C. Financial Corporation (connected to Lennar Homes) bought the real estate loans from First Union. Shortly thereafter, Lennar bought 541 lots in Binks Forest from federal banking regulators and began marketing that development. Lennar properties are generally in Lakefield South, North, and West; the Aero Club; Meadowood; and they are currently developing along Lake Worth Road. Major developments in the late 1990s included the “filling in” of central Wellington’s remaining undeveloped land — mostly townhomes and other multi-family housing zoned into the original plan but never built. The future development of Wellington has moved east to the State Road 7 corridor, where developers Minto and DiVosta are building residential communities along Forest Hill Blvd. As the developers wrapped up work in the original sections of Wellington, the residents began gaining more control over the community. In 1982, the first representatives of the residents took seats on the Acme Board of Supervisors. In 1990, the residents took full control of the now popularly elected Acme board. That same year, the first attempt to incorporate Wellington took place. The fight over incorporation raged for five years until a vote on Nov. 7, 1995, which created the new village by a slim margin of 138 votes with nearly 7,500 votes cast. The village came into existence on Dec. 31, 1995. The newly elected Wellington Village Council met for the first time on March 28, 1996. During its first five years, the new village spent time passing ordinances and developing a comprehensive plan. The old Wellington Club East was purchased in 1999 and turned into the current Wellington Community Center. After a four-year fight, the old master homeowners’ association First Wellington Inc. was disbanded in 2000, in favor of Wellington’s new Planning, Zoning & Building Department created in 1999. On Oct. 5, 2001, Wellington passed another milestone as the Mall at Wellington Green opened. |
Source of this article: Palm West Almanac 2003 Edition
