History

In 1973, developers Paul and Jerome Fletcher bought 5,300 acres west of A1A from Land Corporation of America. The property included an 18-hole golf course as well as an apartment complex, both called Thousand Oaks. When the Fletchers submitted a development plan for the huge parcel in the mid-70s, it called for 14,000 modular homes. The Caballos Del Mar Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was one of the earliest large-scale planned communities in the State of Florida.

The remaining portion of the massive Caballos Del Mar development was split in 1980, when 1,300 acres was sold to Arvida Corp.  This portion is now known as The Players Club at Sawgrass. The Fletchers kept and developed 1,200 acres which is now known as Marsh Landing at Sawgrass.

Arvida developed the parcel as a controlled-access community, building what is now TPC Boulevard and adding security gates at Solana Road and the southern entrance on A1A.

The first homes, along with the existing club and golf course, were known as Innlet Beach, and homes in Oakbridge still have that legal name. Residents of Innlet Beach were given the opportunity to become part of The Sawgrass Players Club and the community was renamed Oakbridge. The Thousand Oaks golf course eventually became part of The Yards, which was previously known as The Oak Bridge Club at Sawgrass.

Originally there were two ways to enter and leave Innlet Beach at either ends of Palmera Drive. A gate currently blocks one former entrance to the community, making its connection to the Thousand Oaks neighborhood off A1A a distant memory.

 


 

Innlet Beach Sales Brochure

Innlet Beach Master Plan

Original plans for Oak Bridge Club clubhouse

From the Innlet Beach Master Plan & Site Plan

In order to properly develop the 3,670 acres of land that constitute Innlet Beach, Fletcher Land Corporation, in conjunction with professional consultants has produced a Comprehensive Master Plan of Development.

This plan forms the basis for the PUD (Planned Unit Development) and the DRI (Development of Regional Impact) and addresses such questions as density, types of development, recreational amenities, open space, traffic community support facilities, utilities, amounts and types of commercial development and just about every other imaginable subject required for the development of a large residential community.

Both the PUD and the DRI recognize the changeable character of the real estate industry and allow the developer some flexibility in order to accommodate the changing market involved in any long-term project. Examples of allowable changes include shifts or decreases (but no overall increase) in density, shifts or increases (but no overall decrease) in open areas, substitutions of one recreational amenity for another of a generally equal nature and adjustments of time schedules for development in order to accommodate a faster or slower sales pace than projected.

Therefore, prospective purchasers at Innlet Beach can be assured that the basic development considerations have been addressed, which is something that cannot be said for the development and growth of communities under conventional zoning. As development progresses there may be changes to specific portions of the plan, but the basic goals of a quality recreational residential community will be preserved.