By Scott Kauffman<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Palm Beach Gardens \u2013 In late August, a time when most real estate agents are experiencing the dog days of summer\/residential sales, Lynn Bird is surprisingly busy at Frenchman\u2019s Creek, a 36-hole private club community here in South Florida. She\u2019s especially busy considering Florida\u2019s real estate market is generally still sputtering along.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe market is really really good in Frenchman\u2019s,\u201d says Bird, a longtime resident of Frenchman\u2019s Creek and broker associate with Illustrated Properties Real Estate. \u201cI made quite a few deals just in the past couple months and that\u2019s unusual for the summer. Things are selling for higher than ever before<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m struggling with buyers sometimes because they think, \u2018This is a very slow market and I should be able to make a deal.\u2019 But it\u2019s not happening here. Prices are going up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For anyone familiar with Frenchman\u2019s Creek, a luxurious low-density development in the heart of swanky Palm Beach County, that should come as no surprise. In real estate, in order for a property to truly stand out, it has to have a little \u201cromance.\u201d And Frenchman\u2019s Creek, a place inspired by the enduring romance novel by English author Daphne du Maurier, has a lot of romance.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Much of the romance to Frenchman\u2019s Creek — the community — is a credit to the late billionaire and well-known philanthropist John D. MacArthur. MacArthur, who used to be one of the largest landowners in South Florida, originally developed Frenchman\u2019s Creek in the late 1960s as a stand-alone golf course facility and preserved its golf-only state for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At the time, MacArthur also was in the midst of developing and marketing a nearby golf project called PGA National Golf Club, which, in March 1965, became the new headquarters of the PGA of America (the PGA of America eventually relocated to its current Palm Beach Gardens location and PGA National was later renamed Ballen Isles). Unlike high-profile PGA National, though, Frenchman\u2019s Creek was a remote low-key golf course.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say Frenchman\u2019s Creek wasn\u2019t popular.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soon after it opened, Jack Nicklaus would regularly practice and train at Frenchman\u2019s Creek, a quiet retreat surrounded by nothing but ancient Florida forest land (the Golden Bear still maintains his longtime home at nearby Lost Tree). Other professional golfers who made Frenchman\u2019s Creek their new home course were Toney Penna and Gardner Dickinson.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere were these two pristine golf courses in the middle of the woods, so it was very low-key,\u201d says local attorney and Frenchman\u2019s Creek member Barry Bird. \u201cA lot of the pro golfers used to hang out here because they were very low-key, very beautiful, elegant golf courses. The only thing around it was all this vacant natural forest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Frenchman\u2019s Creek remained that way until late 1985, when the MacArthur Foundation finally sold the estimated 800-acre property to well-known Palm Beach-area developers Haft & Gaines for $64 million, according to Bird. As part of the transaction, Haft & Gaines also acquired additional property across the street from Frenchman\u2019s that would later become the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and Spa and the Bear\u2019s Club \u2013 Nicklaus\u2019 new \u201chome\u201d course.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But long before the Bear\u2019s Club and other exclusive private communities began popping up along Florida\u2019s Gold Coast, the \u201cnew\u201d Frenchman\u2019s Creek development was the gold standard for new high-end private clubs. In fact, the project was so popular, Haft & Gaines sold out its roughly 600 residential units within 5-6 years. Bird, who was the first salesperson hired by Haft & Gaines, remembers that time well.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBefore it opened, I used to fly to New York a lot and I would fly over this property on my way out,\u201d Bird recalls. \u201cIt was so gorgeous with all these big pines, big oaks and banyan trees. There was no place else in the area where you would see such lush mature vegetation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen I read in the paper it was selling, and it was going to be the most expensive land sale in county history, I remember thinking this has to be a special development. When I signed on I thought it would probably be an 8-9 year project. In \u201990-\u201991, we were selling the second phase of the project by lottery because we had so many buyers. And by \u201992, I was doing resales already.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One reason for the tremendous success was the strategy of Haft & Gaines to preserve, for the most part, MacArthur\u2019s original vision. So, at a time when most developers squeezed as many homes on a golf course as possible, Haft & Gaines made a rare move by dramatically downsizing the approved density and keeping the two courses virtually untouched by development.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This core golf experience that exists today, in many ways, is the same feeling Nicklaus and so many others got when they first played Frenchman\u2019s Creek nearly 40 years ago. \u00a0To be sure, Haft & Gaines changed the feel of a couple holes, but because the original footprints of the two courses were preserved, there isn\u2019t one hole where homes sit on both sides of the hole.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So most of the Frenchman\u2019s Creek houses \u2013 prices range from $1.1 million for a small patio home to $9.75 million for a 13,000-square-foot estate on a double lot \u2013 look across double and triple fairways.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Basically, Frenchman\u2019s Creek is an oasis in the middle of what is now heavily developed North Palm Beach. And that setting next to the Intracoastal Waterway is certainly of the main attractions for the community that also features 75 homes on deepwater lots.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI play in a lot of golf course communities around here, and they\u2019re all nice homes, but they\u2019re all lined with homes along the fairway,\u201d says Barry Bird, who plays to a 12 handicap. \u201cWhen you sit on a teebox at virtually any given hole in Frenchman\u2019s, there might be homes off on the left side or right side or a couple holes away, but when you\u2019re sitting there you\u2019re pretty much just looking at nature. So it gives you that sort of communion with nature in every golf hole that you lose in today\u2019s world of development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, there\u2019s more to Frenchman\u2019s Creek than just sheer beauty. For example, the club amenities are second to none, starting with a 66,000-square-foot clubhouse, a fairly new 11,000-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness and spa facility, 17 Har-Tru tennis courts and golf cart access to an independent marina and yacht club.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If that isn\u2019t enough to satisfy one\u2019s tastes, Frenchman\u2019s Creek also features a private beach club facility just a few miles away on Juno Beach. Featuring a gourmet seafood restaurant open five nights a week, an oversized heated pool and separate children\u2019s pool, and resort-like service on the beach with lounge chairs, towel service and staff, this property is a rarity for non-coastal communities.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What makes all of the Frenchman\u2019s Creek amenities so special, however, is the attentive service-oriented culture of the community. Frenchman\u2019s Creek believes in\u00a0 catering to its clientele so much that it has its own internationally acclaimed hospitality training program.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Executive director and chief operating officer Achal Goswami, a former Ritz-Carlton executive who speaks five languages, is the architect of the program that annually draws more than 50 international students from major hospitality institutes worldwide.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Les Roches Hotel Management School in the Swiss Alps, which specializes in hospitality career development, has praised the program saying, \u201c(Frenchman\u2019s) excellent reputation has paved the way for employment after graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur campuses are located in Switzerland, Spain and China and students welcome the training diversity, rotations into different departments and the extremely professional treatment of staff and supervisors,\u201d says Les Roches manager Hans Ferch. \u201cFrenchman’s Creek has become an exceptional training environment for our students from all over the world. Excellent staff lodging, extraordinary food and the proximity to a regal lifestyle make their transition particularly enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Likewise, it\u2019s an extremely smooth transition getting used to the lifestyle at Frenchman\u2019s Creek.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One member tells of lavish dinner parties catered for twelve in a private home, all of which were arranged on short notice and included polished silverware and a banquet table. Others point out the little touches, like the mugs of hot chocolate that greet golfers on those chilly winter mornings.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur members should always feel especially welcome every day,\u201d Achal points out. \u201cWe like to think of Frenchman\u2019s Creek as a cruise ship on land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most just think of Frenchman\u2019s Creek as a romantic relationship that never loses its passion.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editors Note: This first appeared in Florida Golf Journal\u2019s Aug. 2007 issue.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"