The Mackle brothers—Elliott, Robert and Frank Jr.—were brothers who developed real estate projects. They popularized selling land in planned communities through installment plans in Florida, creating several communities in the process. Elliott J. Mackle was born in 1908 and died in 1978. Frank E. Mackle, Jr. was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 1916 and graduated with a civil engineering degree from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1938. Frank died at the age of 77 in

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne () is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and sout ...

on July 29, 1993. The Mackle Company was founded in 1908 in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

by Frank E. Mackle Sr. who ran the company there before going to Miami in 1937. When he died, it was taken over by Elliott, Robert and Frank. It built an $18 million US Navy project in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

before getting into large sized residential work. Originally the brothers followed a strategy similar to that of the Levitts during the late 1940s building subdivisions around Miami. They started to change approaches by 1955 building large retirement orientated communities in rural parts of Florida where there were vast tracts of land that were also cheap. The first installment company created by them was the General Development Corporation (GDC) in 1958. It was formed as a merger between Florida Canada Corporation and Mackle Bros. The Mackle brothers continued to lead the company until 1962 before selling the company to and taking over another company which "...had been the Cockshutt Farm Equipment Co., went through a period as C.K.P. Developments" before becoming the Deltona Corporation. Deltona ended up becoming a competitor to the GDC. The reason for their departure was because of a dispute involving the company's chairman, Gardner Cowles. Frank Mackle III joined Deltona in 1966 after he graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. Work began on developing Marco Island in 1969. The project at Marco Island was their most ambitious project undertaken. It did not go well and during the mid 1970s, the Deltona Corporation was denied permits for dredge and fill for waterfront development. The corporation was ordered to refund $38 million to customers who had paid for waterfront property but did not get it due to these permits being denied. During a 1981–1982 recession, the company held 1,200 condominiums that could not be sold and "was on the verge of financial collapse" when "a huge Minnesota utility"—the Topeka Group, a subsidiary of Minnesota Power & Light—agreed to buy out the company and take over. Following the takeover, Frank E. Mackle Jr. and Frank Mackle III left Deltona in 1986, ending the family's involvement in the company.

Notable communities developed

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

Citrus Springs Citrus Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,246 at the 2020 census, up from 8,622 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Homosassa Springs, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

Deltona Deltona is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Monroe. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 93,692. It is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach met ...

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

* Marco Shores * North Port * Pine Ridge * Port Charlotte * Port St. Lucie * Spring Hill *

St. Augustine Shores St. Augustine Shores is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,706, up from 7,359 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Stati ...

* Sunny Hills *

Tampa Palms Tampa Palms is a neighborhood within the New Tampa district of the city of Tampa, Florida. As of the 2010 census the neighborhood had a population of 13,515. The ZIP Codes serving the neighborhood are 33613, 33617, 33637, and 33647. Description ...

References

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External links

Deltona Corporation website
People from Florida