September 1976
Being on the island in September
of 1976 brings a brand new dimension to the meaning of owning
a "fixer upper." Where would you start? With the raccoons
in the attic? Getting rid of the other creatures living in the
crawlspace? Running water? Power? A financial plan? A marketing
plan? A development plan? Interconnected flow charts? Where does
everything fit? Where do you find a crew? A plumber? An electrician?
Someone who knows a night-blooming cereus from pokeweed? Someone
to clear the jungle after you determine what goes and what stays?
Getting the diesel engine running? Restoring seventeen major
structures plus minor structures like firehouses, icehouses and
steam houses? Dismantling and renovating, and restoring the others?
What do you have to do to retain the integrity and character
of the old? What's the best use for all that old heart-pine lumber
and cypress boards? Where do you start rewiring and plumbing?
Find a carpenter? Get a classy structural and design architect?
Create a unique island style, one that will take over what will
become the "old Florida" style? Create a five-year
plan? Or as some planners like to suggest the first year of a
five year plan that gets changed every year, because the plan
is on track to finish two years ahead of schedule. Maybe the
best place to start is to buy a flip chart, or a few of them
and then put all the issues up on the walls so that they can
be sorted and resorted and acted upon. What's more, there's another
challenge. A major-league challenge. The initial intent of the
group who bought the island as an investment was to hold and
then sell at a profit. Back three years ago there was no plan
to fix up the island, and certainly none has occurred between
1973, when the island was purchased, and now. But that is changing
and maybe one of the first initiatives is to make sure the partners
don't get cold feet before the new concept gets off the ground.
And what is that new concept? Retain the island and sell parcels.
You also realize that you are witnessing a unique concept in
the making. How to buy an island with little or no money down.
How to bootstrap your way based on sweat equity. And maybe the
biggest challenge yet to be encountered, how to do it without
being blindsided by the details?
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