The Island Estates community in Clearwater, Florida was originally planned to be a resort. The plan was for the island’s owners to live there as well and offer their services to tourists who would come by boat or plane. Although this never materialized, it is still possible that some of those original vacation homes are privately owned today.
Clearwater Beach had become more popular with tourists following World War II so developments were popping up on either side of the Intracoastal Waterway (or ICW) which borders much of ClearWater’s coast – one being Island Estate. More housing projects began appearing along Gulf Boulevard when developers felt the need for low-cost single family houses near an area where construction workers could find jobs building homes.
This area, which has come to be known as Island Estates, was developed by William Eichler and Associates when they bought the property in 1953 from Gulf Realty Company for $60 per acre. The land on either side of what is now Clearwater’s north-south road grid were being subdivided into plots that ranged in size from one-half an acre up to 40 acres.
