For over 40 years, the Mackle Company was a major player in Florida’s real estate industry. While this company maintained a strong grip in the larger part of the mid-20th century, it was known for planned communities and for selling the land in innovative ways.
Unfortunately, financial and regulatory issues led to its sale. Let’s examine how everything went wrong and what else contributed to it.
In this post, we will try to figure out why the Mackle company sold in 1981. To learn what went wrong for them, we will dive into every detail and factor that stumped the Mackle Company. We will also outline the circumstances that resulted in the company’s sale. So, let’s begin.
The Historical Perspective
To answer the most asked question about why Mackle Company sold in 1981, we need to first look into its chronological beginnings.
Founded in 1908 in Jacksonville, Florida, Frank E. Mackle Sr. established and managed the Mackle Company until he decided to shift the business to Miami in 1937. His death led to his three sons, Frank Jr, Eliott, and Robert Mackle, taking over the company’s control and establishing it as one of the best firms in real estate development.
The company became known for creating planned communities in Florida, selling land through installment plans, and developing large-scale residential projects. One of its early significant projects was an $18 million U.S. Navy development in Key West.
During the late 1940s, the Mackle brothers followed a strategy similar to that of Levitt & Sons. They built subdivisions in and around Miami. By 1955, they shifted their focus to developing large retirement-oriented communities in rural Florida. That’s how they took advantage of vast tracts of land availability.
In 1958, the Mackle brothers launched General Development Corporation (GDC), which was formed by merging their company with Florida Canada Corporation. However, they sold their stake due to internal disputes with GDC’s chairman, Gardner Cowles. In the meantime, they took over another company, known initially as Cockshutt Farm Equipment Company, which later became Deltona Corporation.
Deltona grew into a major competitor of GDC. In 1966, Frank Mackle III began working for Deltona after completing his degree in civil engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Frank Jr. passed away in 1993 at 77 years old.
The Downfall of Mackle Company:
At the start of the 1980s, the Mackle Company started to have issues because of their finances, regulations, and the slowing down of the real estate market. The measures taken to turn around the company were difficult, and they began to infuriate the stakeholders.
In fact, Daniel, a key figure in the company’s leadership, described the situation as a ‘nightmare.’ The board of directors, chaired by Jack Peoples, held an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis and explore legal options. However, the company was unable to recover. And that’s how the Mackle company sold in 1981.
The Marco Option Program
One of the company’s most ambitious projects was the Marco Island development, which faced significant regulatory hurdles. Due to environmental restrictions, Deltona Corporation was denied permits to dredge and fill waterfront land, which led to substantial financial losses. That’s one of the reasons why the Mackle company sold in 1981.
To be more precise, the company was required to refund $38 million to customers who had purchased waterfront property but could not receive it. By the end of 1976, Mackle Company had paid out approximately $77.15 million in refunds, most of which were tied up in non-liquid assets such as land.
Challenges With Land Sales Regulatory Authorities
Another primary reason why Mackle company sold in 1981 was that it also faced increasing pressure from federal land sales regulatory authorities. How? Let’s explore that!
Any company engaged in interstate land sales was required to comply with strict regulations. With over three dozen regulatory offices overseeing these transactions, the Mackle Company struggled to maintain financial stability. This ultimately contributed to its downfall.
Installment Contracts and Mortgage Sales
The Mackle Company primarily utilized two types of contracts for land sales:
● Installment Contracts
These long-term contracts spanned one to ten years. So, they allowed buyers to pay in monthly installments.
● Deed and Mortgage Contracts
These contracts were shorter in duration, usually 60 to 90 days. For these contracts, buyers made a down payment and were obliged to pay it within the agreed timeframe.
Both types of contracts were integral to the company’s business model. However, financial constraints and market shifts made it increasingly difficult to execute them effectively. That’s another reason why the Mackle company sold in 1981.
Concluding Remarks
All in all, officially, the Mackle company sold in 1981 after facing various issues, such as declining land values, financial instability, and regulatory challenges. The company’s struggles with bankruptcy, federal land regulations, and loan conditions ultimately sealed its fate. Even in decline, the Mackle company legacy is still essential in Florida real estate history because many planned and developed communities of this company exist today.
Questions People Tend to Ask About Mackle Company Sold in 1981
- Who founded the Mackle Company?
The Mackle Company was set up in 1908 by Frank. E. Mackle Sr, in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Who was Frank Mackle Jr.?
Frank Mackle Jr. was born in 1916 and died in 1993. He helped expand the Mackle Company after earning a degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt in 1938.
- When did the Mackle family leave Deltona Corporation?
Frank Mackle Jr. and Frank Mackle III left Deltona Corporation in 1986 after a corporate takeover by a Minnesota-based utility company. This ended the family’s involvement in the business.
