This week I took my dad over to Palm Beach to visit the Henry Flagler Museum. I have been there 4 times now-and I am inspired every time I go. Henry Flagler was the legal mind behind Rockefeller & Standard Oil (Exxon-Mobil).
He invested his fortune developing the Florida East Coast railroad-and cities along it’s route including St. Augustine, Palm Beach, Daytona Beach, & Miami, Florida. Without Flagler, Florida’s economic power may not exist. Henry Flagler believed, as I do, it is better to invest in helping the man help himself, rather than giving a handout. This was his view on developing Florida-provide the catalyst for economic organic growth.
PRO TIP: Before visiting the Henry Flagler Museum, read The Last Train to Paradise to grasp the rich history of real estate development in Florida.
In the car on the way back home I asked my dad, “What would it take to alleviate the US housing shortage using Federal land? How could you jump start a new city without an economic engine such as a port or logistics cluster? What would bring people to Trump’s federal housing projects?” The answer sparked this idea: