Abacoa is a community in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, within the outer city limits of Jupiter. Construction began in 1997 on land once owned by the American businessman

John D. MacArthur John Donald MacArthur (March 6, 1897 – January 6, 1978) was an American insurance magnate, real estate investor and philanthropist who established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, benefactor in the MacArthur Fellowships. ...

. The development is an example of the New Urbanism architectural movement in Florida.

History

Abacoa was conceived in 1993, when the MacArthur Foundation proposed the plan to the county of Palm Beach, to be executed on land from MacArthur's endowment. The Foundation opted to partner with a developer, maintaining a 35% minority stake in the project. Initial home sales were brisk, with 4,000 of 6,000 units built as of 2009. However, tenancy of retail spaces in Abacoa Town Center were sluggish, with a third of 40-some storefronts, as well as the center's movie theater, shuttered as of 2007. Also noted was residents' displeasure that a number of the open establishments were bars that locals found disruptive. The name derives from that of a village of the Jaega tribe of Native Americans, who were present in the area at the time of Spanish contact.

Culture

Since 2002, Abacoa has hosted the annual ''Fiesta Maya'', based on the traditions of the highland Guatemala town of Jacaltenango, with the participation of the local Jacaltec community as well as students from Florida Atlantic University's

Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College is an academic, residential college of Florida Atlantic University at the John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter, Florida. The college opened in 1999 and offers a liberal arts education through the platform of a ...

Planning

Abacoa is split into 17 different

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

s, each containing its own style of architecture. At peak, management anticipates Abacoa will contain 6,073 residences, and about 3 million square feet of commercial space. Abacoa is also home to

Roger Dean Stadium Roger Dean Stadium (officially known as Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium) is a baseball stadium located in the Abacoa community of the town of Jupiter, Florida. The stadium was built in 1998, holds 6,871 people, and features luxury sky-box seating, t ...

, which is located near the Town Center part of the community, an urban open air street with multiple restaurants. Abacoa is also home to Florida Atlantic University's

, a Scripps Research Institute sister facility, and the

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI), is a research facility located in Jupiter, Florida. Its research focuses on brain function and neural circuits, using techniques to visualize microscopic molecular processes. It is the fir ...

, the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

's first non-European research institute.

References

Planned communities in Florida 1997 establishments in Florida Populated places in Palm Beach County, Florida Jupiter, Florida New Urbanism communities {{PalmBeachCountyFL-geo-stub