Forty Years in Paradise
In 1971 the sales brochures for the Glades Country Club condominiums
advertised, “tropical living, close to the city of Naples and the Gulf
of Mexico, yet ideally situated in a secluded area where the natural
beauty of lakes and native foliage is enhanced by tastefully interlaced
rolling green fairways of two golf courses.” We could still use that
description but might have to exclude the word “secluded”. Towne Center
Mall, The Collier County Government center, Home Depot and much other
development has gone up around the Glades. All that was here for the
county government were the one-story buildings. However, “the tropical
living close to the city of Naples and the Gulf as well as the natural
beauty of lakes and native foliage” remain. Palm Drive was an isolated
boulevard with almost nothing east of it until you reached the Lely
area.
The first units built were the Spanish style villas on Teryl and
Harrison. These units were a replica of those being built at the
entrance to Royal Harbor by the builder, John Bruce. Mr. Bruce had
suggested to some of the people looking at his units that they take a
look at the property “way out” on the East trail. That’s where Hubshman,
who had bought approximately 500 – 740 acres, was building what
eventually became Section 1 of the Glades. There are various reports on
the number of acres purchased. US Homes developed Lakewood and the
Hubshman property included a parcel that was in the Lakewood area that
Hubshman ultimately sold to Lakewood. On July 17, 1971, the first Glades
units were advertised. The prices were $23,990 on the lake side and
$22,990 on the roadside. The monthly assessment at that time was $52.50.
These were the Spanish style villas on Lake Teryl. The first closings
were in October of 1971 but not occupied until early in 1972. The
original documents stated that the maintenance fee for the golf course
would never exceed $1 for a 1 bedroom unit, $2 for a 2 bedroom unit and
$3.00 for a 3 bedroom unit. Mr. Hubshman originally planned for only the
Palmetto course but was convinced by others that due to the number of
units he was planning he would need a larger recreation area and then
went on to put in what became the Pines Course. The charge was $1.00 for
the Palmetto and $2.00 for the Pines. A riding cart was $5.00. Early
residents reported that there was a lot of wildlife in the area, snakes,
rabbits, raccoons and alligators were often seen.
The early residents were eager to participate in many activities and
enthusiastically joined in on Golfing, Bridge, horseshoes, shuffleboard
and billiard tournaments. Many of the early residents were very
impressed with the generosity of the builder in providing hot dogs for
their gatherings and prizes for their social events. Much of what went
on in the early days continues today with Arts & Crafts Shows, Golf
tournaments, tennis, bridge, bowling and more.
Glades
Golf &
Country Club
174 Teryl Road
Naples, FL 34112
239-774-6899
239-774-2002 Fax