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From swampland to a booming city, Doral has come a long way and it all began with the dream and vision of one man. His name was Alfred Kaskel.
Born in Poland on June 26, 1901, Alfred migrated to New York when he was 21 years old. Through sheer determination and an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, the man who left his country in search of a new beginning became one of the most influential real estate pioneers of his time. In the late 1950s, Alfred Kaskel purchased 2,400 acres of swampland in what is now present day Doral for about $49,000 with the intention of building a world-class golf course and hotel.
In 1962, the Kaskel’s dream came true when they opened the country club that featured the Blue, Red and Par 3 golf courses. They named it Doral – a combination of Doris and Alfred. As Doral’s very first structure, the Doral Hotel and Country Club became the area’s hot spot. In the second year of operation, the Kaskel’s hosted the first Doral Open Invitational, Florida’s major PGA event. Even after ownership changes through the years, it continues to be internationally known for its golf courses, especially the Blue Monster.
There were more farms with cows, horses and chickens than people on NW 107 Avenue; NW 87 Avenue was just two lanes and NW 41 Street ended at NW 104 Avenue. Traffic problems were nonexistent, except for the occasional escaped cow.
By the early 1980s, Doral started to experience the first movement in growth when Doris’ and Alfred’s grandson Bill developed Doral Estates which followed by a joint venture with Lennar Homes to build Doral Park. Both communities were named after the hotel, a trend that was to be repeated many more times.
Younger families started flooding to the area but had to travel to purchase even the most basic essentials, because there were no stores – or schools or parks.
Although the majority of the original homes were investment properties or second homes, the early fulltime residents believed that the quality of life and the low housing costs far exceeded the lack of amenities and started coming together as a community.
From 1983 to 1985, the county imposed a building moratorium for the area to protect the well fields. Once the ban was lifted, Doral experienced tremendous growth. The West Dade Federation of Homeowner Associations was formed in 1989 under the leadership of Morgan Levy to stand strong against any proposals that threatened the community’s welfare.
As a result of their efforts, a police station instead of a jail was built, higher development standards were implemented, and more lighting, roads and landscaping appeared in the area. Incorporation began in 1995 with the realization that residents were paying a very high price for services received; they wanted more services at a reasonable price. The county met the first attempt at incorporation with a year’s deferral. Doral had been classified as a “donor community”, meaning that the taxes paid were more than the cost of operations. With the deferral, incorporation efforts intensified even more.
In 1996, the first election of the Community Council was held and soon- to-be County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Cancio, Sr., Mario Pita and Barbara B. Thomas were elected and three other members were appointed. The Council met every month to work on different projects and to address the needs of the community.
In 2002, the Governor appointed Cancio to the County Commission. Doral residents hoped that his appointment would be the impetus to bring the community closer to incorporation. Cancio did not let his community down.
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