Abacoa, Florida

{{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Abacoa | settlement_type = Planned Urban Development | nickname = | motto =  | image_skyline = File:EntranceToAbacoaAtCentralAndDonaldRoss.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Entrance to Abacoa from Donald Ross | image_flag = | image_seal =  | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Florida | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Florida

| government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | established_title = | established_date =  | unit_pref = | area_footnotes = | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi =  | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_total = | population_density_km2 = | population_density_sq_mi =  | timezone = Eastern (EST) | utc_offset = -5 | timezone_DST = EDT | utc_offset_DST = -4 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = 105 | coordinates = {{coord|26|53|27|N|80|06|52|W|display=inline,title}}

| postal_code_type = ZIP code | postal_code = 33458 | area_code = 561 | blank_name = GNIS feature ID | blank_info = | blank1_name = | blank1_info = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Abacoa''' is a community in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, in the southwest corner of Jupiter. Construction began in 1997 on land once owned by the American businessman John D. MacArthur. 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 previously leased for strawberry farming.[https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2005/06/05/10-years-later-abacoa-still-taking-shape/] The Foundation opted to partner with a developer, maintaining a 35% minority stake in the project.<ref>{{cite book|title=Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate|url=https://archive.org/details/greendevelopment00rock|url-access=registration|date=23 January 1998|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-471-18878-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greendevelopment00rock/page/263 263]–}}</ref>

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 and now a Marriott Courtyard hotel. The center was acquired by a new owner who subsequently fully leased the town center and created a thriving retail environment. <ref name="Fountain2009">{{cite book|author=Charles Fountain|title=Under the March Sun: The Story of Spring Training|url=https://archive.org/details/undermarchsunsto00char|url-access=registration|date=2 February 2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-974370-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/undermarchsunsto00char/page/241 241]–}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historicpalmbeach.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2001/01/31/abacoa-takes-name-from-village-mentioned-by-ponce-de-leon/|publisher=Palm Beach Post|title=Abacoa Takes Name From Village Mentioned By Ponce de Leon|author=Joe Forzano|access-date=2016-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918031344/http://historicpalmbeach.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2001/01/31/abacoa-takes-name-from-village-mentioned-by-ponce-de-leon/|archive-date=2016-09-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="WilliamsSteigenga2009">{{cite book|author1=Philip Williams|author2=Timothy Steigenga|author3=Manuel Vâsquez|title=A Place to Be: Brazilian, Guatemalan, and Mexican Immigrants in Florida's New Destinations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M-_eOYT3s_sC&pg=PA113|date=3 March 2009|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-4698-8|pages=113–}}</ref>

There are community events in the town center on holidays, e.g., St. Patrick's Day,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jupiter Irish Fest - Home |url=https://jupiteririshfest.com/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=jupiteririshfest.com}}</ref> July 4th, and Halloween. Abacoa hosts the Feast of Little Italy for one weekend each year, typically in November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Feast of Little Italy - Home |url=https://www.feastoflittleitaly.com/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.feastoflittleitaly.com}}</ref> The Abacoa Property Owners' Association maintains a comprehensive calendar of downtown Abacoa events.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abacoa POA {{!}} Event Calendar |url=https://www.abacoa.com/events/calendar |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Abacoa POA |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Public Schools == Abacoa is served by Palm Beach County Public Schools: the Lighthouse Elementary School (K-2), Beacon Cove Intermediate School (3-5), Independence Middle School (6-8), Jupiter Middle School (6-8), Jupiter High, and William T. Dwyer High School (assignment to middle and high school varies by neighborhood, though a choice program is available for students who have a preference). Florida Atlantic University High School<ref>{{Cite web |title=Florida Atlantic University High School |url=https://www.fauhigh.fau.edu/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=fauhigh.fau.edu |language=en}}</ref> has an Abacoa campus and offers a simultaneous high school and bachelor's degree. Palm Beach County runs magnet schools for students with specialized interests and abilities. These include programs within standard schools as well as standalone magnet schools such as the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts<ref>{{Cite web |title=A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts |url=https://awdsoa.org/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts}}</ref> and Suncoast,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Suncoast High / Homepage |url=https://www.palmbeachschools.org/SuncoastHighSchool |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.palmbeachschools.org |language=en}}</ref> a school with a focus on math, science, and engineering.

== Recreation == Abacoa is home to a community park, which includes a football field, playground, basketball area, and skate park. Abacoa has four clay tennis courts, free to use on a first-come first-served basis. The Abacoa Golf Club<ref>{{Cite web |last=abacoagc |title=One of the Finest Public Golf Courses in South Florida |url=https://abacoagolfclub.com/?doing_wp_cron=1733068479.5104939937591552734375 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Abacoa Golf Club |language=en-US}}</ref> is a public 18-hole course. It's a 12-minute drive to the Juno Beach Pier along Donald Ross Road. Jupiter's own beach, which starts just north of the Juno Beach Pier, is popular for kiteboarding.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kitesurfing in Jupiter {{!}} Holidays and Travel Guides » Americas » USA {{!}} Free Kitesurfing Magazine Online {{!}} IKSURFMAG |url=https://www.iksurfmag.com/travel-guides/americas/usa/jupiter/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.iksurfmag.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Shopping == The Abacoa Town Center is home to multiple restaurants, a coffee shop, a barber shop, dance and martial arts studios, an escape room, and a handful of specialty stores (as of 2024, these included a bridal shop, a bicycle shop, and a trading card store). Major retailers on the edges of Abacoa include CVS and a Publix supermarket. Home Depot is across Donald Ross Rd. from Abacoa in the Alton Mall.

==Employers== Major employers near Abacoa include Florida Power & Light/NextEra (US HQ), Carrier (global HQ), Aerojet Rocketdyne, Florida Atlantic University, Max Planck Institute, UF Scripps, Jupiter Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, Zimmer Biomet, and PSM (a Jupiter-founded division of Hanwha that does gas turbine work).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aftermarket Gas Turbine Upgrades & Retrofits {{!}} PSM |url=https://www.psm.com/ |access-date=2026-03-25 |website=www.psm.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Health Care == Routine health care is available within Abacoa, e.g., eye exams, dentistry, urgent care affiliated with the Jupiter Medical Center (within the Abacoa Plaza that contains Publix), and a veterinarian. Primary care from the Cleveland Clinic is available across Donald Ross Road. The Jupiter Medical Center community hospital is 3.6 miles away from the Abacoa Town Center. The Palm Beach Gardens Medical community hospital is 6.4 miles away. The Alan B. Miller Medical Center, a hospital opening in 2026, is 2.8 miles away.

== Transportation == Depending on the neighborhood, a house in Abacoa is 1-3 miles from an entrance to Interstate 95. Commercial airline service is a 22-minute drive away at PBI, a one-hour drive away at FLL, and a 1.5-hour drive away at MIA. General aviation facilities are available at PBI, at F45, and a 30-minute drive away at the Stuart, Florida airport. Abacoa is served by the PalmTrans #10 bus, which runs from the West Jupiter Recreation Center to the (Palm Beach) Gardens Mall where transfers may be made to additional bus routes. The closest commuter rail station is a 15-minute drive away in Mangonia Park and the train there goes to the Miami International Airport. The closest intercity rail is Brightline in downtown West Palm Beach, a 25-minute drive, which travels between Miami and Orlando. An AMTRAK station is also available in West Palm Beach, with direct trains connecting to Tampa, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

==Planning== Abacoa is split into 17 different neighborhoods, each containing its own style of architecture. At peak, management anticipates Abacoa will contain 6,073 residences, and about {{convert|3000000|sqft|sqm}} of commercial space.<ref name=History>{{cite web|title=History of Abacoa|url=http://www.abacoa.com/History|work=Abacoa Live Work Play|publisher=Abacoa POA|accessdate=20 June 2012}}</ref>

One consistent feature among the neighborhoods is that garages are typically served by alleys and, thus, the fronts of the houses are not dominated by garage doors.

Abacoa is also home to Roger Dean Stadium, which is located near the Town Center part of the community, an urban open air street with multiple restaurants.<ref name="General Information">{{cite web|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/abacoa-15-years-later-is-it-a-success/nL8Pb/|title=Abacoa: 15 years later, is it a success?|publisher=Palm Beach Post|date=10 July 2010}}</ref> Abacoa is also home to Florida Atlantic University's Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, a Scripps Research Institute sister facility, and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, the Max Planck Society's first non-European research institute.

== Neighborhoods == As of 2024, the neighborhoods of Abacoa were the following, listed in order of approximate distance from "downtown":

* Abacoa Town Center, which includes restaurants, retail, a hotel, office space, the Roger Dean Stadium, and the Allure rental apartment complex (built 2016) * Antigua, mostly town houses, some of which are zoned for live/work * Osceola Woods, 146 three-story townhouses * The Island at Abacoa, single-family homes and townhouses organized around the Abacoa Golf Club an 18-hole course * Charleston Court, townhouses organized around the golf course * The Sophia, a rental apartment complex * Tuscany, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses * Martinique, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses * Mallory Creek, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses in a Key West style * Valencia, limited to single-family homes in a Spanish Colonial Revival Style; no fiber Internet except for one street (Segovia) * Somerset, townhouse and apartments organized around a pool, clubhouse, and gym; next to the Lighthouse Elementary School (grades K-2) and Jupiter Middle School (grades 6-8) * The Dakota, a rental apartment complex * Cambridge, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses * Windsor Park, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses and home to Addington Place of Jupiter, a senior living center with independent, assisted, and memory care options * San Palermo, a small area of townhouses with no common clubhouse, gym, or pool * Canterbury Place, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses * Greenwich, a small area along Military Trail * New Haven, a mixture of single-family homes and townhouses next to the Beacon Cove Intermediate School (grades 3-5)

Unless otherwise noted, each neighborhood has its own clubhouse, gym, and pool. All houses are built from concrete blocks and the roofs may be tile, metal, or asphalt shingle, depending on the neighborhood.

== Internet Service and Cable TV == Nearly all of Abacoa was originally served by Comcast/Xfinity cable television, cable modem Internet, and AT&T copper wire phone lines. Most of the neighborhoods today also have the option of multi-gigabit symmetric fiber optic Internet from either Hotwire, based in Fort Lauderdale, or AT&T. Hotwire serves at least the following neighborhoods: The Island, Martinique, Tuscany, New Haven, Mallory Creek, and Somerset. AT&T fiber is available at least in Canterbury, and in downtown Abacoa, e.g., the Allure apartment building. Fiber Internet in Valencia is limited to one street (Segovia).

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Planned communities in Florida Category:1997 establishments in Florida Category:Populated places in Palm Beach County, Florida Category:Jupiter, Florida Category:New Urbanism communities