In 1954 John D. MacArthur paid $5.5 million for 2,600 acres owned by the estate of Sir Harry Oakes as Tesdem Company, Inc. The land, which had been partially developed by Harry Seymour Kelsey, included most of the Village of North Palm Beach and the Palm Beach Winter Club which became the North Palm Beach Country Club. Contractors Bob and Dick Ross quietly developed North Palm Beach between US 1 and Prosperity Farms Road, using extensive dredging to maximize the amount of waterfront property. West Lake Park Road was extended from US 1 to Old Dixie Highway and renamed Northlake Boulevard, became the town’s commercial east-west road.
Incorporated in 1956, North Palm Beach was named the year’s Best Planned Community in the U.S. by the National Association of Homebuilders. The village became the bedroom community for the professionals who came to work at Pratt and Whitney, which opened west of town in 1958. Arthur Rutenberg, who built homes on the east and west coasts of Florida from 1953 to 1969, constructed many of the first houses.