Noted resort developer, entrepreneur dies at 84

Entrepreneur and developer Allen Gilbert Ten Broek, who once helped run one of the largest employers in Lee County, taught his son Bryan several valuable lessons for leadership — and life.

Like this one: “He told me, ‘Remember, people don’t work for you,’” Bryan Ten Broek recalls. “‘They work with you.’” 

Bryan says that and several other dad-sayings — another one was "Plan the work; work the plan" — were part of what made his father successful in multiple parts of his life and career. Another key, says Bryan: “He was fearless.”

Al Ten Broek, who, with some business partners and others at The Mariner Group, bought and redeveloped the 300-acre South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island, among other projects, died May 5 in Miami. He was 84. 

Today, South Seas is undergoing a billion-dollar renovation and redevelopment, amid a legal battle with residents and others in the community. On one of the most coveted sites in Southwest Florida, WS SSIR Holdings, a joint ownership group that includes Timbers Co, Wheelock Street Capital and The Ronto Group, owns the property. The partnership bought the resort in 2021 for $50.38 million. 

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But when The Mariner Group, based in Fort Myers, bought the property in 1973 it was far from the world-class resort it would become. Ten Broek (pronounced brook) joined The Mariner Group CEO Bob Taylor to provide operational management for the resort; he was later named COO as the company acquired and developed additional resort properties. 

That period stands out, says Bryan, because Taylor and his father knew little about the resort business. Al Ten Broek, with a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin — he was a four-year varsity athlete and captain of the fencing team — had worked for AT&T for a decade or so prior to moving to Southwest Florida. “They had no experience in hospitality,” says Bryan. “But my dad had real courage.” 

Ten Broek and Taylor were also savvy developers and somewhat ahead of their time, working with Lee County officials on “environmentally friendly development, advocating for lower density and sustainable growth,” according to a statement on his life. The project could have had some 3,000 units, for example, but the developers sought to have less than 1,000. 

Ten Broek later took a lead role in helping incorporate Sanibel into a city, which helped pave the way, his son says, for decades of controlled growth. He also spearheaded the original beach renourishment efforts on Captiva and was chairman of the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association.

“He was very entrepreneurial and a real visionary,” Bryan says. “He had real foresight.”

Ten Broek was born in Milwaukee in 1940. In addition to rising through the leadership ranks at AT&T, he served in the Air National Guard before moving to Florida. Outside work Ten Broek was an avid boater, according to his obituary, picking up the nickname Capt’n Al. In addition to boating and time with friends and family, Ten Broek never “missed an opportunity to watch his beloved Green Bay Packers,” his obituary adds. 

The Mariner Group, meanwhile, grew into other business lines and projects, developing hotels, timeshares, residential communities, retail and business parks and more throughout Southwest Florida, according to the statement on his life. Specifically, the company’s pioneering timeshare business became a predecessor to what’s now Hilton Grand Vacations; it resurrected the historical Useppa Island Club; and it bought the original Robb and Stucky store in Fort Myers, which grew into a high-end interior design and furnishing retailer. It had some 5,000 employees at its peak in the 1990s. 

Through all the growth, Bryan, who never worked directly with his dad but in some adjacent businesses, says his father put a premium on relationships. That could be from a beachy, Jimmy Buffett-like musician on Sanibel to corporate attorneys. “Relationships meant everything to him,” he says. “And he had a lot of them.”

In the week since his dad died, Bryan says he’s heard via social media, email and text from dozens of people with stories and memories of Al Ten Broek. A revolving theme: his dad was nice, genuine and treated others well. “Whether it was the landscaper or the CEO,” Bryan says, “he always taught me to be kind to people.”