Dean Alvord was born in
Syracuse, New York, on December 4, 1856. He graduated from
Syracuse University in 1882. Alvord eventually moved to
Brooklyn in
New York City in order to continue pursuing his career in real estate and development after initially starting his career in
Rochester, New York, where he developed a successful neighborhood. Around 1899, Alvord would purchase roughly of farmland in Brooklyn and would soon develop it into a neighborhood called
Prospect Park South. He chose the location in part to take advantage of the area's public transportation. Soon afterwards, Alvord developed the
Laurelton section of
Queens. In the first decade of the 20th century, Alvord began developing the famed community of
Belle Terre in
Port Jefferson, New York, c. 1902–1903. In 1905, Alvord purchased and developed a large area in
Shinnecock Hills on the eastern end of
Long Island. Following (and as a result of) this purchase, Alvord became the owner of roughly 10% of Long Island's shoreline. Alvord's development corporation went into
receivership around 1913. Alvord moved to
Clearwater, Florida, in 1913. Alvord was also one of the
Long Island Motor Parkway's originators. Additionally, Alvord briefly taught at Syracuse University, where he had previously attended college, and also served as the General Secretary of the
Rochester YMCA.
Development style Alvord, who was active in – and an advocate for – civic improvement and the beautification of streets, was known for making his developments with "park-like atmospheres." He was known for having architects design the homes in his communities to be of various architectural styles, and required that the dwellings built within his communities have setbacks in order to ensure that they all had large front lawns. == Death ==