Soon after World War II, as a building boom began in Broward County, developers looked covetously at Pompano Beach's oceanfront properties. The problem for them was that William L. Kester, who owned much of the property had built his famous "Kester Cottage" rental units there, blocking new construction.

By the early 1950s, Kester had agreed to remove the frame cottages, in the "dim future" as he put it.

The Pompano Beach Town News (August 10, 1951) quoted Kester on the subject:

"I am only clearing 650 feet of land along Riverside Drive starting at N.E. 3rd Street and going north," he declared. "This property will not be subdivided, but will be kept in reserve for the day when the peppercrates are moved over the hill."

"All the 'up-to-date jerks' want me to get them off the ocean as soon as I can," he joked. "It will only cost me a million and I just have $10 in my pocket."

(reprinted in the Pompano Beach Diamond Jubilee Commemorative Book (1983), p.129)