Draper Lake

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
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About Draper Lake

Draper Lake’s three hamlets surround a dune lake overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The lake is part of a coastal natural system in which a sequence of beachfront wetlands and lakes receive water from higher inland elevations, and periodically break through the beach to drain into the Gulf, to then slowly fill up again.

Two of the hamlets accommodate 90 houses and a variety of recreational facilities on the east and west banks of the 18-acre lake. The third, on the north side of highway C-30A, the connector of South Walton’s beachfront communities, includes the tributary of the lake, and is a smaller site intended for mixed-use.

Each hamlet has a small central park and generous setbacks of the forest preserve on the steep slopes down to the lake. The west neighborhood has a swim club, lookout tower, and boathouse at the lake’s edge. The east neighborhood has a swim club, a green with views to the beach and the Gulf, and a reciprocal boat dock. A pedestrian bridge connects the two hamlets.

Draper Lake was designed in collaboration with Dover Kohl and Partners.

Development Approach

The South Walton Conservation and Development Trust Plan (1996) set the stage for the design of Draper Lake, by prioritizing conservation of the region's unique environment and promoting compact, walkable neighborhood development.
Deep setbacks from the dune lake (100 feet) preserve the surrounding forest whose tall trees are protected by distance from the Gulf.
A Regulating Plan, Architectural and Landscape Regulations, and Street Standards guide the plan and the building character of the community.

Defining Design Details

A continuous trail system connects all three hamlets, linking the central greens to the pedestrian paths that run along the lake, and to the regional bicycle trail along C-30A.
The rustic architecture of the shared facilities is inspired by historic lake resorts such as the Great Camps of the Adirondacks, contrasting with neighboring beach -oriented communities.
Sustainable building design and open space preservation, with patios, porches and balconies as shading and cooling elements.
Lake compounds of up to 6 houses, intended for families, are accessed by rear lanes, and front on pedestrian paths along the lakefronts.
Future street connections to the east and west neighboring communities were provided, but at the request of the original property owners entry gates were installed.

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Draper Lake

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About Draper Lake

Development Approach

Defining Design Details

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