LWR 15 Years - Section A

15

The Observer EAST COUNTY

YEARS

STRONG

Summerfield resident Sandi McCarthy was first closeinonLakewood a Summerfield resident Sandi McCarthy was the first to the close on to a home Lakewood Ranch. This Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. Thishome week,inSchroeder-Manatee Ranchweek, honors its founding familiesRanch as it celebrates honors its founding families it celebrates 15th largest anniversary the 15th anniversary of the first homeas sold in the East the County’s community.

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

Happy 15th, Lakewood Ranch!

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Now, on the 15th anniversary of the first home sold, Lakewood Ranch, like Hylynn, seems poised to take the world by the horns.

Since it launched in 1998, The East County Observer has followed closely Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and its beloved master-planned community. Today, we honor SMR, Lakewood Ranch and its residents with this special commemorative edition in celebration of this anniversary. In these 40 pages, we hope to both honor Lakewood Ranch’s past as well as offer a glimpse into its future.

Inside, you can learn about SchroederManatee Ranch and the families behind it. Lakewood Ranch founders John Clarke and Mary Fran Carroll also give exclusive interviews about the early days (page 3A), and some of the community’s founding families share their memories of early life on the Ranch (page 4A-7A).

We also examine the community’s polo tradition (page 11A), the economic impact Lakewood Ranch has had on Manatee and Sarasota counties (page 12A) and the company’s agriculture division, SMR Farms (page 15A). In addition, Rex Jensen shares just how he came to lead SMR (page 8A) as well as his plans for the next 15 years (page 16A). And Lakewood Ranch students share their feelings about their home in our essay contest (pages 18A-22A).

Finally, we take a trip into the archives to chronicle the past 15 years in our special Scrapbook (section B), which features photos chronicling The East County Observer’s coverage of Lakewood Ranch.

We hope this edition gives you more insight into and appreciation for SMR and its masterful community. And please join us as we raise our glasses to help celebrate this special anniversary.

Happy 15th, Lakewood Ranch. Here’s to 15 more!

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Perhaps no one personifies Lakewood Ranch better than Hylynn Kearney.

Hylynn became one of the community’s first children when her parents, Scott and Kitt, moved into their new East County home on June 15, 1995. At 2 years old and in pigtails, Hylynn was the poster child for Lakewood Ranch, appearing in one of its original ads that promoted the community’s family friendly lifestyle.

In the years that followed, Hylynn and Kitt served as Summerfield ambassadors, delivering a homemade cake to every new neighbor MICHAEL (see photo, page 3B).

Today, Hylynn, now ENG 17, is now a junior at Lakewood Ranch High School. She has a part-time job and is less than two years away from college, ready to take the world by the horns.

Similarly, Lakewood Ranch has grown considerably from its tiny beginnings of miniature model homes at a kiosk at DeSoto Square Mall. At that time, the biggest hurdle was convincing people east of Interstate 75 wasn’t as far as it sounded.

But, with home prices starting at $88,000 and a plan that included all the amenities of family could ever want (good schools, parks, recreation, shopping and more), Lakewood Ranch single handedly started the eastward migration. In just five years, the community ballooned to 2,000 homes.

Today, Lakewood Ranch includes more than 7,000 homes and 15,000 residents.

It is home to the best public schools in the county and contains its own hospital. On the business front, nearly half of all the office space leased in 2010 in Sarasota and Manatee occurred in Lakewood Ranch.

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

TIMELINE 1900 — First house in Lorraine township is built.

1905 — John Schroeder, of Milwaukee, Wis., assembles land as the Schroeder Manatee Ranch.

1922 — Uihlein Family, founders of the Schlitz brewery, purchase SMR. 1960 — Ranching operations extend beyond cattle and timber.

1978 — First shell and aggregate mine opens.

1983 — Planning for residential development begins.

1989 — Cypress Banks DRI is approved (later becomes Summerfield and Riverwalk).

1991 — University Place DRI is approved (later becomes Corporate Park).

1991 — Sarasota Polo Club opens.

1992 University Lakes DRI is approved (later becomes Edgewater, the Country Club and Town Center).

Feb. 23, 1994 — SchroederManatee Ranch breaks ground for Lakewood Ranch.

1995 — Summerfield Village opens, and the first home is sold.

1996 — Edgewater opens; and University Parkway expansion begins.

1997 — The Country Club, Legacy golf course, Corporate Park, and The Out-of-Door Academy’s Upper School all open.

1998 — The 1000th homebuyer purchases a home, and Lakewood Ranch earns the BALA award for best master-planned community in America from the Professional Builder magazine/National Association of Home Builders.

Lakewood Ranch High School opens.

1999 — Financial Park at Town Center opens; and Lakewood Ranch Commerce Park is announced. Ranch station at Town Center, Riverwalk, and the Braden River Bridge all open.

2000 — Market Square at Town Center and Greenbrook open. The 2000th homebuyer purchases a home.

2001 — Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club opens.

Lakewood Ranch’s first hotel, Holiday Inn, opens.

2002 — Cypress Links, Greenbrook Adventure Park and Port Marnock’s second phase open.

2003 — MCC’s Center for Innovation & Technology, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and McNeal Elementary open. Digital Village is launched.

2004 — Town Hall, Heritage Ranch, Nolan Middle School, LECOM, and King’s Dunes’ first nine holes all open.

Lakewood Ranch opens its first housing east of Lorraine Road. Lakewood Ranch Boulevard expands to four lanes near University Parkway to the Braden River Bridge.

March 2004 — Florida Green Building Coalition certifies 9,742 acres of Lakewood Ranch for future development.

November 2004 — Rex Jensen is elected to CEO. He took office Feb 7, 2005, when John Clarke retired.

2005 — Main Street opens.

2006 — Tax collector office opens.

June 2006 — Florida Green Building Coalition certifies 4,545 acres of Lakewood Ranch future development, making a total of 14,287 certified “green.”

2010 — Sarasota County approves Villages project south of University Parkway.

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HISTORY

Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 3A

by Pam Eubanks | News Editor

This aerial of Lakewood Ranch from 1998 shows a young community on the verge of a boom.

Building a Legacy Lakewood Ranch visionaries Mary Fran Carroll and John Clarke are largely responsible shaping the Lakewood Ranch residents know today.

LAKEWOOD RANCH — It seems as if everything SchroederManatee Ranch’s founding CEO Mary Fran Carroll has touched has turned to gold.

Or as Carroll rebuts: “(That) may be a stretch, but everything sure came up smelling like roses.”

Carroll, now 87, walks to her office in her Sarasota home. A bookshelf and wall are dedicated to pieces of the history she’s helped create — plaques for the groundbreaking of Lakewood Ranch High School, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center Carroll and more But the plaque naming the bridge on Lorraine Road in her honor is her most treasured.

“It was validation,” she says.

BEGINNINGS

Before coming to SMR, Carroll, spent 18 Clarke years in the trust department for Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. When a prominent landowner showed up at Northern Trust’s doorstep seeking expertise, Carroll proved just the fit. As the leader of one of seven owning families of a 30,000-acre parcel in Manatee, the man was entitled to a seat on the board of directors.

Carroll, now 87, came to visit the property when representatives of the owning families were going to be in town for a meeting.

“I wasn’t sure how I should dress for this occasion,” Carroll recalls.

“Northern Trust was a very whiteglove bank. I just didn’t think that was the style to go look at cows.”

Instead she opted for a loosefitting skirt, blouse and opentoed shoes. Carroll thought she’d picked correctly until a Uihlein family member turned to her and said her outfit would not do.

“I went back and told the bank

they’d have to fund cowboy boots for me,” Carroll says. “And they did.”

The family decided Carroll — although new to the venture — would preside as chairman of the board of directors.

CHANGE OF PACE

When the River Club community began to develop, Carroll began seriously to think about the property’s future.

“We weren’t in the middle of the Sahara Desert anymore,” says Carroll, who moved to work for SMR full time in 1986. “That led me to development.”

Until then, SMR’s operations had been agricultural. Its tree, cattle and lawn turf ventures were barely breaking even. In 1984, Carroll brought John Clarke, then-owner of Agricultural Management Service, to make SMR’s agricultural arms profitable. “(The property) really had been run by a cowboy,” Clarke said.

“From ’84, we built the base of the agriculture, which became the basis of cash flow (for development).”

He also began a study of the property to see what areas would be best suited for the company’s agricultural operations as well as for restoration, preservation or development. Meanwhile, Carroll convinced politicians and others there was life east of Interstate 75.

In December 1989, SMR got approval of its Cypress Banks development of regional impact, which now includes Summerfield and Riverwalk communities.

To a Sarasota County Commission meeting in 1991, Carroll wore a purple dress to earn support for SMR to build a business park east of Interstate 75 and south of University Parkway.

“She said, ‘I’m here because I believe in the purple blob,’” Clarke recalled. “The county commission thought it so fun, they gave us the purple blob.”

With approvals in hand, SMR found itself in a holding pattern.

By 1990, the market had died, and the credit market fell into distress. Rather than falter, SMR hired a team of experts to help plan the future, so when the market returned, the company would be ready to move forward. Carroll threatened her new team to walk the straight and narrow.

“I said, ‘I will publicly disown you,’” she said. “‘We are going to get everything we get fair and square.’ That set a tone for our company.”

MASTER PLAN

Clarke and current President and CEO Rex Jensen, who joined SMR March 1990, visited developments in California, Maryland and more to look at big ranches that had been developed into residential communities.

And about three years before the construction of the first model in 1995, SMR began preparing for residential home sales, securing permits and laying infrastructure.

It broke ground in 1994.

“We weren’t there to build the whole of Lakewood Ranch tomorrow,” Carroll says.

Looking back, Carroll and Clarke say they are proud of their community. Moments such as Carroll’s most recent visit to the voting polls — where a worker recognized her for her purple dress — continue to validate the sense of accomplishment. The worker quoted Carroll’s speech, including her claim that SMR’s project would make commissioners proud.

“He said, ‘You delivered in spades,’” Carroll says. “It’s magnificent.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at peubanks@yourobserver.com.

Courtesy of SMR

Memory Lane Below are some of SchroederManatee Ranch officials’ treasured anecdotes from Lakewood Ranch’s early days.

+ A field of dreams

Mary Fran Carroll didn’t know what to think as she stopped to pick a few tomatoes one day from a field along Lorraine Road. It was there she spotted a perfectly manicured lawn, complete with goal posts.

When she asked her employees about the matter, they were quick to explain any concerns away, noting neither the maintenance of the field nor the posts cost the company any money. John Clarke and others had secretly begun playing polo there without Carroll’s knowledge.

Carroll says she didn’t mind but enjoyed seeing the men squirm with worry.

“She wagged her finger at us and said, ‘I don’t want to see lights there ever,’” Clarke said, smiling.

Then, Carroll quickly and purposely disappeared into her office.

+ All country

When CFO Tony Chiofalo joined SMR’s team as the company’s first accountant in 1988, he knew only he’d been hired to bring SMR’s accounting operations in-house.

The New Yorker had interviewed at Carroll’s home and had not stepped on the property until his first day on the job.

On his first day, Chiofalo arrived to work at the company’s “bunkhouse” in a three-piece suit only to find a horse stable on the other side of his office door.

“When I walked in that first day, there was not a thing,” he said. “I had to drive to the Circle K to buy paper and pencils — supplies to get started.”

+ Family Christmas

Although SMR now holds catered dinners for its employees at Christmastime, workers originally enjoyed a family potluck on the farm to celebrate the holidays.

Chiofalo had quite the experience.

When a farmhand asked if he’d like to see what they’d be eating, he didn’t realizing saying “yes” would ruin his appetite.

“He had caught a wild hog,” Chiofalo said. “ He was going to feed it corn, kill it and cook it.”

Later, at the party, Chiofalo sampled what he was told was “popcorn chicken.”

“It was alligator,” Chiofalo said.

4A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

Donald and Faye Downing, sons Kevin & Casey

by Michael Eng | Executive Editor

The Closer

Moved to Lakewood Ranch: October 1995 Builder: Arthur Rutenberg Homes/M. PeteMcNabb

What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

Early life in Lakewood Ranch was quiet and full of nature. I (Faye) remember seeing a river otter walking down Meandering Way early one morning.

Of all of Lakewood Ranch’s current residents, Sandi McCarthy has the unique distinction of being the first closer. She moved into her home on Water Willow Avenue in August 1995.

Sandi McCarthy already had a new home the first time she saw Lakewood Ranch. Just two years prior, Bruce Williams Homes completed her model in Palmetto. It was to her exact specifications; the house of her dreams.

But it wasn’t home.

And that’s precisely why McCarthy decided to put her new home on the market and close on another Bruce Williams model — this time in Lakewood Ranch.

“I had been in that house not two years,” she says. “But after I saw Lakewood Ranch, everything in me said, ‘You need to do that.’”

And even though Lakewood Ranch was little more than a few model homes spread over miles of nothingness, with the help of

PIONEERS

In celebration of Lakewood Ranch’s 15th anniversary, The East County Observer is honoring some of the community’s founding families. The residents featured on pages 4A-7A are Lakewood Ranch originals. They braved the dirt, the wildlife and the construction to prove life indeed could exist east of Interstate 75.

Realtor Greg Spring, then with Bruce Williams Homes, McCarthy saw the potential. She saw the vision, the master plan.

“Greg really believed in what he was selling,” McCarthy says.

“And I believed him.

“He’s a great salesman,” she says, laughing. “I saw it as an investment in the future and a path to retirement.”

Now, 15 years later, McCarthy has the distinction of being Lakewood Ranch’s first closing. Better yet, the community has fulfilled completely the vision Spring helped McCarthy see when she toured the original models.

“This is my home,” she says. “It took a long time living in Florida — I’ve been here since 1982. But this is my home.”

Originally from Bryan, Ohio, McCarthy moved to Florida to be closer to her mother. Today, she works as a child care apprenticeship coordinator at Manatee Technical Institute and enjoys Lakewood Ranch life with her two dogs, Daisy June, 15, and Zoey Rose, 4.

In fact, it’s through her canine companions that McCarthy has gotten to know her neighbors throughout the years.

Rachel O’Hara

Sandi McCarthy says she loves all the wildlife she’s seen in the lake behind her home.

“Everyone got to know one another through the dogs,” she says, smiling. “And we (the original residents) always embraced new neighbors as they moved in.”

In the early years, McCarthy says her street threw regular block parties.

“Everybody has always been close, and everyone has always been so friendly,” she says. “Everybody takes care of everybody.”

In the years before Greenbrook Adventure Park and its Paw Park, McCarthy took Daisy June and her late dog, Cody Jasper, to a nice plot of land just west of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard about a mile north of State Road 70.

“Lakewood Ranch High School used to be our dog park,” she says, smiling.

Like all of Lakewood Ranch’s original residents, McCarthy says newfound neighbors weren’t

always of the human kind. In the early years, she shared her new home with everything from sandhill cranes and deer to alligators and even river otters.

“We had a family of river otters back here,” she says. “I could sit and watch them for hours.”

Today, with thousands of residents surrounding the original Summerfield community, McCarthy says she is enjoying all the amenities ushered in by Lakewood Ranch’s growth. She occasionally takes a stroll down Main Street and enjoys dinners at Stingray’s Grill and the Alamo Steakhouse.

And like so many of Lakewood Ranch’s original residents, McCarthy says the community has fulfilled its mission of a live, work, play community.

“I am grateful and blessed (to be here),” she says.

Contact Michael Eng at meng@yourobserver.com.

How has the growth affected your and your family’s life here?

It has just made or life easier. We can stay in our community for most of our needs and wants.

What do you hope to see for Lakewood Ranch in the next 15 years?

We would like to see the community continue to grow but keep the small-town feel.

Has Lakewood Ranch accomplished its goal of creating a live, work, play community?

For our family Lakewood Ranch has accomplished its goal. We have a son who worked for SMR in the early years, and we have a son who graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School in the first four-year senior class. My husband and I are now empty-nesters, but the kids return often to enjoy our Lakewood Ranch home.

See q&As page 6A

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founding families

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 5A

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6A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

that are now neighborhoods to park the cars. It was something to see; Doyle was a great marketer.

What clubs/activities do you enjoy as a Lakewood Ranch resident?

I am part of the Meditation Group on Thursday nights at Town Hall. I enjoy the Farmer’s Market and attend the Lakewood Ranch Cinemas regularly.

Courtesy of Bridget Lopez

Mary Glass is executive director of the Manatee Education Foundation.

Mary Glass

Moved into Lakewood Ranch: Fall 1995 Why did you decide to move to Lakewood Ranch?

My mother, former County Commissioner Pat Glass, and I drove out one weekend to visit the models. That day, I placed a deposit on my home.

What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

The house-warming party I had shortly after I moved into Lakewood Ranch. Mary Fran Carroll, Rex Jensen and many friends joined me for a fun night. It had been a long time in developing Lakewood Ranch, so Mary Fran who was the chairman of the board of SMR at the time, wanted to see lights on in the evening in the homes. She was delighted that night to see the first sign of life in the community.

One endearing recollection was that of working with Jim Doyle, VP of marketing for SMR, when we launched Lakewood Ranch with an incredible number of attendees for the early days of weekend events. Tens of thousands of people would come out on Saturday just to watch the Lipazzan stallions, enjoy old Florida cowboythemed food and games, 50-plus booths, cow-pie throwing, real ranch hands from SMR Ranch and the petting zoo. Parking was the real issue. We used lots of the fields

Has Lakewood Ranch accomplished its goal of creating a live, work, play community?

To sit back and watch what has happened in the last 15 years is truly remarkable. There have been many people responsible for all the great things that have been created here, but I really believe Rex Jensen has provided the perfect leadership to grow this community so wisely and with diligent thought for the environment, and at the same time build an award-winning residential development with plenty of green space, prominent businesses such as Willis A. Smith Construction and lots of fun activities on Main Street. We have it all.

Scott & Kitt Kearney, daughter Hylynn

Move to Lakewood Ranch: June 15, 1995 Home builder: Todd Johnston Homes Why did you decide to move to Lakewood Ranch?

I (Kitt) was working for SMR Communities (in the development of Lakewood Ranch) as vice president of finance for the real estate. As Lakewood started development, we were lucky enough to be able to choose one of the beautiful home sites at Summerfield Bluffs.

What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

A few weeks after we moved in, we were enjoying dinner on our new lanai one evening when we had unexpected visitors — a group of wild pigs who wanted very much to share our dinner! We also have a gopher

Kitt, Hylynn and Scott Kearney moved into Lakewood Ranch on June 15, 1995.

Michael Eng

tortoise (aka “Tilly”) that did her level best to drag new turf back to her burrow every evening for several weeks, and an armadillo (aka “Armondo”) that thought our lawn was his/her personal smorgasbord!

minutes away, and my office is only a fiveminute drive. It has also been a life-saver to have the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center so close, as we have use it on many occasions for my mom and daughter.

What’s been the biggest change for Lakewood Ranch in the last 15 years?

The amazing growth. Sitting on our lanai with a cup of coffee in the morning and looking out at the preserve, the only signs of change are the weathering of the fence posts on our side yard and the sturdy oak trees shading our pool cage that were only saplings when we first arrived.

Walking out the front door, however, everything has changed. We once could safely say we lived in the “country.” Now, we live in the middle of a community.

How has the growth affected your and your family’s life here?

Lakewood Ranch has done a fantastic job of managing and providing for the growth in the community with their road expansion, retail needs, parks and trails.

The planned neighborhoods have actually evolved into neighborhoods, and most families, like us, have developed wonderful friendships with many of our neighbors.

Many of us get together for events and holidays such as Thanksgiving (our neighbors Ann and Rodger Johnson are fantastic cooks!) and on Halloween evening to greet trick-or-treaters.

What’s your favorite part of living in Lakewood Ranch?

Everything is close, and almost everything we really need is right here. Hylynn’s school, Lakewood Ranch High School, is

What clubs/activities do you enjoy as a Lakewood Ranch resident?

We loved the Tennis Club, Lakewood

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Ranch Golf and Country Club, Music on Main, Polo matches, the Lakewood Ranch Running Club, the dog park and the lakes.

Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 7A

lots for the kids to do and the schools will be right in the neighborhood.

What’s been the biggest change for Lakewood Ranch in the last 15 years?

Growth. When we moved out to Lakewood Ranch, people said we lived “way out east.” Now, “way out east” is Arcadia. There were cows on the east side of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, and we had to drive all the way to the west side of Interstate 75 to shop at Publix.

Has Lakewood Ranch accomplished its goal of creating a live, work, play community that you truly feel is your family’s home? Why or why not?

Our family is a perfect example of one that loves its home in the beautiful natural setting of the preserve and enjoys working and playing on and being a part of the Ranch. I (Kitt) originally worked for SMR on the original financial plan of development and now work for Homes by Towne, one of the founding builders, as Florida director of sales and marketing and love both companies. We are extremely happy here and plan to be here not only for 15 years but for as long as we live. (And if SMR develops a cemetery, afterward!)

Stuart & Paula Siegel, sons Jacob & Joshua

Moved into Lakewood Ranch: March 1996 Home builder: Royal Caribbean What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

Everyone knew each other. SMR’s executives such as John Clarke were very approachable and responsive to residents’ needs. That was very nice. When we got the newspaper in the morning, we could hear cows mooing. Lakewood Ranch Boulevard ended at Clubhouse Drive. Also when we told people that we lived in Lakewood Ranch, there would be a quizzical look on their faces.

Sudhir & Alice Prasad

Moved into Lakewood Ranch: 1995 Builder: Arthur Rutenberg Homes/M. PeteMcNabb What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

Going into the area in a four-wheeler to look at lots with Anne Lisky, the Realtor employed by Arthur Rutenberg Homes. After moving in, hearing the animals in the fields and not being able to locate them.

What’s your favorite part of your house and why?

We bought a house, but memories have made it a home, and that is the favorite feature of our house. Also, living in one of the first 50 houses built in Lakewood Ranch means that we are in the unofficial “Historic District.”

Is there any amenity missing from Lakewood Ranch? If so, what is it?

Perhaps more activity areas geared to the teenage population.

David & Michelle Shilling, children Taylor, Kathy & Jeff & Jocelyn Stevens, son Andrew Connor Moved into Lakewood Ranch August 1995 Moved into Lakewood Ranch: August 1995 Home builder: Bovis Homes

Builder: Bruce Williams Homes

Why did you decide to move to Lakewood Ranch?

We heard that Lakewood Ranch was going to be a family-friendly community with

Why did you decide to move to Lakewood Ranch?

We loved the idea of a planned community. My (Jocelyn) parents owned a home

Dave and Michelle Shilling with children Connor, Taylor and Cassie on the other coast that was next to a large planned community called Weston, and we just marveled at how it developed every time we would go over.

What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

How quiet it was at night and how dark it would get way out east. We remember hardly anyone would deliver out here. Also, when you wanted to come visit your house being built on a Sunday, you had to wait until a certain time when they would drop the chain at Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and State Road 70.

What’s your favorite part of living in Lakewood Ranch?

We came here knowing no one, and we have made lifelong friends here. We love the sense of community you feel. We also love that we have found a place to worship here. Chabad of Bradenton is so warm and wonderful. There are amazing walking trails out in Summerfield Park.

Courtesy photo

Linda Wood

Moved into Lakewood Ranch: June 1995 Home builder: Bovis Homes Why did you decide to move to Lakewood Ranch?

I had been renting for a couple of years and decided to buy a home. Lakewood Ranch was in close proximity to my family, and I liked the recreation area it offered for my son and myself — mainly the basketball courts and the tennis courts.

What is one of your earliest memories of life in Lakewood Ranch?

State Road 70 being two lanes, and there was no intersection where you turned into Lakewood Ranch — not even a red light.

There were cow pastures on all sides. It was also dark coming out this way.

What’s your favorite part of living in Lakewood Ranch?

I enjoy the nature, the trees and lakes.

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8A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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Tyrannosaurus Rex

by Pam Eubanks | News Editor

Schroder-Manatee Ranch CEO and President Rex Jensen is the man you need when you’re dealing with a number with seven zeroes behind it. Plus, he has a wicked sense of humor.

East County resident Rex Jensen is only half joking when he says he feels a character in the movie “Jurassic Park.” More specifically, he feels like the kid who had a car fall on top of him.

“I vowed when I was 5 I didn’t want to be a farmer,” says Jensen, who grew up on a potato farm just outside Grand Rapids, Mich.

But in many ways, that’s where he finds himself today.

As the CEO and president of Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Jensen not only is propelling the development of Lakewood Ranch forward but also is overseeing the company’s other assets — sod and tree farming, citrus groves, cattle and shell mining operations, to start.

Jensen, who came to SMR in 1990 as the company’s vice president of real estate, is one who has garnered the attention and admiration of the business community. SMR’s former CEO Mary Fran Carroll says Sarasota planners were so impressed with Jensen when he first came that he helped write county code. But, he’s also known as someone you don’t want to cross.

“You come after my nest, I will come after you,” Jensen says. “I’ve never thrown the first punch, but I’ll be damned if I don’t throw the last punch if I’m hit once. I will respond in kind.”

Beginnings

The oldest of five children, Jensen graduated from the University of Michigan with a law degree in 1979 after earning bachelor’s degrees in history, economics and political science from Michigan State University.

He practiced tax law and dabbled in venture entertainment and capital law before finding his niche in real estate.

“Early on in law, I decided I didn’t want to sell my time,” Jensen says. “I always had more fun as a principal.”

His first big undertaking came in 1981. Jensen, then 27, was given the task of con-

ues and commitment to stewardship, Jensen himself wasn’t convinced he was the best person for the job. He sent a sixpage letter to Clarke detailing why he thought he’d be a good fit — as well as why he wouldn’t.

“From there, it’s gone downhill,” he says.

Man with the plan

Courtesy of SMR

Rex Jensen, who grew up on a potato farm, never wanted to be a farmer. But farming is a big part of his job as SMR’s president and CEO. vincing the state of Michigan’s speaker of the house and other key officials not to hate his development project. Within six months, he’d earned their support.

“That’s been me ever since,” Jensen says. “That was my first taste.”

To the Ranch

Jensen transferred to Tampa in October 1983 and later started his own consulting firm there. Eventually, his work garnered the attention of SMR’s then-president John Clarke, who had heard from several people Jensen would be a good candidate for bringing SMR’s development plans into fruition.

Clarke picked up the phone and dialed.

AT TA I N Y O U R

“At the time, I had laryngitis and could barely speak,” Jensen says of their first phone call.

“That’s probably led him to hiring me.”

Although the conversation went well enough for Jensen to agree to see the property, he mentally shrugged off a future with SMR. “I didn’t want to work for someone else,” Jensen says. “It took one drive down to meet with him and Mary Fran (Carroll) and to see this place. I thought, ‘Wow, this is a fundamentally different operation.’”

Although Jensen was impressed with the company’s val-

“

Jensen attributes his upbringing on the farm, as well as his background as attorney, as key components to his success.

Farming, he says, taught him innovation and problem solving in the face of adversity, while law school taught him to think.

Those experiences, particularly as an attorney, have helped him “slice and dice” information, reformat it and foresee potential problems faster, at times, than others. He also doesn’t shy away from making hard decisions.

For example, SMR began restructuring the company in mid-2006 as a preemptive strike against an upcoming economic downturn.

“I didn’t realize how bad (it was going to be), but I could see it (coming),” Jensen says.

Jensen’s tenacity also has played a critical role in his career. As he says, he’s the one you call in if you have a number with seven zeros behind it and you won’t take “no” for an answer.

For 10 years, he fought to get Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. He spent the same amount of time fighting for the approval of the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, a 5,100-home expansion into Sarasota County, as well as for the development of Lakewood Ranch Main Street.

“I don’t give up,” he says. “I don’t quit. I don’t know what defeat is.”

However, to succeed, Jensen also recognizes he also must be willing to compromise to create win-win scenarios. For example, SMR recently agreed to give up

more than $17 million in impact fee credits it was owed by Manatee County in exchange for concurrency approval of the first phases of its Northwest Sector and Lakewood Centre developments of regional impact, which are slated for property east of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and north of State Road 70.

Love for Lakewood

But of all Jensen’s accomplishments with SMR to date, Jensen says he’s most proud of the partnership his company has created with the Manatee County School District. Nothing, he says, has had such a broad and deep impact on the larger community. He hopes in the future to attract charter and other schools to the area or possibly a military academy, as well.

“I want every educational choice you can have out here,” he says.

Jensen also is committed to bringing jobs — and affordable housing to go with them — to the community, as evidenced by the construction of the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park and in future development plans, among other areas.

“If we don’t create an environment where people can come on the property and make a living, they’ll go somewhere else,” Jensen says. “So how do you facilitate (that environment for them to come)?”

With so many details to handle, it truly can be an effort not to get lost, Jensen says, particularly when thinking about how to care for his roughly 400 employees. Jensen’s remedy — one for which he’s gained quite a reputation — is his own special dose of humor. He fills conversations with one-line zingers that are executed so quickly and so dryly he doesn’t even pause to let his audience laugh.

Jensen even incorporates silly, animated graphics into public slide presentations as well as into meetings with his own employees. Doing so, he says, helps engage the senses and makes the presentation more effective.

Plus, it’s just fun, he says.

“A sense of humor helps you in a lot of ways,” Jensen says.

“That’s part of me.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at peubanks@yourobserver.com.

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Buying into a Vision REAL ESTATE

by Pam Eubanks | News Editor

Home sales in Lakewood Ranch — outside of the recent economic downturn — have remained strong since the community opened its first model homes in 1995.

Greg Spring was working for Bruce Williams Homes in Tampa when the company first told him about a new community sprouting in east Manatee County.

Armed with only literature and miniature model homes, he and other builder representatives stationed themselves a few evenings a week at a kiosk at DeSoto Square Mall, hoping to share with prospective homebuyers about a master-planned community called Lakewood Ranch.

Although most who stopped by asked who would want to live in such a remote area, not everyone passed it by so quickly. Spring, now a Summerfield resident, sold the very first home in Lakewood Ranch in December 1994 to a couple who had just relocated from New Jersey — before a real model home had even opened.

“They had first pick of all the lots out here,” said Spring, who now gives tours of community through his work as a Lakewood Ranch Ambassador. “It was a big deal. They were excited.”

Ten model homes opened in Summerfield in February 1995, turning a pen-and-paper sketch of the future into something tangible for prospective buyers.

“There were such big plans (for Lakewood Ranch),” Spring said. “Summerfield Park opened before the models. The response was great. When we opened the

Pam Eubanks

Greg Spring was one of the first Realtors to sell Lakewood Ranch. Today, he serves as an ambassador for the community. models, we had people standing in line from the front of the model to the curb on opening weekend.”

The biggest challenge was convincing people there was life east of Interstate 75.

“People didn’t even know it was out here,” Realtor Beth Barnett, an agent with Coldwell Banker, said. “I just saw the vision of what it was going to be. At that point, nobody knew. It was all kind of dream.”

Barnett decided to focus her efforts on home sales in Lakewood Ranch and the surrounding East County area. Even as prospec-

tive homebuyers came in eager to look at properties in Sarasota, Barnett pointed them to Lakewood Ranch as well.

Barnett said even when she had to drive 20 minutes to get a cup of coffee or a sandwich, homes in Lakewood Ranch were not difficult to sell.

“There were models here,” Barnett said. “I was able to show them. I always took them to the information center. They painted a beautiful picture (of the future).”

The community’s amenities — hundreds of miles of trails, parks, athletic facilities, shopping plazas and more — have made the

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area even more desirable over the years, as well.

Although Realtors such as Barnett caught the vision for Lakewood Ranch — which started with homes priced at $88,000 — they never quite saw what was in store for home sales in the community. Sales picked up quickly and within sixth months, the Lakewood Ranch phenomenon had begun.

“It just started snowballing, and it stayed busy until 2003,” Spring said. “Then in 2003, it was nuts. (By 2004/2005) it got to the point where people were just waiting in line to buy anything available, regardless of price. It was unbelievable.”

But the frenzy — as throughout the Sarasota/Bradenton area — came to a screeching halt in late 2005. Prices remained high the following year, but plummeted by about 50% through 2008.

Although Lakewood Ranch was hit more severely than other sections of the real estate market, it also has picked up more quickly, Realtors said. Sales improved in the spring 2009, especially for homes priced under $400,000.

By January of this year, homes in all price ranges began selling.

“We’re back to a normal market,” Spring said. “We did get hit hard because this is where all the activity was, but we were also the first to come back. People want to buy in a master-planned community. They want that hometown feel.”

Fifteen years after the first sale, the Ranch offers new construction homes starting from about $130,000 to $5 million. This year alone in The Lake Club, 13 new homes have been sold with an av-

“

“

10A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

‘When we opened the (Summerfield Park) models, we had people standing in line from the front of the model to the curb on opening weekend.’

— Greg Spring

erage price of $2 million. And of the Ranch’s roughly 7,000 existing homes, only about 200 are on the Multiple Listing Service — a number Realtors consider indicative of a healthy home market.

“There’s a lot bigger variety of housing now,” Barnett said. “I never dreamed we would have The Lake Club and the multimillion dollar homes we have.”

And from a commercial standpoint, real estate in Lakewood Ranch has remained solid as well, said Brian Kennelly, president of Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty. Since 1997, Lakewood Ranch has gone from having no buildings to 2.5 million square feet of office space, plus 800,000 square feet of retail Ranch-wide.

And like the Ranch’s residential component, commercial properties are faring better in Lakewood Ranch than in Sarasota and Manatee counties, overall.

Recent statistics show the area’s lease and sublease space is 22% vacant compared to the 13.7% vacancy rate in Lakewood Ranch.

“It’s (because of) the community of Lakewood Ranch,” Kennelly said. “It’s the product we have to offer. It’s newer, fresher, cleaner and well maintained.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at peubanks@yourobserver.com.

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 11A

by Jen Blanco | Associate Editor

Sport of Kings

SARASOTA — Jaymie Klauber can’t remember a time when she wasn’t enamored with horses.

The Polo Grill and Bar co-owner’s father had her mounting horses well before she learned to walk.

But in 2001, after spending nearly a decade away from riding on a regular basis, Klauber returned to riding, taking her passion for the sport to the next level — this time on the polo field.

Klauber’s husband, Tommy, bought her a series of 10 polo lessons with a polo professional living at the Sarasota Polo Club, assuming his wife would only make it through about half of the lessons before losing interest.

Only the lessons had the opposite effect on Jaymie Klauber.

She quickly signed up for another set of polo lessons; and after a year, Jaymie Klauber had purchased three polo ponies and was a full-playing member of the Sarasota Polo Club.

“I guess you could say my first experience with polo, from watching the first game to hitting the first ball to scoring that first goal, led to a whole world built around horses, polo and the polo lifestyle,” Jaymie Klauber said.

“The polo community and the polo lifestyle are just something that I really like and enjoy.”

Six years after her first lesson, the Klaubers had purchased a seven-acre property in the Sarasota Polo Club with a house and

The Sarasota Polo Club will celebrate its 20th anniversary when the polo season kicks off with The Polo Grill and Bar Cup Dec. 19.

Courtesy of SMR

14-stall barn and started The Polo Bar and Grill in Lakewood Ranch. Today, they are one of 35 families who call the Sarasota Polo Club community home.

“I just love the club itself — it’s a gorgeous place to live,” Jaymie Klauber said. “It’s very hard to find an equestrian community that’s close to town and that’s not in the sticks.”

Sarasota Polo Club Manager Maggie Mitchell agreed.

“A lot of them don’t live here year-round, but they all embrace the community and all love horses,” Mitchell said of the homeowners.

The 130-acre Sarasota Polo Club was built in 1991 after Schroeder-Manatee Ranch executives decided to incorporate polo into the entity’s master-planned community. They saw polo as a way to help attract potential homebuyers and offer a unique experience to the expanding area.

Prior to the development of the club, local cowboys used the land to play ranch or backyard-style polo. Today, the Sarasota Polo Club, with its nine world-class fields and regulation-size arena, boasts the second largest membership in the country next to Palm Beach.

T S E W LO

We offer the

Polo leagues and tournaments, ranging from four to 14 goal, are played throughout the polo season, which runs from December to April. This year, the Sarasota Polo Club will celebrate its 20th anniversary when the polo season kicks off with The Polo Grill and Bar Cup Dec. 19.

But the fields aren’t only reserved for the game. The club has become a gathering place for the Lakewood Ranch community and has hosted dozens of the Ranch’s largest events, including the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, Jazz at the Ranch and the Man-

atee Economic Development Couincil’s annual Hob Nob BarB-Que. “There’s a sense of community throughout the year,” Mitchell said. “The polo season runs from December to April, but starting in the fall there’s something going on almost every weekend here.”

And every Sunday throughout the polo season, thousands of local residents and their families flock to the club with their picnic baskets in tow for an afternoon of tailgating, socializing and, of course, polo.

“It’s a really nice atmosphere to bring the family out,” Mitchell said. “They bring their picnic lunches, and it’s a really nice afternoon for everyone.”

During the polo season, one side of the field is reserved for tailgating, while the other is open to the public. Tailgating has become so popular in recent years that there is now a waiting list for space.

“We just love tailgating every Sunday,” Jaymie Klauber said.

“For us, it’s a very social thing, and I just love to be involved with horses.”

For more information on the Sarasota Polo Club, including the upcoming polo season schedule, visit its Web site at www.sarasotapolo.com.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblanco@yourobserver.com.

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12A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

Instant Impact boon for business

By nearly any measure, the economic impact of Lakewood Ranch on Manatee and Sarasota counties can be summed up in one word: Massive.

The amount of commercial real estate is stunning. For instance, 49% of the total square feet of office space leased in 2010 in Sarasota and Manatee counties, a metric called the absorption rate, occurred in Lakewood Ranch. In raw numbers, that translates to 29,991 square feet of space out of a total 60,824 square feet.

Moreover, in 15 years Lakewood Ranch has built more than 2 million total square feet of office space — about the same in downtown Sarasota.

Add in the more than 23,000 jobs the companies in Lakewood Ranch have produced and the economic multiplier impact is indeed dizzying.

Here’s another feat: Lakewood Ranch hit nearly all of the ambitious predictions set by prominent statewide economist Hank Fishkind in 2000, when he did an economic impact study for developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch.

Back then, Fishkind projected by 2012 Lakewood Ranch would have a total population of 14,780; more than 40,000 employees; more than 1,200 students; and, most importantly from a two-county economic impact perspective, an annual county surplus of $7.436 million and an annual school surplus of $12.711 million.

“The project will more than pay its own way,” Fishkind wrote in 2000. “In fact, Lakewood Ranch will generate significant fiscal surpluses to both county governments and to the school boards in Manatee and Sarasota counties.”

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

www.yourobserver.com

by Mark Gordon | Gulf Coast Business Review

Fishkind, based in Orlando, has followed Lakewood Ranch closely over the last decade and has done some work for the development, including a feasibility study over the issue of city incorporation.

No agency or economist has done a major economic impact study on Lakewood Ranch since Fishkind & Associates in 2000.

But several developers and builders, plus Fishkind and SMR President and CEO Rex Jensen, are hard-pressed to come up with another master-planned community in Florida with as much impact on two counties as Lakewood Ranch has had on Sarasota and Manatee.

Some developments in the discussion include Baldwin Park and Celebration, outside Orlando; Weston, in Broward County; and the Villages, an active-adult retirement community an hour north of Orlando. But those communities can’t match the mix of homes and businesses, snowbirds and families or daycares and medical schools of the Ranch.

Added Jensen: “I don’t know of anyone that’s had as much of a business and employment impact as we have.”

That impact can certainly be felt in a cross-section of businesses. It stretches from independently owned restaurants to a multi-million dollar coin grading operation. It also stretches from a cultured diamond manufacturer with worldwide clients to the headquarters of several heavyweight construction firms that do business in all of Florida and the Southeast.

Two companies in particular, however, standout in making a significant, and long-standing, economic impact on Lakewood Ranch: FCCI Insurance Group and Publix.

QUICK LOOK: Corporate Park

At 1,273 acres, Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park is home to more than 250 businesses. Some notable companies include: FCCI Insurance Company Gemesis Gold Coast Eagle Distributing Holiday Inn John Cannon Homes Keiser University & Everglades University Lee Wetherington Homes Pruett Builders Gold Coast Eagle DisRoper Industries tributing State College of Florida

The economies in Sarasota and Manatee counties experienced an unprecedented boom in the last 15 years. It’s no coincidence the boom times directly corresponded with the growth of Lakewood Ranch.

Courtesy photo

Crown jewel

Still, it was a calculated risk when FCCI broke ground on its massive corporate headquarters on University Parkway in 1999.

The company, which writes insurance plans for a variety of industries across 14 states, had outgrown its offices on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota. It sought a bigger space it could grow into.

But moving to the Ranch meant a commitment no other large corporate entity had made.

“We were fortunate because our board, and in particular, Russ Currin, could see the opportunities that Lakewood Ranch offered,” FCCI Executive Vice President Debbie Douglas said. “His enthusiasm and vision carried us forward.”

That vision now can be seen in one of the jewels of the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park: FCCI’s three-story, 260,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, which spans 42 acres and can withstand 120-mph winds. The building’s features includes a 65-foot atrium bordered by two sets of escalators and a 40,000-square-foot storage attic.

The FCCI headquarters also has the gratitude of SMR executives.

“It gave people the vision of how this could work,” said Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty President Brian Kennelly.

Loyal customers

More than 85 FCCI employees live in Lakewood Ranch, close to 25% of the company’s local workforce, which provides an

extra economic boost in terms of restaurant patrons and other economic impact factors.

Nonetheless, the gold standard for Lakewood Ranch companies with employees who live in the area — an essential economic impact factor — is Publix. Like FCCI, Publix took a gamble when it opened a store in the Lakewood Ranch Town Center on University Parkway in 1999. The company has since opened two more in Lakewood Ranch, one on State Road 64 and another on State Road 70.

“We’ve grown with the community,” Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten said. “We are very proud of that.”

The trio of stores employs nearly 500 people, from high school students to retirees. Patten declined to discuss the performance of individual stores, only to say the three Lakewood Ranch Publix stores “have very loyal” customers and the company hasn’t ruled out expansion in the community.

In leaving open the possibility of expansion, Publix hits on an economic impact element echoed by several other Lakewood Ranch businesses: There is land available to grow. That ability, said Fishkind, is part of what separates Lakewood Ranch from other master-planned communities in Florida and other areas in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

“Lakewood Ranch is one of a small number of projects in the state that has a made a significant impact on the area,” Fishkind said. “Its quality of development is superior.”

Risky Business Changing hospitals isn’t like trying a new restaurant or going to a new coffee shop.

It sometimes takes years for a hospital to become ingrained in a community, even longer if two respected hospitals are less than 20 miles away. And building a hospital is one of the most expensive projects around, costing hundreds of thousands per bed.

That’s what Universal Health Services executives faced in 2001 when they formulated a plan to build a hospital in Lakewood Ranch.

“Certainly, there was a risk, but Universal executives and SMR shared a vision,” said Lakewood Ranch Medical Center CEO Jim Wilson.

The plan came to fruition on September 2004, when the medical center opened. Six years later, the facility can boast a significant and demonstrable impact to the local economy. It has 400 employees and it has also drawn a cluster of medical practices and professionals to the community.

Wilson said the hospital’s economic impact on the community is a work in progress.

“We don’t anticipate being a 120-bed hospital forever,” Wilson said. “We certainly plan on expanding services as the community develops.”

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 13A

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business

by Jen Blanco | Associate Editor

Joining Forces

The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance was founded in 2005 as a way to unite local businesses within the Lakewood Ranch region.

Fifteen years ago, the Lakewood Ranch business community was anything but booming. But as the 8,500-acre community began to take shape, more families began to call Lakewood Ranch home. With more residents came more business professionals, but at the time, there weren’t very many resources available for Ranchbased entrepreneurs and business professionals.

That changed in 2004 when a small group of individuals who were new to Lakewood Ranch — including Lou Marinaccio, Bob DeCecco and Craig Cerreta — met after attending Marc Simms a number of groundbreaking ceremonies within the Ranch.

The men began discussing ways to help promote one another’s businesses while also bringing exposure to the Ranch.

Soon, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance was born.

“The catalyst was that we all had something in common,” Marinaccio said. “We wanted to share the environment we enjoyed with many more people. (Because) all of us are from somewhere else, we decided that we needed a mechanism or format that would allow us to meet, exchange ideas, socialize and promote our individual business.”

In 2005, the organization’s bylaws were complete, and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance became a charter. Within a

year, the volunteer organization’s membership had grown to about 110 members.

Today, the alliance, which hosts monthly networking socials and briefings and bimonthly membership luncheons, among other events, boasts more than 430 corporate members and 200 group members.

“There’s no old-boy network out here,” Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance board chairman Marc Simms said. “(Our members) are really understanding and put others first. I think that’s what makes this organization so special.

“They really understand the power of connecting and sharpening the saw to get better at what you do,” he said.

Initially, the alliance’s goal was to establish the business community as the hub for relocation of businesses, Marinaccio said.

Today, the organization continues its mission by trying to bring voice, vision and visibility to the Ranch by uniting businesses locally and in the surrounding areas.

“There’s a support system for companies through the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance,” LWR Commercial Realty President and Schroeder-Manatee Ranch liaison Brian Kennelly said. “The alliance plays a part of the identity of our corporate identity.”

Simms agreed.

“I see this being the incubator for smallto medium-sized businesses to get together and a place to attract new businesses to the Lakewood Ranch area,” he said.

For more information, visit the organization’s Web site at www.lwrba.org.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblanco@yourobserver.com.

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smr farms

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 15A

2010/2011 EvEnTS in

by Michael Eng | Executive Editor

LAkewood

Ranch

Michael Eng

SMR Farms President Mac Carraway works with other Schroeder-Manatee Ranch leaders to help transition the land from agriculture to development.

Lay of the Land Although Lakewood Ranch’s residential and commercial components garner most of the attention, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s 48 square miles were home to an agricultural operation long before the first home was ever built.

David Kushner, author of : Levittown - Two Families, One Tycoon, And the Fight for Civil Rights in America’s Legendary Suburb

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All of SMR Farms’ oranges are sold to Tropicana.

see the conversion of agriculture land off University Parkway just east of Lorraine Road into what now is The Lake Club.

“In one year, we saw a large farming operation turn into The Lake Club,” Carraway says. “It was pretty amazing.”

Still, even as development continues to take over SMR’s property in Manatee and Sarasota, the company’s tradition in agriculture remains a permanent stamp on Lakewood Ranch. Many lawns feature SMR Farms grass and trees, and through careful planning, much of the developed area still features much of the land’s natural beauty.

“We want to embrace that heritage,” Carraway says. “It’s no accident that the word ‘Ranch’ is part of the community’s name.”

In 2009, SMR Farms expanded off SMR property by leasing 200 acres in St. Cloud. There, the division is growing several varieties of sod, including St. Augustine and Empire Zoysia. Carraway says he sees tremendous opportunity in the East Coast operation, and SMR Farms has the opportunity to expand up to 600 acres there.

“It’s a great area,” Carraway says. “And it is helpful to be closer to that East Coast market.”

For more information about SMR Farms, visit www.smrfarms.com or call 708-3322.

Contact Michael Eng at meng@yourobserver.com.

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Although nearly 7,000 homes are mere minutes away, you’d never know it. Outside SMR Farms’ headquarters on Lorraine Road just north of State Road 70, President Mac Carraway smiles.

“I like seeing that,” he says as a trailer hauling a full load of trees rumbles down the road.

Most know Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s operations through Lakewood Ranch, SMR’s 8,500-acre master-planned community. But SMR’s business on its 31,000 acres stretches much further back, long before Lakewood Ranch ever was a glint in Mary Fran Carroll’s eye.

Almost immediately after the Uihlein family acquired nearly SMR’s 48 square miles in 1922, it launched timber and ranching activities.

“This was a long way from civilization (back then),” Carraway says, chuckling.

Today, SMR Farms carries on that rich agricultural tradition with operations in cattle, citrus, sod and trees. The agriculture component still occupies a major portion of the SMR land, with about 1,000 acres devoted to turf (sod), 1,300 acres for citrus, 400 acres for trees and about 10,000 acres of pasture land for cattle. SMR Farms also leases about 1,800 acres for other agricultural uses.

Developers from as far away as South Carolina and Texas have purchased SMR’s sod and trees, while 100% of the farm’s oranges are sold to Tropicana. The farm’s Brangus cattle (3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus) are sold both into the beef market as well as to producers seeking replacement heifers.

In addition to all of its products, SMR Farms also maintains Heritage Ranch Conservation Easement, an 1,800-acre parcel permanently preserved as habitat.

And even though the Lakewood Ranch community is the beginning of a long transition from agriculture to development, in these first 15 years, the two land uses have found a harmonious coexistence.

“This (type of ) integration isn’t unheard of, but it is uncommon,” Carraway says. “And Lakewood Ranch and SMR is the ultimate expression of that.

“It’s a long-term process to convert to development, and as agriculture converts to schools, parks, roads, it’s all highly managed,” he says. “Now, we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first home being sold, but there was an enormous amount of planning before that.”

In fact, shortly after Carraway assumed the helm at SMR Farms in November 2004, one of his first duties was to over-

Thursday, November 11 at 5:00 pm

16A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

by Pam Eubanks | News Editor

And here’s to 15 more …

The complete build-out of Lakewood Ranch is still decades away, but developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch has plans to make the community more urban in nature over the next 15 years and beyond. ponent as we move forward with those two DRIs north of State Road 70.”

SMR hopes to start work on an apartment complex across from Lakewood Ranch High School in early 2011. The first phase includes 272 units, although approvals allow for 488 residences.

The company also is working toward opening its first age-targeted community with housing options and amenities intended to attract senior citizens.

“It’s a segment we have never really catered to here,” Jensen said.

Jensen also said he hopes to create a concept like that seen at The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch in Sarasota, where senior citizens spend the rest of their lives in place within their community, changing only their physical address and how much nursing assistance they require without leaving the Glenridge’s gates.

“It’s imperative we do it,” Jensen said. “About 17,500 people live here now. What do you do with mom and dad? Any place I can fit (this concept) in, (I will).

The Windsor is well done, but it’s at capacity.”

“

Jensen said discussions with various entities are under way, but the project likely will not come to fruition for at least several years.

He also wants to add more schools — potentially charter schools, military academies and opportunities for lifelong learning — as well as more places for worship. Jensen said he’s particularly interested in bringing a synagogue to the area because 10% of Lakewood Ranch residents are Jewish.

“What I’m hoping is that Lakewood Centre will follow on the heels of those things,” Jensen said. “I have to pave the way (for commercial development) with rooftops, and that’s my most immediate goal.”

SMR still is committed to bringing jobs to the area as well as more entertainment, shopping and dining options for residents.

Jensen said he still hopes to resurrect plans for a bowling alley or similar project, as well as for some type of multi-purpose performance venue — despite failed attempts for both in the past.

“We need to continue to nurture that along,” he said.

‘As we’re maturing, we’re going to see a trend away from the suburban development form that comprises most of what is Lakewood Ranch today.’ — Todd Pokrywa, SMR

Congratulations!

Keiser University and Keiser University’s Center for Culinary Arts are proudly located in the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park going on 10 years!

Congratulations “Lakewood Ranch” on your 15th Anniversary!

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The Villages project, approved

by Sarasota County commissioners May 12, will bring nearly 5,100 homes — many of which will be workforce and affordable housing — to the area immediately around the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park. Plans show a walkable, compact clustered development with neighborhood centers, conservation areas and more than 160 acres for parks. Construction on the project’s first phase is expected to start in late 2012 at the earliest, Pokrywa said.

Farther north, the Northwest Sector and Lakewood Centre DRIs will bring millions of square feet of office and retail space and thousands of homes to an area spanning roughly from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to the west and State Road 70 to the south to the 44th Avenue Extension to the north and to just west of Lorraine Road.

SMR already has started design and permitting to widen Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to four lanes between State Roads 64 and S.R. 70 in preparation.

“Our target is to have that construction done within 24 months,” Pokrywa said. “It’ll be a function of how quickly we get it permitted. It’s full-steam ahead.

That’s the most important com-

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To date, Lakewood Ranch could safely be described as a suburban community.

A driver meandering down Lakewood Ranch Boulevard between State Road 70 and University Parkway would never guess the roadway divides nearly 7,000 homes and hundreds of miles of trails, parks and other amenities.

“You don’t feel them,” Rex Jensen, president and CEO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, said of the impact of the homes. “It’s because of that start, we are what we are today. We’ve established a good, solid critical mass.”

As SMR heads into the next 15 years, the company already has big plans for growth with three development of regional impact approvals in hand.

“As we’re maturing, we’re going to see a trend away from the suburban development form that comprises most of what is Lakewood Ranch today to more of an urban development form,” SMR Vice President of Planning Todd Pokrywa said. “We’ve set the stage for that in approvals.”

Altogether, the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, the Northwest Sector and Lakewood Centre DRIs will bring thousands of homes and jobs to the area and create more urban, higher density mixed-use areas.

Jensen also remains committed to constructing a sports complex adjacent to the Lakewood Ranch Post Office and hopes to open the first phase of the facility around April 2011. The project, he said, will create an economic stimulus for the area, as well as opportunities for complementary businesses to come to the Ranch.

Additionally, the recent announcement by Sanborn Studios to produce television shows and independent films from its new facility in the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park cannot be ignored. Like the sports complex, the company will be an economic driver and unique marketing tool, Jensen said.

Remaining details of future development are still on the drawing board, and much of the development will be dictated by market demand, Pokrywa said. But both he and Jensen are confident the more urban-style development planned for Lakewood Ranch’s future will not drastically change the face of the community.

“The architectural character is something we’ve been very careful to guard, and that theme would carry out,” Pokrywa said.

“It’ll have some variation, but it (will be the) same standards as existing Lakewood Ranch.”

Jensen said SMR also plans to continue its commitment to green initiatives and other themes that have made Lakewood Ranch successful as a community.

Contact Pam Eubanks at peubanks@yourobserver.com.

“

the future

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

18A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary why I love Lakewood Ranch

www.yourobserver.com

by Michael Eng | Executive Editor

ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS In celebration of Lakewood Ranch’s 15th anniversary, The East County Observer partnered with Synovus Bank to host an essay contest open to students attending Lakewood Ranch-based schools.

The theme: What I love most about Lakewood Ranch.

And our young minds didn’t disappoint.

We received hundreds of entries from every school — Braden River, Gullett, McNeal and Willis elementaries, Braden River and Nolan middle schools, Lakewood Ranch High School and Imagine

Sarah Cox

Seventh grade, Nolan Middle School I love living in Lakewood Ranch for many reasons — among them are Main Street, our green spaces and my school filled with my friends and neighbors. The day my parents moved here was a lucky day for me.

One reason I love Lakewood Ranch is because of Main Street. I enjoy going to all the cute shops like Dragonfly, Random and The Stacked Heel. There are many other shops that I enjoy going to, but these three in particular are my favorite. There are lots of great places to eat on Main Street. No two are the same; this makes it impossible to pick a favorite place to eat. Lastly, I enjoy going to Main Street because of Lakewood

Ranch Cinemas. There is always something interesting playing. So you can catch a movie, then go out to dinner and end the day with a little shopping. Also, if you’re in need of something to cool you down, you can go to Big Olaf ’s. They have the best ice cream ever!

Another reason I love Lakewood Ranch is because of all the green areas. When I say green areas, I mean places where you can walk, fish and see the nature around you.

Some think Lakewood Ranch is just an overdeveloped country club, but they’re wrong.

I’ve seen many amazing plants and animals here like otters, deer, gopher tortoises, red-shouldered hawks and many more. You can also go fishing; in fact, I caught my first fish in Lakewood Ranch! I was about 6. My dad and I decided it was the perfect day to go fishing. After he showed me how to cast the line about 50 times, he let me try. It took me a minute, but soon I cast my line far enough to not

nce 19 i s e m o

get caught in the waterweeds around the edge. Roughly 20 minutes later, my dad got a bite. He reeled it in, and we took a picture. It made me excited, so I kept waiting for a fish. Slowly but surely, a small-mouth bass tugged on my line! I was happy; I’d caught my first fish!

The last thing I love about Lakewood Ranch is school. Believe it or not, I truly enjoy school. Not only do I get to work with friends on cool projects, but I also get to have wonderful experiences like history fair, science fair and all sorts of other things.

Currently, I’m working on my history and science fair projects. These are probably my two favorite competitions because you can learn new things and teach your classmates and family about your project’s topic.

To conclude, I really love living in Lakewood Ranch. I can’t picture myself living anywhere else. This is why, when I grow up, I want to be a vet with my own practice here, in Lakewood Ranch!

Naomi Burg

Fourth grade, McNeal Elementary School Perfect parks, luxurious lakes and truly beautiful trees ... I must be at Lakewood Ranch. Did you know that I’ve lived here five years?

Lakewood Ranch is known for its special environment and its kind citizens. I love Lakewood Ranch because of its Main Street, the soft fall wind, and its schools like Pinnacle Academy.

First, Main Street. There are many activities to do there. I like looking in the store windows.

Sometimes they have lime green or cherry red dresses. It’s awesome to go to the movie theater.

There are great movies like “Wall-e.” I really like that one. It’s very funny when “Wall-e” is riding in space on a fire extinguisher.

Next, in the fall the wind is so cool and fresh.

I love walking along thinking more clearly then in the hot summer. My grandfather likes to walk with me and thinks I’ll get cold. My parents think so too, but until winter, I’m never cold. Fall is also beautiful in Lakewood Ranch because of the great gorgeous plants.

Of course, another reason is Pinnacle Academy. I appreciate it because there are many children that have dilemmas like autism. My brother, Noah has autism. I try to be a good older sister, but sometimes it’s hard to because he doesn’t always understand me. Just the same I know that he loves me as much as I love him.

I appreciate all the hard effort Pinnacle does for kids with autism. I mean if I was autistic, I’d be frustrated that no one would understand me. Wouldn’t you be frustrated if not even one person could understand you or know what you needed? In fact, that’s why I appreciate it so much to think one day my brother might be able to talk and to tell me if he wanted to play with me. That’s why I appreciate Pinnacle Academy.

In conclusion, I wish that Noah will get better at Pinnacle Academy. I hope that fall’s winds won’t leave me, and I recommend you visit Main Street.

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all u r H C o ud tRanch O o r P od wo e k a

School of Lakewood Ranch. And judging from the students’ creativity and praise, there’s plenty to love about Lakewood Ranch.

Our judges chose one winner for third, fourth and fifth grades as well as one from middle school and one from high school. In addition to publication here, each will receive a $100 savings account from Synovus Bank.

We congratulate participants in this contest and hope you, the reader, enjoy Lakewood Ranch as told through the words of our students.

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 19A

Alaina Megill

Anthony Pistella

Lakewood Ranch is the most beautiful place in the world! The sky is blue, the grass is green, and the weather is the best I have ever seen.

The flowers have color, the clouds are white, but the sun is very bright.

Lakewood Ranch is the home to Imagine School, where the teachers are cool. The Broken Egg is my favorite place to eat; the people there are very neat. The parks are fun for me and my dog. I also enjoy catching the big brown frog.

Lakewood Ranch is fun for all, even if you are not tall! No matter what you do, Lakewood Ranch is fun for you!

Which town is the best town in this state? Lakewood Ranch of course! Why do you ask? If you want to be at a place where you feel comfortable, Lakewood Ranch is the place to be!

Lakewood Ranch is so comforting because of its gorgeous landscaping. I mean, wouldn’t you feel comfortable if there were beautiful trees, flowers, green grass and bushes all around you? I know I would. If I were looking out the window in a car, the landscaping would be so peaceful and so astonishing that I could fall asleep. By the way, that is a compliment.

Third grade, Imagine School of Lakewood Ranch

Theresa Novak

Senior, Lakewood Ranch High School Our family moved to the Lakewood Ranch area just before Christmas of 1999. I was only 6 years old and prepared to begin the second half of my first-grade year after the holiday break was over.

On Christmas Day that year, after we opened our presents and attended church as is our custom, we all went to the Lakewood Ranch Summerfield Park and spent the day playing on the swings and monkey bars. My sister, Natalie, was 4, and my brother Nick almost 1 year old. Everything was new and exciting at the park, and I felt lucky to have such a nice place to play so close to our home. We have spent countless hours at the park over the years to include several birthday parties. First impressions are lasting.

Time passes quickly, and I now find

Fifth grade, Willis Elementary School

myself 17 years old and a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School. I even have my very own parking spot for those special days I drive to school.

Even more exciting, I just found out this week that I have been granted early acceptance to the University of South Florida for the fall semester of 2011, where I plan to pursue a degree in education and become a teacher.

I have had so many wonderful teachers over the past 11 years while attending Braden River Elementary, Braden River Middle and Lakewood Ranch High schools.

They have inspired me to carry on their important work, which is so critical to the long-term success and prosperity of our youth and nation. All this seems to have happened in a mere blink of an eye, but now I fully realize and appreciate how the Lakewood Ranch community has been such a positive influence on my development and just a great place to grow up.

There are few communities anywhere that are as safe and so well maintained as Lakewood Ranch. We can easily become spoiled by the pristine nature of

Almost everyone at Lakewood Ranch is kind. It’s a like everyone in Lakewood Ranch was born with a lovely heart. If you fell off your bike, trust me, someone will give you a towel for your injury. If you were out of water, stuck on the grass on the side of a highway and you were there for hours, thirsty as ever, someone would give you water. And believe me, that is 100% true.

If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful place to live, Lakewood Ranch is the place to be. If you are just outside relaxing on your hammock, you will fall asleep for sure. I know that is true because one day I was just outside reading, and I almost fell asleep.

That happened because the outdoors were that relaxing.

We can say without a doubt, that Lakewood Ranch is very comforting because of its beautiful landscape, considerate people and its quietness.

our daily surroundings. Towering palm trees, beautiful lakes and preserves surround us. You don’t see trash blowing around or roads riddled with potholes.

The lush landscaping and common areas rival Disney’s famous Celebration community in Orlando. People of all ages can safely ride their bikes on designated trails and wide sidewalks to go see a movie or to eat out at many wonderful restaurants.

I now understand the meaning of a “master-planned community.” There is nothing left to chance, and everything has a purpose. It is when friends and family come to visit from other parts of the country that we are clearly reminded just how wonderful and unique things are here at the Ranch.

Our community takes pride in protecting the environment by reducing the travel distance required to reach those everyday places we need to go such as grocery stores, banks and entertainment. The result is less gas used, less exhaust fumes in our air and less noise and traffic. The large “green belts” balance our housing, offices and retail areas and allows nature to thrive

in concert with the residents. Wildlife is abundant; sandhill cranes, ospreys, wild pigs, armadillos, deer and even a bobcat have been seen from our kitchen window. You are not likely to find this type of animal preserve in downtown New York, Cleveland or Chicago outside of a zoo. I guess that is why so many people have found their way to Lakewood Ranch and why they keep coming.

In these days of troubling news and fragile economies, we can all take comfort with the fact that we live in one of the greatest places on earth.

Lakewood Ranch provides us a sanctuary where we can feel safe and secure.

A community of neighbors who value beauty, nature and take pride in everything they do. Where “Main Street” still means a central place where people regularly gather for holidays and special events to share the joy of the moment. I am so blessed to have grown up here and to have made so many friends.

Lakewood Ranch is more than just a great Florida location; it is my home. It is a big part of who I am … and I am so grateful to be part of it.

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

20A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary

RUNNERS UP Alex Kumar

Fourth grade, Willis Elementary School I would eat one million cockroaches just to live in Lakewood Ranch another year. I think Lakewood Ranch is the best place to live in the world because they have the most exciting and entertaining Main Street with wonderful Japanese food, authentic Italian food and many other delicious foods.

Main Street is also home to many great shops that you can’t get enough of. I think when it comes to holidays, Main Street knows how to theme and decorate. It just makes the holidays even more joyful and exciting. Another reason I love Lakewood Ranch is because of the tennis courts and tennis lessons. They have the best coaches that work you out, and over time, you will become a great tennis player. They have the very enjoyable and competitive tennis team. My sister is in it, and she loves it.

I recommend to live in Lakewood Ranch no matter what. I’m like a paper clip, and Lakewood Ranch is the magnet. I’m attached to Lakewood Ranch, and nobody can pull me away.

Aly Cordova

Fourth grade, McNeal Elementary School Beautiful sunsets, a great place to live and a safe place to live — of course I am talking about Lakewood Ranch, the loveliest place to live.

Did you know I lived in Lakewood Ranch for five years? Lakewood Ranch was built 15 years ago. I love Lakewood Ranch because its a great place to jog, has big houses to live in, and McNeal Elementary is the greatest school on earth.

First of all, Lakewood Ranch is a great place to jog. My mom and I like to jog early mornings and late afternoons. When we go jogging, we stop and look at river by my house. The river looks beautiful when the sun rises early in the mornings.

Second, the houses are huge. I live in a two-story house in a neighborhood called Walk. My room is on the second story on the left. My little brother and I have to share a room, but it’s not that bad because he’s not even in the room that often. We have two-and-a-half bathrooms in the whole house and three rooms — one for my mom, one for my big brother and one for my little brother and me.

Finally, the best school on earth is McNeal Elementry. I have gone to McNeal Elementary for four years. The teachers at my school are really nice. My teacher this year is Mrs. Swartling. Mrs. Swartling is fair, pretty, nice and smart. She is the greatest teacher a kid can ask for.

As one can see, I love Lakewood Ranch. Lakewood Ranch is a great place to jog, has huge houses to live in, and the school is awesome. I wish I could live in Lakewood Ranch forever. I hope I will jog 15 miles one day. I recommend you should live in Lakewood Ranch.

Alessia DiRende

Fourth grade, Imagine School of Lakewood Ranch Lakewood Ranch has so many pretty things to see and do.

Main Street has a lot of fun stuff almost every week and especially every holiday, but there are only a few of my favorite ones like the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch is where I go to trick or treat every year, and they pass out lots and lots of candy. They also have lots of cool games to play. My favorite thing to do is to take a picture near the scary pumpkin patch. Then when I go home, I like to eat all the yummy candy, and when I have no more candy, I will say, “Mom! My brothers ate all my candy!”

There is also Holidays Around the Ranch, which is another one of my favorites. I love to see all the pretty decorations around the holiday time.

It also has a lot of cool things to do like ice skating, horse and carriage rides and photos in front of the biggest holiday

tree I have ever seen. It’s so much fun to live in Lakewood Ranch.

The other thing I like about Lakewood Ranch is the lake. The lake is a nice place to go and relax. Sometimes, my dad will take me fishing, and the fishes are pretty big! Last time when I went fishing, the fish bit off my line, and it took some of my string too. I had to fix the line again, and I made sure it didn’t break again. Another time when I went fishing, my brother almost caught an alligator. My dad was so quick that he had to cut the line; otherwise, we would have been alligator bait. That would have not been nice for us but good for the alligator.

The last thing I love about Lakewood Ranch is my neighborhood. My neighborhood is filled with lots of kids and fields to run around in. Every day after school, we go out and play kickball in the field. We also like to get together and just hang out and play outside our houses. Our neighborhood is filled with lots of cool people.

This is why I love Lakewood Ranch!

Luke LeCroy

Allison Cullen

Why do I like to live in Lakewood Ranch? Well, it has wild animals, and I’ve seen a bobcat. Isn’t that cool?

Sometimes, we see movies at Main Street, Lakewood Ranch Cinemas.

Also, the fishing place — I love that.

I catch bass in that awesome lake, and we see an alligator. His name is Worm Boy. That’s what we call him because he takes our worms.

In the park, I play basketball with my brother and always beat him.

So that’s why I like wonderful Lakewood Ranch with all the fun and amazing animals and lakes. That’s why I like Lakewood Ranch.

There are many reasons that I love Lakewood Ranch. I go to school in Lakewood Ranch, and I live there as well. My dance class is at Jump Dance Studios, and my family and I like to go to many of the restaurants that the Ranch has to offer.

We go to Main Street on the first Friday of every month and listen to music, and I always see a lot of my friends.

Summerfield Park is where I like to go on Saturday mornings, and my neighborhood has a park. I can even take my dog, Coco, too.

I would not want to live anywhere else. Lakewood Ranch is home to me.

Third grade, Braden River Elementary School

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

www.yourobserver.com

Third grade, Imagine School of Lakewood Ranch

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Shelby Ryskamp

Sixth grade, Braden River Middle School Lakewood Ranch is the best place in the world to live. I love living in Lakewood Ranch because of all the beautiful nature, friendly neighbors and the activities!

The first reason why I love living in Lakewood Ranch is because of all the beautiful nature. Every morning, I look out my window and see sparkling ponds, blue skies and many different kinds of birds. Lakewood Ranch is also nationally recognized for its 150 miles of winding nature trails filled with animals everywhere you look. My family and I love to ride our bikes on these trails, stopping at the many different parks as we go on by.

Another reason why I love living in Lakewood Ranch is because of the friendly neighbors. In this town, nobody is treated like a stranger. When you walk down the sidewalk, people will wave and smile like you’re a lifelong friend. One thing I’ve noticed since moving here about a year ago is that every day, you will see dozens of

Hayley Tisone

Fifth grade, Imagine School of Lakewood Ranch As soon as my mom pulled into the Main Street parking lot, my sister, Hannah, and I froze.

“Let’s go shopping,” we yelled.

We hopped out of the car, and Hannah ran to the enormous fountain. She tossed in two coins, and I ran to watch the coins sink.

We were pushed and shoved in a swarm of people. Finally, on the horizon, I saw a large sign above that read “Obsessories.”

I took hold of my wallet. Everything was going through my head. What to buy? Do I need it? Well, actually, that is not a question — of course I needed it! A tiny bell dinged as we walked in.

Wonderful items surrounded us.

Hannah and I went searching for the

people with baby strollers and dogs walking up and down the streets talking and laughing as they go along.

Finally, I love living in Lakewood Ranch because of the activities. The Youth Fishing Tournament is an exciting event in Summerfield Lake. The winners get a shiny trophy and a brand new fishing pole.

The Boo Fest takes place on Main Street every October. Here, you can celebrate the excitement of Halloween while, of course, gathering candy from the shops to the side of the parade that marches on by. In December, there is no better way to begin the holiday season than with the fun celebration of Holidays Around the Ranch on Main Street. Music on Main is an event that takes place on the first Friday of every month that is also on Main Street. There are so many things to enjoy such as music, food and entertainment.

As you can see, Lakewood Ranch is an amazing area, and it truly is the best place in the world to live. If you don’t live here, I encourage you come and be a part of our growing community! perfect item. Hannah found some cute cups and stuffed toys. I hadn’t been impressed by anything until a tiny glass bird caught my eye. It had my name all over it.

I ran to the counter with the bird and had my wallet in reach. This bird was mine!

My mom then took us to Arts-a-Blaze.

We took a seat next to the door and picked out our pottery to paint. We went to the counter and picked out our colors. Hannah got a fish, and I got a small cone-shaped bowl. Hannah’s fish was very colorful, and my bowl was white and teal. We put them in a small, silver and black oven. When they dried, the colors were ever brighter, and we could take our artwork home. After that, mom took us to Ed’s Tavern for a sandwich. YUM! There are many things to love about Lakewood Ranch, but when you’re a girl turning 11, shopping is most important!

on the Ranch...

Happy Anniversary Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary from Natural Natural Discoveries from Discoveries from Natural Discoveries

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11520 Palmbrush Trail Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 941-727-9990

Kids ‘R’ Kids Kids School of Lakewood Ranch Kids Ranch is celebrating 10 years years this this November.

November.

We continue to provide quality quality care care and learning experiences for young children. learning children.

Visit or Visit us us at at www.kidsrkids.net www.kidsrkids.net or in person at: 11520 Trail 11520 Palmbrush Palmbrush Trail Lakewood Ranch, Lakewood Ranch, FL FL 34202 34202 941-727-9990 941-727-9990

014555

8131Main MainStreet Street 320 320 John Ringling 8131 John Ringling BlvdBlvd 8131 Main Street 320 John Ringling LakewoodRanch Ranch Armands Blvd Lakewood St.St. Armands Lakewood Ranch St. Armands 907-0029 388-1600 907-0029 388-1600 388-1600 907-0029

Kids ‘R’ Kids School of Lakewood Ranch is celebrating 10 years this November.

We continue to provide quality care and learning experiences for young children.

Visit us at www.kidsrkids.net or in person at:

014555

It’s be It’s good good to be It’s to be on the ongood the Ranch...

Ranch...

Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 21A

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

22A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary Fourth grade, McNeal Elementary School Wow I love Lakewood Ranch! Did you know that I’ve lived here for seven years? These are the three reasons why I love Lakewood Ranch: all the friends I have, everything is close, and all sorts of different homes.

There is always someone that you know and always someone to play with. Everyone I know is so nice. Whenever I play something with a friend, we always want to play the same thing. We always get along well.

When you are in Lakewood Ranch, everything is close to you — fun places to go like the park, the Polo Club and Main Street. I also like to go to awesome restaurants. Usually, I go to Quiznos, Subway and Applebee’s. I also go to swim team at the Country Club Athletic Center.

And last but not least, there are all sorts of homes. There are houses that you can live in, condos and senior citizen centers. Plus more, I just didn’t name them all. I think that’s a lot of houses.

OK, I have to wrap it up now. Remember what I talked about, well here they are. The friends I have, everything is close and all the homes we have. I recommend you go to Lakewood Ranch. I hope you go there also. I wish I never leave.

Julie Lichterman

Seventh grade, Nolan Middle School After opening my door, my perfectly landscaped lawn greets me. I enter the serene and tranquil community of wonderful Lakewood Ranch. The most beautiful sweet breeze fills the nostrils of not only myself but my incredibly friendly neighbors, too. Everyone is civilly retrieving their mail (part of the daily routine). Friendly hand gestures get passed, along with the breeze from house to house. Children on bikes pass, also enjoying their wonderfully safe neighborhood, and the residents, both young and old, who live in it.

Lakewood Ranch is a great place to grow up and raise a family. Being a very health-conscious community, athletic events are commonly held around different subdivisions the whole family can enjoy. It’s close to some of the best

Phoebe Abraham-Bond

about the weather in Lakewood Ranch is you get to go in the pool! The palm trees here are so cool because I love climbing them. The sprinklers are so pretty; I love running under them! The BACON here is the best of the best because it is so crunchy and munchy. It’s the best!

The wilderness here is cool. I’ve seen a turtle and an alligator. When I go into the malls here, I always go in to Claire’s and buy hair bands and earrings.

Jean Bernard Ozit Jr.

I admire all the parks in the city of Lakewood Ranch. I cherish that all the houses look really gorgeous; that makes me feel that I live somewhere expensive. I think Lakewood Ranch could be the No. 1 city in Florida.

I adore Lakewood Ranch because you go out stand right next to a river and just feel so relaxed that you feel like you’re at the best spa ever. I really love the style of Lakewood Ranch. I’m a 100% sure that Lakewood Ranch will make anybody feel like you live in paradise. Lakewood Ranch will always look good like it has for the past 15 years.

That’s why I love living in Lakewood Ranch.

Third grade, B.D. Gullett Elementary School My name is Phoebe. I am a third-grader, and I live in Lakewood Ranch Greenbrook Village.

I’ve only just moved here about 12 weeks ago from the UK. As soon as moved here, I noticed the weather is a lot nicer than the UK. In the UK, it is always raining and is cloudy. The best thing

Fourth grade, Braden River Elementary School Lakewood Ranch is a beautiful city where many people would really love to live. My family and I moved to Lakewood Ranch last month, and we don’t regret it.

These are the things I like about Lakewood Ranch. I admire the area because it’s quiet, and people always great you. I love that as it makes me feel welcome to the place. You’ll always see somebody wave at you from his or her house or car. There are so many nice river views.

public schools in Manatee County, and it’s easy to walk there from home. Filled with more than 150 miles of trails and sidewalks, Lakewood Ranch has an extremely organized road crossing system, and crossing guards who make it safer and easier to get to and from school.

Lakewood Ranch is not just great for children; it is also an amazing place to grow older. Golfers can find world-class golfing opportunities at the Ritz-Carlton golf course. Lakewood Ranch also has a wide assortment of park and recreational facilities for the entire family, including a dog park. Some parks are passive to just enjoy the natural surroundings and others have active recreational facilities including tennis courts, a hockey rink, multiple soccer fields and even polo grounds. Many lakes create an area of tranquility and a peaceful place to partake in quiet indoor or outdoor activities such as reading, fishing, playing a board

game or having a normal conversation.

And the fun doesn’t stop there! Lakewood Ranch Main Street is a wonderful place to meet new neighbors from all around Lakewood Ranch and see some great merchants such as Wish, Little Bookworms, Arts-a-Blaze and more.

They have a number of restaurants and a fantastic movie theater. Main Street holds many events for as much family fun possible.

Across from Main Street is none other than Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

This very convenient hospital has a great staff ready for anything (which I can personally attest to after needing stitches from a rollerblading accident).

One of the most incredible aspects of living in Lakewood Ranch is how the community has been designed to be in harmony with the natural environment.

Wetlands are found everywhere and bird

sanctuaries are also found everywhere.

Sandhill cranes are often seen along many of the roadways. One of the most overlooked aspects of Lakewood Ranch is that it is still an active agricultural ranch. Everything from sod farming, tomato growing, cattle ranching and tree farming are all ongoing activities.

All in all, growing up in Lakewood Ranch is great because. How often do you see an amazing planned, oldfashioned neighborhood where you get the peaceful serenity, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city? Not very often. What is amazing about Lakewood Ranch is that it gives you the opportunity to live, work and play in a self-contained community.

That’s where Lakewood Ranch and its unique originality come in.

Celebrating 15 exciting years of happiness! Happy 15th Anniversary Lakewood Ranch!

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Megan Peters

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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Lakewood Ranch Anniversary 23A

Some call it Lakewood Ranch.

We call it home.

The corporate headquarters of FCCI Insurance Group can be found in a state-of-the-art, 260,000-square-foot building located at 6300 University Parkway in Lakewood Ranch.

FCCI’s corporate headquarters houses 386 out of 669 total employees in four regions dedicated to serving the commercial property & casualty needs of our independent agents and policyholders located throughout the Southeast and Midwest.

We’re proud of our Sarasota heritage since 1959, and proud to call Lakewood Ranch home since 2001.

www.fcci-group.com (941) 907-3224 46247

The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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The EAST COUNTY Observer THURSDAY, october 14, 2010

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24A Lakewood Ranch Anniversary