Ave Maria, Florida

Ave Maria, Florida, United States, is a planned college town currently under development in Collier County, near Immokalee and Naples.[4]

Ave Maria, Florida
unincorporated community
Ave Maria University in the center of Ave Maria, Florida.
Ave Maria, Florida
Location within Florida
Coordinates: 26°20′12″N 81°26′12″W
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountyCollier
Elevation18 ft (6 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
34142
Area code(s)239
FIPS code12-47625[2]
GNIS feature ID0287528[3]
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Ave Maria, Florida is an unincorporated community that was founded in 2005 by Ave Maria Development Company, a partnership consisting of the Barron Collier Companies and the Ave Maria Foundation led by Roman Catholic philanthropist Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and the leader of Ave Maria University at the time.[5] Monaghan served as chancellor of Ave Maria University until February 2011.[6] The development of the town was made possible when the Florida legislature created the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, a limited local government whose purpose is to provide community infrastructure, including community development systems, facilities, services, projects, and improvements.[7] In 2015-16, it was ranked the 40th top-selling master planned community in the United States, out of 230 such communities tracked.[8]

Commerce

Ave Maria is home to various institutions and businesses. Local news is covered by a monthly print magazine, Ave Maria Neighbors, which shares stories of local families, a calendar of events, and topics of human interest in the community.[9][10][11]

Ave Maria Oratory
The band Scythian performs at a festival in front of the Ave Maria Oratory with Annunciation sculpture visible in the background.

The town was planned with the large Ave Maria church in the center, the facade of which displays sculptor Márton Váró's 30-foot-tall (9 m) sculpture of the Annunciation, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary with the words "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary). [12][13] Váró's "Good Shepherd" sculpture is also featured inside the Oratory, also carved in marble from Cave Michelangelo in Carrara, Italy.[14]

The building serves as the home of the Ave Maria Catholic Church, part of the Diocese of Venice, which serves as the parish for local residents and students.[15] One of the oratory's most distinctive characteristics is its steel structure, much of which is exposed internally and externally. The landmark church received an architectural award from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 2008.[16] Monaghan has had a significant interest in architecture for more than 50 years and has been one of the world's largest collectors of the works and memorabilia of Frank Lloyd Wright.[17]

Ecology

Ave Maria has a severe mosquito problem and was sprayed more than 30 times via airplane with pesticides by the Collier Mosquito Control District in 2015 with organophosphates and pyrethroids,[18] making it the most sprayed area in Southwest Florida.[19] The Collier Mosquito Control District spokesman stated in 2012 to the Ave Maria Herald, "The chemical used in the spraying is Naled, an organophosphate that the EPA has determined to be extremely safe".[20] EPA's 2006 re-registration document for Naled requires a 48-hour re-entry interval for farm workers as "Naled can cause cholinesterase inhibition in humans".[21]

References
  1. "Elevation search for "Ave Maria, Fla."". Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. "Ave Maria Development Company". Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  5. Cooperman, Alan (March 25, 2007). "Magnate's Decisions Stir Controversy". The Washington Post: On Faith. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  6. "Tom Monaghan steps down as CEO at Ave Maria University". Naples Daily News. February 10, 2011.
  7. "avemariastewardshipcd.org". Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. Fletcher, June (January 12, 2016). "Ave Maria earns top 50 spot on national ranking of master-planned communities". Naples Daily News.
  9. "Ave Maria Living". Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  10. "Ave Herald". Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  11. "Ave Maria Living.com". Ave Maria Living.com.
  12. "Ave Maria Oratory Quasi-Parish". Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  13. "The Annunciation of Ave Maria by Sculptor Marton Varo". Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  14. David Shnaider. "Memorial Statue for Alex Klucik Installed in Oratory". The Ave Maria Herald. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  15. "Thousands welcome Ave Maria oratory into Roman Catholic Church". Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  16. "Oratory at Ave Maria receives architecture award". Naples Daily News. June 25, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  17. "Earning His Wings". dbusiness.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  18. "Control Materials". Collier Mosquito Control District. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  19. "Spray Map – Collier Mosquito Control District". Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  20. "The Ave Maria Herald - AMSCD Briefed on Bond Refinancing, Mosquito Control". www.aveherald.com.
  21. "EPA Reregistration Document for Naled" (PDF).

Media related to Ave Maria, Florida at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.