Lakewood Ranch, Florida

Lakewood Ranch is a planned community located in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States consisting of approximately 31,000 acres (13,000 ha).[2] It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Lakewood Ranch
Planned community
Logo
Lakewood Ranch
Location within the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°27′54″N 82°25′48″W
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountiesManatee, Sarasota
EstablishedFebruary 24, 1994[1]
Government
 • TypeCDD and HOA
Area
 • Total48 sq mi (120 km2)
Elevation
30 ft (9 m)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP codes
34202, 34211, 34240
Area codes941
FIPS code12-39067[3]
GNIS feature ID2571108
Websitelakewoodranch.com

History

The area originally was assembled in 1905 by John Schroeder as Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR). The land was purchased by members of Milwaukee's Uihlein family in 1922 for ranch operations such as timber and cattle.[2][4][5]

In 1977, the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority announced intentions to build a new airport near the Sarasota-Manatee county line about 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) east of its current location, linking to future Interstate 75.[6] The airport authority struck down the idea in 1985 and expanded the existing airport facility.[7] The airport proposal and the construction of Interstate 75 resulted in SMR's board of directors to pursue creating a planned community for the land.

In the 1980s, SMR designed a destination resort project called Cypress Banks. The project consisted of 1,800 acres (730 ha) and included 5,000 mixed residential units, three golf courses, and a 300-room hotel.[5] The project and development of regional impact (DRI) were initially denied by Manatee County in 1987 but later approved in December 1989. The project never broke ground and SMR maintained vested rights to the land.[5][8] The first neighborhood development, Summerfield, was built and completed in 1995.

Government

Lakewood Ranch was established as a development of regional impact (DRI), as defined in Section 380.06 of the Florida Statutes, in December 1989. The master-planned community is maintained through the Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District and five community development districts (CDD) within the District. The District was established on June 14, 2005 by the Florida legislature. The District encompasses 23,055 acres (9,330 ha) within Manatee and Sarasota counties.[9] The CDDs main powers are to plan, finance, construct, operate, and maintain community-wide infrastructure and services specifically for the benefit of its residents.[10]

The Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority (IDA) was created to operate Town Hall and provide administrative, financial, and operations/maintenance services to the Lakewood Ranch CDDs. The IDA is composed of one representative from each CDD.[11]

Education

Schools located within Lakewood Ranch:[12]

Public schools
  • B.D. Gullett Elementary School
  • Braden River Elementary School
  • Braden River Middle School
  • Carlos E. Haile Middle School
  • Freedom Elementary School
  • Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School
  • Imagine School Lakewood Ranch
  • Lakewood Ranch High School
  • R. Dan Nolan Middle School
  • Robert E. Willis Elementary School

Private schools

College

Vocational school
  • Manatee Technical College
  • Meridian College

Notable people

References
  1. "Ordinance No. 94-07 - Establishment of Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 1 (CDD1)" (PDF). Manatee County Government. February 24, 1994. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  2. "The History of SMR Farms". Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc. (SMR) Farms. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  3. "Lakewood Ranch". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. September 21, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  4. Staff (2014). "Lakewood Ranch development timeline". Bradenton Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  5. Bubil, Harold (October 10, 2010). "Lakewood Ranch: How a town was born". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  6. Kohlman, Betty (March 14, 1978). "Fate of Sarasota-Bradenton Airport may turn on a 2-county referendum". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 7, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  7. Dobens, Peter (June 25, 1985). "Authority Votes to Conduct Study For Location of Reliever Airport". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved June 7, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. McCourtney, Mary (December 31, 2009). "Regional Report". Sarasota Magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  9. "Chapter 2005-338 House Bill No. 1429" (PDF). Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District. June 14, 2005. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  10. "LWR:CDD". Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  11. "LWR:IDA". Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  12. "Primary and Secondary Schools". Lakewood Ranch. August 26, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  13. Lentz, Lisa Marie (October 15, 2003). "Lakewood Ranch Rounds up Residents". The Bradenton Herald. p. 13C.
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