Drive through the thriving community of Lakewood Ranch, Fla. and you will see 165 homes under construction and several commercial construction projects up and out of the ground—totaling more than $100 million in private investment dollars. “We are seeing a significant increase in commercial activity on the Ranch in response to the 18 month surge we have had in residential construction,” said Brian Kennelly, president of LWR Commercial Realty. “Traditionally commercial real estate lags behind a bit, and we are now entering that rebound stage.”
The Green Gallery in the Lakewood Ranch Information Center was designed to illustrate several of the more common and beneficial applications of green building. The exhibits in the Green Gallery reflect a range of materials, techniques and products used in green building and provide information about the benefits of each. Some of the items on display have already been incorporated into green-built homes at Lakewood Ranch. Many of the others are available from most Lakewood Ranch builders as additional green building options that can further enhance your living environment or result in greater savings.
Green building reconciles the need to preserve and protect the environment with building high quality, healthy and energy efficient homes. While never comprising on style.
Current commercial projects under construction in Lakewood Ranch include:
Using building products and techniques that result in healthier, more energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible homes is how we’ve built every village in Lakewood Ranch since 2005. As a result, every home here meets the Florida Green Building Coalition’s Green Home Standard.
For nearly a century, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the landowner and parent company of Lakewood Ranch’s developer, has been committed to the protection and preservation of the natural resources here. Our heritage of care has led to our being designated the largest master-planned community not only in Florida but also in the country.
“What we did in the downturn of the market is proving to have been a successful strategy,” said Kennelly. “The investments we made are beginning to pay off, like securing 3 million square feet in concurrency—allowing us to deliver shovel ready projects to the private sector now, making it easy for business owners to come in and hit the ground running. Everything is in place to start building, there are no entitlements needed, no rezoning necessary because we took care of all of that in the downturn. It has positioned us to be able to react quickly and make deals in this improving market.”
The development boom furthers SMR’s goal of becoming a job center and economic hub with a mix of retail, residential and commercial properties intertwined with natural wetlands and preserves, making Lakewood Ranch the largest green-certified master planned community in the country.
