Lehigh Acres - The Original Florida Dreamtown
In the early 1950s, a marketing tycoon named Lee Ratner, who owned nearly all of the undeveloped land east of Ft. Myers, decided to transform his sprawling ranch into one of Florida's first major real estate developments. Working closely with friend and marketing protege Gerald Gould, Ratner launched one of the most brilliant land schemes in Florida history.
Catering mostly to middle class post-World War II families in the American midwest, the extensive advertising efforts of Lehigh Development Corporation earned swift success. Beautiful color brochures introduced cold-climate readers to a world of tropical sun and sport. For the rock-bottom price of $10 down and $10 a month (perhaps for life...but did it really matter?), you too could own a parcel of Floridian soil.
Despite the early consumer enthusiasm and rapid sales of land, no one on the original development team had actually expected people to move to Lehigh. After all, the town was unincorporated (and remains so until today). Basic utilities, including power, water and drainage, were simply non-existent. Basic two-way streets had been provisioned in an incomplete grid, mostly so prospective buyers could visit their own plots.
Eventually, pre-designed houses were available as options to accompany the parcels of land that served as the bottom-line product for Lehigh Corp. As people finally began to make their way down to Lehigh, a community began to take shape over the sandy terrain that had once been Lucky Lee Ranch. For decades, Lehigh represented the finest in middle-income Floridian living, perfect for snowbirds and new families. The Charmed Circle, a roundabout of houses that proudly displayed the newest model homes, was a landmark in downtown Lehigh. Entertainers such as Pat Boone were brought down to perform before sold-out crowds at the theater within the town's famous Lehigh Resort and Hotel.
The gilded shimmer of Lehigh's original plan wore thin as the years progressed. Soon, profits were disappearing into the cavernous black hole of marketing expenses, and it was discovered (perhaps to no one's real surprise) that $10/month was not enough of a revenue stream to keep a corporation afloat. Lehigh Corp. was sold and re-sold to avoid bankruptcy, until finally disappearing in the late 1980s.
By the 1990s, Lehigh had devolved into a calm shadow of its former hey-day apogee. The Charmed Circle had vanished; the Lehigh Resort torn down. Many baby boomers who had inherited the parcels of land purchased by their parents during the 1950s and 1960s discovered that the decades-old deeded land in their possession was worth less than the annual taxes on the parcel itself.
The early 2000s signaled the beginning of a new era of prosperity and growth, not only for Lehigh Acres but for the entirety of Florida. At the forefront of the growth was the real estate market, which was teeming with new construction and investment. Prices of homes began to surge at a breakneck pace, to the point where a buyer could reasonably expect to earn 20 or 30 percent by merely "flipping" a new house or condominium just weeks or months after having purchased it. Lehigh, which had once claimed the title "the bargain of Lee County," found itself at the epicenter of the boom. Between 2003 and 2005, the median sales price of a new house had climbed over 130%. Even unimproved land in the outskirts of Lehigh, which ten years earlier was practically worthless, was now fetching bids of $40,000. It was a veritable 21st century gold rush, and anyone who could secure a loan (at a time when anyone could secure a loan) could have a slice of the pot.
By 2006 and 2007, the writing, so to speak, was on the wall. New construction was sliding to a grinding halt, as investors began to back away from some of the riskier ventures they had promised to support. Buyers were suddenly finding themselves stuck with properties for which they had paid top-dollar, only to discover that no one was interested in paying that price - or any price. Fear reigned, and panic ensued. By 2008, the financial meltdown went global, and onlookers from Lehigh and elsewhere watched in horror as giant financial corporations crumbled into insolvency, one after another. Who was responsible for this mess? Fingers were quickly pointed to everyone from mortgage lenders, who had fashioned a moral hazard by letting due diligence fall by the wayside, to investors themselves, who had bought in to the speculation craze. And yet, deep down there was a sense of collective shame; we had all been complicit in one way or another. Greed was the beast that had brought us to our knees.
Lehigh today, contrary to the reports of certain national publications, is not a slum. It is, admittedly, a town ravaged by a financial storm of unprecedented proportion. But it remains at its heart a strong community, whose bonds were built long before the boom and bust brought its name to the front pages of the national press. The speculators have come and gone, but the citizens remain, piecing together the left-behind remains in an effort to rebuild a communal identity.
The faces and voices that make up Dreams for Sale are from those citizens of Lehigh and its neighboring communities. These are the people who braved the eye of the storm and lived to tell about it. They will be responsible for shaping Lehigh Acres in its next half-century, and their commitment to that dream is bringing Lehigh back from the brink of catastrophe.
-Raymond A. Schillinger (2010)
Catering mostly to middle class post-World War II families in the American midwest, the extensive advertising efforts of Lehigh Development Corporation earned swift success. Beautiful color brochures introduced cold-climate readers to a world of tropical sun and sport. For the rock-bottom price of $10 down and $10 a month (perhaps for life...but did it really matter?), you too could own a parcel of Floridian soil.
Despite the early consumer enthusiasm and rapid sales of land, no one on the original development team had actually expected people to move to Lehigh. After all, the town was unincorporated (and remains so until today). Basic utilities, including power, water and drainage, were simply non-existent. Basic two-way streets had been provisioned in an incomplete grid, mostly so prospective buyers could visit their own plots.
Eventually, pre-designed houses were available as options to accompany the parcels of land that served as the bottom-line product for Lehigh Corp. As people finally began to make their way down to Lehigh, a community began to take shape over the sandy terrain that had once been Lucky Lee Ranch. For decades, Lehigh represented the finest in middle-income Floridian living, perfect for snowbirds and new families. The Charmed Circle, a roundabout of houses that proudly displayed the newest model homes, was a landmark in downtown Lehigh. Entertainers such as Pat Boone were brought down to perform before sold-out crowds at the theater within the town's famous Lehigh Resort and Hotel.
The gilded shimmer of Lehigh's original plan wore thin as the years progressed. Soon, profits were disappearing into the cavernous black hole of marketing expenses, and it was discovered (perhaps to no one's real surprise) that $10/month was not enough of a revenue stream to keep a corporation afloat. Lehigh Corp. was sold and re-sold to avoid bankruptcy, until finally disappearing in the late 1980s.
By the 1990s, Lehigh had devolved into a calm shadow of its former hey-day apogee. The Charmed Circle had vanished; the Lehigh Resort torn down. Many baby boomers who had inherited the parcels of land purchased by their parents during the 1950s and 1960s discovered that the decades-old deeded land in their possession was worth less than the annual taxes on the parcel itself.
The early 2000s signaled the beginning of a new era of prosperity and growth, not only for Lehigh Acres but for the entirety of Florida. At the forefront of the growth was the real estate market, which was teeming with new construction and investment. Prices of homes began to surge at a breakneck pace, to the point where a buyer could reasonably expect to earn 20 or 30 percent by merely "flipping" a new house or condominium just weeks or months after having purchased it. Lehigh, which had once claimed the title "the bargain of Lee County," found itself at the epicenter of the boom. Between 2003 and 2005, the median sales price of a new house had climbed over 130%. Even unimproved land in the outskirts of Lehigh, which ten years earlier was practically worthless, was now fetching bids of $40,000. It was a veritable 21st century gold rush, and anyone who could secure a loan (at a time when anyone could secure a loan) could have a slice of the pot.
By 2006 and 2007, the writing, so to speak, was on the wall. New construction was sliding to a grinding halt, as investors began to back away from some of the riskier ventures they had promised to support. Buyers were suddenly finding themselves stuck with properties for which they had paid top-dollar, only to discover that no one was interested in paying that price - or any price. Fear reigned, and panic ensued. By 2008, the financial meltdown went global, and onlookers from Lehigh and elsewhere watched in horror as giant financial corporations crumbled into insolvency, one after another. Who was responsible for this mess? Fingers were quickly pointed to everyone from mortgage lenders, who had fashioned a moral hazard by letting due diligence fall by the wayside, to investors themselves, who had bought in to the speculation craze. And yet, deep down there was a sense of collective shame; we had all been complicit in one way or another. Greed was the beast that had brought us to our knees.
Lehigh today, contrary to the reports of certain national publications, is not a slum. It is, admittedly, a town ravaged by a financial storm of unprecedented proportion. But it remains at its heart a strong community, whose bonds were built long before the boom and bust brought its name to the front pages of the national press. The speculators have come and gone, but the citizens remain, piecing together the left-behind remains in an effort to rebuild a communal identity.
The faces and voices that make up Dreams for Sale are from those citizens of Lehigh and its neighboring communities. These are the people who braved the eye of the storm and lived to tell about it. They will be responsible for shaping Lehigh Acres in its next half-century, and their commitment to that dream is bringing Lehigh back from the brink of catastrophe.
-Raymond A. Schillinger (2010)
Glimpses of the history of Lehigh Acres
