The Landings: a well-kept secret

PHOTO FLORIDA WEEKLY Mid-rise and a high-rise condominiums overlook The Landings Marina. The private harbor and marina is among the largest in Southwest Florida, providing sheltered dockage for a wide variety of watercraft. Boat slips are currently available to property owners. The best-kept secret in Fort Myers real estate might just be nestled behind a nondescript guardhouse and rolling berms and fences on McGregor Boulevard near the Cape Coral Bridge.

The Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club is more than 1,200 homes and condominiums built over 250 meticulously manicured acres - it's more of a resort.

A first-class tennis facility with two highly rated teaching pros, an 18-hole executive golf course that meanders through the lush property and a marina with slips available for big or small boats, just minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, make this a sportsman's dream.

Add in the fine dining of the Helm Club and the new marina restaurant, and there's little reason to leave.

And, with the amenity package priced at just $335 per month (including a slip for the boat), it's affordable.

PHOTO FLORIDA WEEKLY COURTESY PHOTO Realtor Lori Emmons has about 140 properties for sale in the 250-acre development that was Florida's first planned community. "The people who live here love the place," said Jim Corace, broker for Landings Realty Inc., a full-service real estate firm that specializes in Landings properties. "They're our best advertisement."

The Landings offers a wide variety of home styles in 14 separate villages - low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise, single family, attached villas, detached villas and townhomes. And at prices just as diverse. Homes run from $140,000 to $4 million, said Lori Emmons, Landings Realty's top salesperson.

And if the tennis, golf and boating lifestyle isn't enough, there are miles of jogging and bike trails, a competitionsize swimming pool, a health club and 18 stocked lakes to fish.

The Landings was actually Florida's first planned community, dating back to 1973 when Windjammer Village, on the property's west end was developed. "And, it was the first gated community in Florida," Corace said. The last units in the Landings were built in 1996, yet a few single-family home lots remain available in the Riverside village.

The Landings also caught the eye of Fort Myers' most famous resident, Thomas Edison. He experimented with bamboo grown on the site then owned by the Miles Laboratories family. Today, the bamboo trees that line the shore of the Caloosahatchee River at the Picnic-Point pavilion are direct descendents of Edison's experiments.

It's the lifestyle.

"It's the lifestyle that sells," Emmons said.

That lifestyle has attracted active retirees, professionals and young families. More than 2,000 people call the Landings home.

"I call it the 'Little Oasis' in the middle of chaos," she said. "We're the best-kept secret in Southwest Florida."

Besides the amenities, The Landings is located in the virtual center of Lee County. It's an easy jaunt to theatres, art galleries, fine dining and the Southwest Florida International Airport.

Yet, it's still a Mecca for boaters and tennis players.

The private harbor and marina at the Landings is among the largest in Southwest Florida, providing sheltered dockage for a wide variety of watercraft.

With marina availability dwindling as boat yards fall under the developers axe, the Landings still has open slips in its 192 wet slip- and 62-unit dry storagemarina. Owners of larger boats may have to wait until a slip becomes available but for smaller boats, "You can get in now," Corace said.

And, the marina still sells the cheapest gas on the River, he added.

Besides catering to club players, the 13 lighted, HAR-TRU tennis courts play host to some of the top talent on America's junior tennis circuit.

The Bush Florida Open, played in the summer, began in 1981 as a collaborative effort between the Youth Tennis Foundation and the Florida Tennis Association is now a major event on the USTA's national junior event calendar.

That keeps acclaimed tennis pro Patrick Kangwa, director of tennis at The Landings, a busy guy.

Lots to choose from

About 140 homes are on the market out of the more than 1,200 residents, Emmons said. And with nearly 60 different floorplans available in the Landings, it's easy to find that right fit.

It's an ideal second home or a premier primary residence, Emmons said.

A variety of views, from the towering river views at the Aerial high-rise to golf course and marina views from the midrise condominiums, buyers have choices unavailable at other marina projects.

And, with construction completed more than 10 years ago, there's no dust or building noise to disturb the resort atmosphere.