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Lehigh Acres is a fast-growing community covering much of eastern Lee County.
The population increased by 19,819 people between 1990 and 2000 and continues to climb.
The community is not a city — it’s governed by the Lee County Board of Commissioners — but there is an interest in incorporating. A committee launched through the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce is gathering data on making the change. There is a fire district and a drainage district with elected boards.
Lehigh Acres is known for its variety of heritages, including Caribbean, German, Oriental, black and Hispanic. The area attracts younger families because land and home prices are not excessive.
There are higher-priced golf-course developments for those who can afford more.
Lehigh Acres has thriving leagues for youth sports, a senior citizens center with many activities and a regional library. Veterans Park on Homestead Road is a popular setting for community activities such as the Spring Festival. Lee County operates a swimming pool and tennis courts at the Lehigh Community Park on Williams Avenue.
Lehigh Acres was a private ranch until 1954, when owner Lee Ratner, a Chicago businessman, turned it into a residential development. Lots were sold for little or no money down to people around the world. So many lots were sold for homes that the community now faces a shortage of land for commercial uses when it reaches its potential population of more than 300,000 people.
But development is occurring in the community’s industrial park located in the area around Leonard and Lee boulevards. The park is less than one mile from State Road 82, which leads to Interstate 75 and Colonial Boulevard. A new Publix supermarket opened this year at Lee Boulevard and State Road 82. Single-family homes continue to be built throughout the sprawling community. Lehigh Acres also has a direct link from Gunnery Road via the Daniels Parkway Extension to Southwest Florida International Airport.
Lehigh Acres functioned for many years like a company town under the benevolent but profit-driven control of the Lehigh Corp. The corporation provided the staff that sold the lots, drained the land and maintained the roads. The company finally concluded its real estate activity in Lehigh Acres in 2001.
The hub of Lehigh Acres is Homestead Road from Lee Boulevard to Alabama Road. Residents will find the bulk of their shopping, restaurants, the hospital and other services in that area or nearby.
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