Lehigh Acres Florida

Lehigh Acres, one of southwest Floridas remaining home-buying opportunities, is located just to the east of Fort Myers in Lee County Florida. At 102 square miles, Lehigh Acres is one of the larger land sized cities in Florida and offers many land development opportunities.

Originally developed as a retirement community, Lehigh Acres has grown into a hometown community with a new median age of 38 making it an ideal location for retirees and young families. Lehigh Acres offers many recreational activities with the fresh water canals that crisscross the community and a variety of championship golf courses.

Located just off I-75, Lehigh Acres provides its residents with easy access to other local communities such as Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs and Naples as well as being only a 30 minute drive to some of the best beaches in southwest Florida including pristine beaches of Sanibel and Captiva islands.

Many believe Lehigh is the safest place to be if a hurricane would hit the county. When hurricanes threaten the area from the Gulf, people flee to Lehigh Acres with its elevation as high as 30 feet which is one of the highest elevations in southwest Florida.

Lehigh Acres History

Settlers first migrated to eastern Lee County in the late 1900s and several small farms and homesteads flourished. The area remained much unsettled until the 1950s when Lee Ratner, a Chicago businessman, sold his business and moved to southwest Florida. Needing a tax write-off to protect his millions in profit from the sale of his pest control business, he purchased a large tract of land in what is now known as Lehigh Acres.

Eventually Ratner convinced some of his friends to sell lots and build homes for retirees leading to the birth of one of Florida's first retirement communities. Developed under the Lehigh Corp, Lehigh Acres flourished with the $10 down and $10 per month sales plan. After its interests were sold several times, the Lehigh Corp ended in 1991.

Still vastly underdeveloped, Lehigh Acres became part of southwest Florida’s land boom in the early 2000s as the price of land and homes began to soar. By 2006, over 70,000 persons called Lehigh Acres home and many believe this number will exceed 250,000 residents before the town is "built out" estimated to be before 2050.

Lehigh Acres Real Estate

Lehigh Acres remains one of the best real estate values in southwest Florida. While many might call Lehigh Acres the only remaining "working mans" community while others reside in some of its newer exclusive gated communities. Lehigh Acres has developed well beyond its original "retirement community" concept and has become a hometown community with a recently updated median age of 38. It is now the home for several elementary and middle schools and Lehigh Acres High School.

Today, Lehigh remains part of unincorporated Lee County although many believe that incorporation in not to far in the future.

No matter your Lehigh Acres real estate needs, Buyers and Sellers First Choice is here to help you find the perfect Lehigh Acres property. Feel free to give us a call or click the "Search MLS" button in the top left corner to begin searching the local MLS database for your Lehigh Acres home.