An adventurous story

It began with a huge piece of virgin forest and wetland, undeveloped land, 267 km², which the Rosen Brothers, Leonard and Jack Rosen, bought from the State of Florida in 1957 with the stipulation that they develop and settle it.

The Rosen brothers had a vision.

267 km² were planned on a general scale, roads, building sites, parks and commercial areas were planned. The vision, however, was to take nature into account and so a "Waterfront Wonderland" was created with plenty of space for native animals and plants. People had to fit into this environment and found space on 600 km of waterways and lakes in which dolphins and manatees frolicked, along with a variety of fish. On the banks of the new waterways, pelicans, herons and snowy ibis stretched their feathers in the south-west Florida sun. A paradise had been created, people had allied themselves with nature. From their own jetty, they watched the manatees stir in the morning sun or the water turtles populate the banks.

The waterways were dug out with large machines, roads were built and the Cape Coral Parkway was prepared as a runway for airplanes and briefly closed to car traffic when an airplane took off or landed.

Potential buyers were flown in from the north with a unique sales program. Accommodation was provided, and a hotel was built in the golf and country club on a beautiful 18-hole golf course. The prospective buyers were entertained in the Rose Garden. A park had previously been created here with thousands of different rose varieties, hiking trails, water features, dolphin pools and a marina. A zoo showed visitors to the Rose Garden many animals from all over the world. In the theater, built on the Greek model like Epidaurus, evening events with famous artists such as Bob Hope took place. After the participants had decided on one or more properties, they flew home. Now the planning of the dream home in paradise often began.