With the death of Bob Elliott, Lehigh Acres most iconic sign has been removed. The days of $50 down and $50 a month for piece of Lehigh Acres is over.
It all started with Lee Ratner’s 18,000-acre Lucky Lee ranch, the men hired an engineer to stamp out a grid pattern — over and over and over again — across what would become a 100-square mile vastness.
The year was 1954. And Lehigh Acres was born.
Forget about setting aside space for parks or retail or industry. Ignore the natural contours of the land. As the 10’s then the 20’s and then the $50 bills kept coming, the founders of Lehigh Acres needed more lots to sell.
The first year, they sold more than 12,000 parcels. The cheapest lot was $495, but the deed wasn’t handed over until final payment. If a lot owner’s monthly checks stopped, the property was resold. Gerald Gould President of Lee Corporation estimates that a quarter-million sales were made as lots were recycled to new owners. Most buyers had never set foot in Florida, much less visited their site under contract.
Richard Anglickis, who joined Gould’s company in 1962 and still lives in Lehigh Acres, watched a lot purchased for $800 sell for $2,500, then $4,500, and during the recent real estate frenzy in 2004, for an unbelievable $55,000 a lot.
“It went insane, driven by greed,” he said. “But compared to other places, we became the affordable community.”
With passing of Bob Elliott, and the removal of the most iconic sign. The days of $50 down and $50 a month for piece of Lehigh Acres history is over. And a new chapter of Lehigh Acres history has begun.