The Lutgert Legacy

When Chicago developer Raymond Lutgert first arrived in Southwest Florida with his family, he didn't find much potential.

"We used to vacation when I was younger down in Florida," says his son, Scott Lutgert, now chairman and chief executive officer of the considerable Lutgert Companies. "We always went to the east coast, and one time we went to the west coast and saw that it had the same beaches and so forth, but that it was basically way behind the east coast as far as development was concerned."

His father's interest in the Naples area grew and, says Scott Lutgert, "Ultimately he bought the 600 acres from the Collier family that became Park Shore. He bought that in 1964."

In the 40 years since, The Lutgert Companies has not only grown and evolved with Naples, but has taken a lead in how the area has developed. "I think they've had a significant positive impact on the overall development of Naples, especially as it relates to quality of development, in the Park Shore area as well as the quality of the commercial projects," says Paul Marinelli, president of the Barron Collier Companies.

"They really set a standard in quality, amenities and in terms of marketing Southwest Florida as a destination for people to come to," says David Ellis, executive vice president of the Collier Building Industry Association.

From the company's local beginnings as a residential developer, known for luxury high-rises with cutting-edge designs, The Lutgert Companies has broadened and diversified to embrace all things real estate. It now also includes Premier Properties of Southwest Florida, a real estate brokerage division that recently sprouted its own commercial division. Title and mortgage divisions also have been added within the past couple of years. It partnered to open an insurance company in 2000. And last year, it launched an e-commerce division to capitalize on Web opportunities.

"When I started in 1976, we had maybe 10 or 15 employees. Currently, we have 235 employees and 260 full-time sales and leasing agents," says Howard Gutman, president of Lutgert Holdings. It's worth noting that Richard Baker, president of Lutgert Development, has been with the company even longer, since 1973.

Vision of an Artist

In the early 1950s, Raymond Lutgert was in Chicago building shopping centers and spec homes, selling the latter to young families for around $10,000. When he came to Naples, only a handful of developments were plugging along. In Aqualane Shores, lots were being sold for around $25,000; buyers in Port Royal could pick up a lot for $35,000 to $45,000; and waterfront lots in The Moorings were going for less that $20,000, figures Scott Lutgert.

"When we started off," says Scott, "we were selling condos on the beach for $39,900-and they were hard to sell. Nobody knew where Naples was; they thought it was in Italy. And there was no Southwest [Florida International] Airport; there was no Ritz-Carlton. Park Shore was a long way out of the city."

His father bought up the beachfront acreage and designed a plan that brought a new aesthetic quality to local development, with streets winding past high-rises, houses and spacious parks.

"We are very, very fortunate that it was the Lutgerts who acquired and did land planning for development of Park Shore, especially the Park Shore beachfront," says Scott Cameron, a long-time Naples realtor and president of Cameron Real Estate Services. "They incorporated a rather unique, serpentine type of development where buildings weren't simply stacked next to each other lining the beach. Because of the serpentine, you get one [building] close to the beach, one offsetting, large green areas in between, the result of which is better breezes and natural air flow, and a much more attractive look."

Raymond Lutgert, now 85, retired about 10 years ago. Scott, 59, heads up the companies, and is joined by two of his four children-Kurt Lutgert, vice president and project manager for the company's Bonita Bay projects, and Kristin Lutgert-Cartwright, who works in marketing with the commercial properties division.

"I'm doing the day-to-day stuff. My father's basically retired, but he has such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that we talk a lot," says Scott Lutgert.

"We look to him for his vision because obviously he's a brilliant man," Gutman says of Raymond Lutgert. "He's an artist, and you'll see that in his designs and the way things are done."

The elder Lutgert started as a painter, but found his "true love" in working with marble. "He's always had an artistic flair and been creative," says Scott.

"You can see it in all his projects. I think we've always been a little ahead of the curve as far as design of our projects because of his vision," says Gutman. "He envisioned all of Park Shore, and the beachfront in Naples came about because of his vision; therefore it's a lot different than your typical street with buildings along the beach. They're built around parks. It's as nice a strip of real estate as you'll find anywhere in the world."

A Reputation for Quality

Far from affordable housing for young Chicago families, The Lutgert Companies has come to be known in Southwest Florida for its high-end luxury products.

Park Shore was the first and remains, arguably, its defining residential project in Southwest Florida. It broke ground earlier this year for its 17th and final high-rise in Park Shore, Aria, with 18 floors of 52 standard residences and 13 penthouses, ranging in size from more than 3,000 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet. At the time of the groundbreaking, standard residences were priced from $1.6 million and penthouses from $3.25 million.

What distinguishes the Lutgerts' product? "Quality of workmanship, of finish. They innovated a lot of things in their high-rises that others now try to copy," says Cameron. "First-class porte cochère entries, exceptional service in the condominium association ownership. Some of the condos would have valets and shopping services and the kinds of services you hadn't previously seen in a personal residence: dry-cleaning, all kinds of stuff. They set the pace.

"Lutgert built a reputation starting back in the '70s for having a very strong ethic of standing behind the product. The result has been that when you see a Lutgert community and want to consider being an owner, you do so knowing that the developers are there, are active, and willing listen and address concerns-which is amazing in today's development world," says Cameron. "They do that to this day."

The company is also responsible for the Colony Garden midrise in Park Shore as well as the distinctive Venetian Villas, completed in 1976 and built literally over the waters of Venetian Bay (a feat that would probably never win approval today). The company sold property in Park Shore for others to build the 500 or so single-family homes and several other projects there.

Lutgert also has branched out to partner with other developers on two projects.

At Bonita Bay, it has completed three luxury high-rises and expected to start in August on the fourth, Azure, of its eight high-rises planned there. If presales go well, Baker adds, "we'll have a second building under way before we finish the next one in Bonita Bay." Its arrangement is to buy the property from Bonita Bay Group and develop it; Bonita Bay Group's sales organization sells the properties.

Lutgert Companies also has a joint venture with Barron Collier Co. on the final phase of Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, called Estuary. It is selling single-family homesites to end users or approved builders, and Lutgert is building villas.

In the summertime, one is more likely to find Scott Lutgert at Linville Ridge, a high-end private, gated golf-course community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on about 1,800 acres. The development consists of a variety of housing types-except high-rises-and most are summer homes, says Baker.

"The heart of our business is the high-end market. Our product, depending on which development it is, typically ranges from $1 million to $10 million in residential properties," says Baker. Prices in the Naples high-rises tend to be higher than in Bonita Bay. "What we build is similar, but the size and pricing is different," he says. "The penthouse we have in Regent [at Park Shore] is over 12,000 square feet. There is a market for that sort of thing here on the beach in Naples. That large a home, there's not a market for that in Bonita Bay in high-rises right now."

Building on a Foundation

As Park Shore continued to develop, it was a natural step for the company to help its clients move from existing high-rises to new ones, and Premier Properties of Southwest Florida was born.

"Premier Properties started in 1984 as Park Shore Properties by Scott Lutgert, and basically had less than a handful of agents and one leasing agent, and now we have 260 full-time sales and leasing agents and offices," says Gutman.

About two years ago, Premier made its commercial brokerage business official and launched Premier Properties Commercial.

In 2000, the company teamed up with Smith Lesher Insurance, becoming Lutgert Smith Lesher Insurance, with offices in Southwest Florida as well as in Phoenix, although the company is now selling its Arizona interests.