Motoring over a gently arching bridge, then veering left along Grey Oaks Country Club's winding main road, Judy Collier Sproul notes the grassy fairway to her right. There's not a home in sight and, framed with flowering bushes and mature oak trees, the fairway looks like a clearing deep in the woods, miles from busy Airport-Pulling Road.

Passing through Grey Oaks' western entry always gives Sproul the sense that she has created something special.

"We wanted people to feel they were entering a different place when they go over that bridge," she says. "I still get a thrill when I drive in and realize, 'We really did this.'"

The granddaughter of pioneering landowner, real estate developer and businessman Barron Collier, Sproul has been carefully developing Grey Oaks since 1990. As a member of Collier County's founding family, she says building the community has been as much a labor of love as successful business enterprise. Sproul says that place-making in the heart of Naples has helped her reconnect with her family's heritage.

"I had been left some land and, as an owner, came to this business from a different perspective than most," says Sproul, 66. "We could have easily sold the land, and there had been some existing plans, but the plans didn't mesh with what I wanted. I thought of a country club because I wanted to build something I could be proud of, something that leaves a legacy of what we do in this area."

Over the past 16 years, Sproul has transformed a vacant tract of scrub into one of the area's more luxurious master-planned communities. Located along Airport-Pulling Road at Golden Gate Parkway, the collection of estate-home neighborhoods features three championship golf courses situated around a network of freshwater canals and small lakes. Grey Oaks and The Estuary at Grey Oaks are known for sculpted landscapes and seclusion, reflecting Sproul's personal approach to planning.

"Everyone feels an attention to detail here, even if they're not consciously aware of it," says Connie Dickinson, vice president and broker at Grey Oaks Realty. "Judy is very team-oriented, but you can see her personal touches throughout the community. The landscaping, the flowers, the fabrics and silverware in the clubhouse-there are a lot of details you don't see at other developments, and that's Judy's input."

A Seed is Planted

Although her family's name has become synonymous with Southwest Florida's history, Sproul was raised in Palm Beach and Connecticut. She spent two years at Bradford Junior College in Massachusetts and then transferred to Rollins College in Orlando before meeting her husband, Elliott "Bud" Sproul, and moving to Connecticut. The couple was busy raising a family when Sproul's husband died. She decided to move their three young daughters to Naples.

"I was 31, left with a one-year-old, a three-year-old and an eight-year-old," says Sproul. "I had family in Naples and had always wanted to be more involved with the business. It was quieter here than on the east coast, and I thought I could get involved and be part of a community."

Sproul quickly became a familiar name in Naples, particularly in philanthropic circles. Over the past three decades, she has been instrumental in the establishment of several institutions, including Naples' Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Edison College's Naples campus and The Community School of Naples.

Sproul has also served as a board member for organizations as diverse as the Collier County YMCA, the Forum Club of Southwest Florida, the Community Foundation of Collier County, the FGCU Foundation and Naples Botanical Garden. In 2003, the Naples Daily News named Sproul Outstanding Citizen of the Year, acknowledging the time, land and money she has donated to countless projects.

"She's a real special asset to this community and deserves all the recognition she gets," says Brian Holley, executive director of the Naples Botanical Garden. "We rely heavily on Judy's extensive knowledge of development, and her experience with projects like Grey Oaks makes her very helpful on the horticultural side. And, of course, when she wants something to happen, she's willing to help out financially."

In addition to Sproul's expertise and generosity, Holley values the leadership she provides as vice president of the organization's board of directors. On various boards in the community, she has earned a reputation as a straight shooter with creative ideas.

"I think it's accurate to say she can play the devil's advocate at times, but not to the extent that it's ever counterproductive," says Holley. "She'll raise alternative concepts, take part in discussion and then concur when we find the right answer. Some people aren't used to a strong woman, but with Judy she is always so candid that you know where you stand. She's a genuinely decent, honest and caring person."

Sproul's work with The Community School of Naples provided her first hands-on experience in land development. She had donated land for the school's campus and, serving as a founding board member, helped find an architect and director for the private day school. She also took an active role as the school's first buildings were being constructed in the early 1980s.

"It was fascinating to see a project develop, getting bigger and better as it went along," recalls Sproul. "It's amazing how much goes into a building-the permitting, contracting, mitigation, underground work. I learned a lot about working with different people and even helped pick out toilets for the restrooms."

The Hole in the Doughnut

By 1990 Sproul was ready to tackle her own project. As a member of the Barron Collier Co. board of directors, she had always kept abreast of the company's various endeavors in diverse areas, including land development, agriculture and oil. But Sproul felt her involvement was somewhat peripheral, and she wanted to experience the day-to-day decision making involved in development. She also knew the timing was right for her property.

"I was lucky because a lot was going on here," says Sproul. "People were looking to build golf courses everywhere, and the banks were getting very particular about loaning money. All this competition was going on and I had this land right here in the middle of Naples. It was really the hole in the doughnut."

Despite her resources and good timing, Sproul initially found that work as a land developer posed challenges for her that other developers typically do not face. After she hired a real estate executive and began to meet with planners, contractors and bankers, she found that some executives weren't taking her seriously.

"Basically this business is a man's world, and I was surprised when I started," says Sproul. "I would bring the real estate man with me to meetings and everyone addressed him first because they assumed he was the one making the big decisions. It can still be like that for women in this business.

"There are a lot of women in development, but not a lot who make big decisions. But I can relate in that world a lot better now," she adds.

Sproul built her new community in stages, taking her time, learning along the way and perfecting ideas as the project evolved. Using several different builders, she nurtured each phase of Grey Oaks' development, establishing separate cul-de-sacs around the community's circular road. Every enclave has its own character and, by and large, individual homes cannot be seen from the main road.

"Most developers will get greedy and they want to use every available acre for homes," says landscape architect Michael Redd. "But Ms. Sproul was willing to go to extra expense with features like linear parks along the main roads. She elevated roads so golf carts could cross under a tunnel, which was also very expensive. And if you look at something like the street signage, it is low to the ground and different from what you'll see anywhere else."

Michael Redd & Associates specializes in designing landscapes for upscale golf course communities. Sproul selected Redd after a nationwide search, and then worked closely with his firm. One of the riskier landscape design features the team incorporated in Grey Oaks' master plan was the use of existing South Florida Water Management District canals, says Redd.

"The way we took the existing canal and sort of scalloped it into the property, creating islands and vistas, had never been done before," he says. "That was an unknown design methodology at the time. She's got a good sense of flair and design and is more involved in the plans than most people in her position. I've been doing this for 40 years and have never had a client like her."

Grey Oaks' unique landscaping is one reason the community set sales records in Florida's ultra-luxury community market, says Redd. The development has also won several industry awards, including the National Golf Course Owners' Association 2005 Florida Golf Course of the Year award for the Bob Cupp-designed course at The Estuary.

Located across Airport-Pulling Road just south of Grey Oaks' western gate, The Estuary at Grey Oaks marks one of the project's final phases. Although Sproul still makes suggestions, she has surrendered most of the day-to-day responsibilities at The Estuary to a partner, the Lutgert Co. Sproul has stepped back on other projects as well, knowing that her daughter, Katie Sproul, is ready to help carry on the family tradition.

As vice president of real estate at Barron Collier Co., Katie has been a driving force behind several high-profile projects, including the construction of LaPlaya Golf Club in north Naples.

"I call her my workaholic daughter. She is very involved in the business," says Sproul. "One of my proudest moments happened during a meeting when we were all stuck on some problem, and someone finally said, 'Let's call Katie Sproul. Katie knows more about permitting than anyone I know.'"