LAKEWOOD RANCH --- Before Schroeder-Manatee Ranch developed Lakewood Ranch as a place to live, work and play, it was primarily a working ranch, and most of its employees came to work ready for a day of manual labor.
But in 2008, many of SMR's 450 employees work in a new "green" SMR corporate center at 14440 Covenant Way, spending their days not swinging axes, picks and saws, but working with clients, calculators and computers."We are a diversified company now," said Sondra Guffey, an SMR spokeswoman. "We have agriculture, aggregate mining, real estate development and property management."
A privately-held company, SMR is no longer just timber, sod, citrus, cattle, shell and tomatoes.
SMR is Lakewood Ranch, the 6,000-home, master-planned subdivision carved out of 8,500 acres of the 30,000-acre SMR in eastern Manatee County.
SMR is also Sarasota Polo Club, Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club and the largest corporate park in the two-county area of Manatee and Sarasota.
Lakewood Ranch is now home to a hospital, a medical school, four post-secondary education institutions and many shopping venues.
SMR officials have also made the decision to donate cash and land to many local nonprofit and civic organizations.
"SMR officials believe in community involvement as well as sound land stewardship," Guffey said.
The American Red Cross, Manatee County schools, and The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund have been recipients of SMR's largesse, as have others.
SMR also maintains the 2,000-acre Heritage Ranch as a nature preserve.
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