Florida’s Best Idea – County and State Parks

When it comes to clocks, time stands still for me. That’s because it’s an old clock. A clock is a strange thing to be sentimental about but I’m ok with it. See, I’m a “Lumi”!  Lumitime clocks were made by the Tamara Electric Corporation in Japan. They are faux digital clocks that are mechanically manipulated with neon lamps and gear boxes.  As a kid, I would sleep over at Grandma Harriet and Grandpa Gerald’s house, and I would watch this mechanical clock in fascination as the dot with the seconds would jump clockwise to the right every five seconds. When my grandparents died, I asked my Aunt Linda for the clock and use it to this day.  I learned on the world wide web there are Lumitime forums and a whole sect of Lumi society that I didn’t know existed. The Lumi’s seem a bit too looney. I draw the line there!

Anyhow, this Thursday, I got up when my Lumitime said 6:16 am and went for a walk.  I like to skip out of my concrete jungle of a neighborhood a few times a week.  It’s not that I don’t mind the small talk and walk with neighbors, but I don’t find it all that relaxing.

Rather, I go to Riverbend.  Riverbend is a county park in Jupiter and connected to Jonathan Dickinson State Park by the Loxahatchee River. Its entrance is right off of I95 and the Turnpike and Indiantown Road. Just a few minutes from Jupiter Farms going west.  Early in the morning and later in the day are the best times to go as there is more wildlife out. Plus, the temperature is just right. I was working on putting together a list of personal photos with video and accelerated it – it’s here if you care to see.  Two of ECHO’s agents also recently did this feature on Riverbend. With Florida Parks in the news this week, I felt I needed to chime in from a real estate perspective…..

I see, hear and smell all sorts of things at Riverbend that set my day in motion or help me unwind. Grasshoppers, birds, and frogs fill the morning air with chatter. The moon still being up and the sun rising brings a collection of colorations.. Lush green forest surrounds you everywhere. The smell of pine from the leaves and flora is so different than walking round your neighborhood. Deer, turkeys, hawks, rabbits, racoons, armadillos, alligators, turtles, owls, frogs, fish, and every type of watering bird imaginable will be seen. Every day is different. The seasons show water in the swamp at different heights with lakes receding in and out. One day it’s a drought and the next day life abounds.

In the early morning I notice open fields with a million spider webs. Butterflies and an array of moss pigmentations on trees. On weekends, there is an awesome smoothie & Acai Bowl truck called the Magic Bowl with a sign that says “5 days since the last Karen sighting.” People walk, bike, and kayak there. Archery is sometimes set up as is a farming area to teach kids how it was in old Florida in the nineteenth century. Seminole-American Wars took place there and reenactments and a Seminole Native American will come out and talk about the history at certain times of the year.  I observe cookouts, birthday parties, people fishing, and couples holding hands saying how do you do.

I’ve been to 50 states and about 25 National Parks domestically. I once flew over the most incredible sight on a business trip from LA to Seattle. The sight was Crater Lake. I later took my family on an unforgettable adventure to Yosemite up to Crater Lake and through the Redwood Forest and Oregan/California coastline. Crater Lake was 70 degrees at the bottom and we were in a snowball fight in a blizzard half way through. The view at Crater Lake is still my favorite. Memories stacked for a lifetime. Costa Rica is the most interesting country as they have 30 National Parks and as a country these bring in loads of tourism. It’s enriched them in the most honest way possible compared to some of the violent neighboring countries.

Florida has three National Parks. None today probably would have occurred if they were not locked into place long ago. The Everglades have the most fascinating and unlikely story.  It occurred as Miami built up so fast that the area was preserved to protect the land for future generations. But also to protect what Florida is, as it’s an atypical park that isn’t so much for tourism. That’s why they say our National Parks are the United States’ best idea. Our forefathers had the insight to set aside the land. These parks return us to who we are and connect us to our roots.  Florida is filled with county and state parks off lots of roads.  We’ve been to many of them including Jonathan Dickinson and John D McArthur.  We are better for all of this.

From a real estate perspective, they enhance the value of the area. No different than Central Park in New York City.  Central Park is that vast escape from the concrete jungle. Take the greenspace area away and the city that doesn’t sleep wouldn’t even get up with my Lumitime. They’d go total LOONEY! People need that escape.

I believe in the free market, am pro new-development, and for tear downs from older buildings to use for the best use.  I want as many golf courses from private land as needed. See all the private and public golf courses in this golf course comparison chart.  However, those decisions to put aside the land from our elders before us because they had the wisdom to earmark these lands as no touch, should be respected. Start putting in commercial recreation or retail changing the intent/use and it will not only harm the park, but that in turn will harm the value of our Florida lifestyle and thus the demand to live here.

If you’ve never been to Riverbend, you must go. It’s in your own backyard! Weekends are filled with people. I walk every Saturday morning and grab my smoothie. It’s gotten more crowded through the years as the population has grown and it’s been discovered. At first Riverbend seemed huge to me but now that I’ve explored all the trails, not so much.  If the county or state decided to take away or repurpose any portion of it that would drastically alter what Riverbend is. The concern is once you start taking away from one park, the next park becomes vulnerable. Where does it end?

So, take some time to explore Riverbend. You’ll be glad you did. Time will stop for you like it does for me. And it will keep you from going Lumi!

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Jeff Lichtenstein, originally from Chicago, got his start in the home furnishings textile business where he traveled over 35 weeks a year selling fabrics. After the family business was sold, Jeff moved to Florida and became a real estate agent. Today he is the owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury residential brokerage voted best brokerage of the year. Jeff manages a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Echo has 80 agents, an average of one million dollars per transaction and over 500 million in annual sales. Between traveling for work and annual family trips to national parks with his wife and 2 now adult children, Jeff has visited 49 states. He is also one of the few Chicago White Sox fans you’ll ever meet.  Some publications he has been quoted in.

Author of business & leadership book How Making a Sandwich Can Change Your World –  The Amazing Success of the PB&J Strategy – Available to Buy Now!

Feel free to ask him a question directly at jeff@EchoFineProperties.com including a complementary  valuation of your home.