Clear Springs offers endless possibilities as a wonderfully unique example of how things can and should be done. Once mined for phosphate, Clear Springs’ 18,000 acres are being reclaimed, renewed and revitalized to near original pristine condition--bass thrive in clear, clean lakes and blueberry farming has taken hold. All carefully planned and developed to support Clear Springs as a place for agriculture, business and residential community.

History and Ownership

Stanford Phelps, Chairman, S. N. Phelps & Co. of Greenwich, Connecticut, owns Clear Springs. Mr. Phelps is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Yale University and Harvard Business School. Over his career he has held the most senior positions in commercial banking, investment banking and portfolio management and has been involved in restructuring over 100 companies. Mr. Phelps was president and chief investment officer of US Life Advisors and US Life Income Fund where he managed billions of dollars in fixed income investments. In July 1999 Mr. Phelps purchased the 18,000 acres of former phosphate mine land in Bartow. Since then he has steadily unfolded his plan to carefully develop Clear Springs as a site that includes the most modern business parks, areas for quality living in residential villages, and farming operations including production and distribution of Central Florida produce.

Development Planning-Agriculture, Nature, Business and Residential Living

The natural resources of Clear Springs offer far more than can be imagined. The property includes over 1,100 acres of natural lakes with a large bass population, rolling countryside, and thousands of acres of fertile land. The Peace River wildlife corridor bisects a section of Clear Springs land creating an amazing display of natural beauty and serving as a protected preservation area.

Agriculture plays an important role in the development of Clear Springs. Already fifty acres of blueberries have been planted and 150 more are being readied with total production on 1,000 acres planned by 2008. Thousands of fertile acres are available with intended use for owned agribusiness operations and for collaborative operations with affiliated growers in the region. To support produce production—whether owned, affiliated or independent—the brand new state-of-the-art Clear Springs Distribution Center comes online early in 2007 serving as a year round resource for packing, marketing and shipping Central Florida produce to the world.

Community plays an equally important role as development at Clear Springs moves forward. Master planning is underway for an entirely unique and incredibly livable community—a town center surrounded by residential villages designed with a focus on agriculture, open spaces, trees and lakes. Anchored by a classic town center with shops and services easily accessible by foot, planned residential village areas embrace nature while offering housing options ranging from beautiful apartments and loft-style dwellings to smartly designed single-family homes. All within an amazingly beautiful and unique natural setting.

The Clear Springs development mission is to use the world’s most experienced and well-respected firms as the land is reclaimed and the community built:

• Building world-class infrastructure components including residential and industrial water sources, a state-of-the art produce packing plant and subsurface irrigation systems on farming land that minimize agricultural water usage
• Offering companies and residents the latest in high tech web communications and telephony connection services
• Retaining the natural beauty of the land and its lakes, wildlife, rich soils, trees and vistas
• Constructing agriculture- and nature-friendly residential village areas surrounding a town center—all retaining open space, open air, and tree cover
• Serving as a nexus for growth of Central Florida’s booming high technology companies and affiliated knowledge-based research and support operations
• Expanding owned Clear Springs agribusiness farming operations as well as building collaborative operations with affiliated growers--and bringing it all together with the new Clear Springs Distribution Center
• Attracting a carefully selected group of companies from the US and abroad who might benefit from the Clear Springs investment team while relocating, expanding or setting up operations in Central Florida
• Creating residential areas where villages are anchored together by a classic town center and where people find affordable AND high quality, smartly designed options for living.