To find out which amenities are most popular with today’s buyers, BUILDER consulted Rob Adams, senior vice president of residential at Tavistock Development Co. During Adams’ tenure with Tavistock, the 17 square-mile Lake Nona community has consistently ranked as one of the most innovative and top-selling master-planned communities in the country. Now, Sunbridge, a new master-planned community emerging on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida, is paving the way for the future of sustainable communities.

Each Fall, Lake Nona comes alive with a vibrant array of fall events that promise to delight. From cultural celebrations to spooky thrills, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this season. Discover the top things to do this fall in Lake Nona.

Oktoberfest – September 30, 4-10 p.m. 
Lake Nona Town Center 

Prost! Get ready to raise your steins in this lively Oktoberfest celebration at the Lake Nona Town Center. Indulge in authentic German cuisine, revel in the taste of seasonal beers, and immerse yourself in the lively atmosphere complete with live music, themed entertainment, photo-ops, games, and more.  

Feeling tough? Test your strength in the signature Stein Hoisting competition, spaces are limited so be sure to sign up early! 

Pumpkin Carving Workshop – October 12, 6-9 p.m.  
Dockside 

With spooky season in full swing, tap into your inner artist at Lake Nona’s Dockside during a pumpkin carving workshop like no other. Led by world-renowned pumpkin carver, Paul Dever, this instructor-led session promises to make your pumpkin the envy of the block. Plus, the cost includes a personal pumpkin carving toolset, ensuring you’ll be ready to create stunning jack-o’-lanterns in the years to come. Click here for ticket information. 

Murder Mystery Dinner – October 13, 7-10 p.m.  
Dockside 

What better way to commemorate Friday the 13th than embracing your inner sleuth to solve a murder? Lake Nona’s Murder Mystery Dinner: Midnight at the Masquerade promises a fully immersive experience complete with costumes, clues, and a captivating crime to solve. Enjoy dinner and a welcome drink as you embark on an evening of mystery and clues. 
Click here for ticket information. 

Town Harvest – October 14, 5-10 p.m.  
Lake Nona Town Center 

Embrace autumn at Lake Nona’s annual Town Harvest, where the season comes alive with a pumpkin patch, arts & crafts stations, and live country music. Capture picture-perfect moments at the tractor photo-op and indulge in fall-themed treats and specialty drinks that perfectly encapsulate the flavors of the season. This event is free and open to the public. 

Graveyard Smash – October 28, 5-10 p.m.  
Lake Nona Town Center 

Prepare for spine-tingling thrills at the Lake Nona Graveyard Smash! This family-friendly Halloween celebration will feature trick-or-treat stations, inflatable courses, face painting, and hair-raising music. This event is sure to get you into the Halloween spirit. This event is free and open to the public. 

Home of the Brave Veterans Day Celebration – November 11, 5-10 p.m.  
Lake Nona Town Center 

Honor local service men and women during the Home of the Brave Veterans Day Celebration at Lake Nona Town Center. Begin the evening with an Honors Ceremony featuring an Honor Guard presentation, singers, and live musicians. The event will feature military vehicle displays, booths dedicated to Veterans services, and even an on-site service horse from Horses & Heroes. The Patriotic Parachute Team descending from the sky adds an awe-inspiring touch to this special event. This event is free and open to the public. 

Lake Nona Live: Jazz Fest – November 18, 5-10 p.m. 
Lake Nona Town Center  

Immerse yourself in the smooth melodies of Lake Nona’s first-ever Jazz Fest! With three stages hosting live music performances by local jazz musicians, this event promises to be a soulful and rhythm-filled experience for all attendees. More info to come, this event is free and open to the public. 

Whether you’re looking for traditional holiday fun, creative workshops, mysteries to solve, or patriotic commemorations, Lake Nona has something for everyone. And just when you thought the festivities were over, keep up with ohwhatfunlakenona.com for details on the annual Oh, What Fun! Holiday Festival that will dazzle and delight. 

Mark your calendars, gather your loved ones, and get ready to make unforgettable memories in Lake Nona! 

The 17-square-mile mixed-use development adjacent to Orlando International Airport is owned by Tavistock Development Company, a real estate arm of investment company Tavistock. Along with the healthcare organizations, the community includes employers Verizon, KPMG and the U.S. Tennis Association. It also is where most of the people who work at these companies live.

ORLANDO, Fla. – August 1, 2023 – Lake Nona’s Wellness Home Built on Innovation and Technology (WHIT), and Welltech Ventures, a prominent wellness and health innovation fund, today announced the establishment of a global call to action competition to discover groundbreaking technologies that tackle major challenges in wellness and ultimately answer the question: “what is a healthy home?” 

Entrepreneurs and established companies dedicated to creating health and wellness solutions and experiences are invited to participate in this extraordinary opportunity. A distinguished panel of international CEOs and business leaders from the wellness and technology sectors will serve as judges, including Daniel Kraft, M.D., Founder & Chair, NextMed Health, and John Driscoll, EVP & President, U.S. Healthcare, Walgreens Boots Alliance. The judges will evaluate the submissions and provide feedback on the participating startups during a virtual demo day, which is scheduled for November 13, 2023. The winner will be announced in a news release following the event. 

 “We’re excited to partner with Lake Nona for this Call for Innovation, as they offer the perfect environment to evaluate the next generation of health and wellness technologies for the home within its WHIT house,” said Galit Horovitz, Co-Founder & Partner at Welltech Ventures. “We are witnessing health and wellness at the forefront of innovation in the home. This is just the beginning of an extraordinary revolution in wellness and health. In the contest, we will be looking for disruptive technologies helping people live happier, healthier, and longer lives in their home environment.” 

WHIT, which was created by the Lake Nona Institute, stands as a pioneering home, purposefully designed to integrate wellness solutions and technologies while rigorously researching their effectiveness in enhancing health and wellbeing. Nestled in Lake Nona, a smart and sustainable city in Central Florida, WHIT exemplifies a forward-thinking approach to home design focused on optimizing health and well-being within the built environment. 

“It’s our pleasure to support the global call for action this year,” said Gloria A. Caulfield, Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Tavistock and President of the Lake Nona Institute. “The focus on health and wellness in the home environment is timely, as sustainability and longevity practices continue to increase in popularity and necessity. It is our hope that these innovations will enable a whole new living experience and an immersive approach to health and wellness.” 

Modern consumers care deeply about wellness. A recent report from McKinsey & Co. showed continued growth of consumer interest in health and wellness globally, with a market of more than $1.5 trillion and annual growth of 5 to 10 percent. Despite being an increasingly crowded space, there are still gaps in the market that present exciting opportunities to introduce novel products and solutions. This competition seeks to identify and pursue those opportunities, and offer the winner the chance to evaluate their product in the unique living lab setting of WHIT House. The winner will also receive a prize of $10,000. 

The contest is now open: APPLY HERE 

Deadline: September 30, 2023 

About Welltech Ventures 

Welltech Ventures is a leading venture capital firm solely focused on the wellness and health space. Our experience, thought leadership, vast global network, and founder-focused, fast-paced culture makes us the partner of choice for the most promising and profitable well-tech entrepreneurs. 

We’re passionate about investing in early-stage startups that are harnessing new technologies to improve people’s lives in ways we never dreamed possible, innovating in areas such as remote care, preventive medicine, mental health, physical wellness, nutrition, longevity, wellness sustainability, and more.  

About Lake Nona 

Planned and developed by the Tavistock Group, Lake Nona is one of the fastest growing and most innovative communities in America. Located in Orlando, Florida, the 17-square-mile community has established a new standard of living for its residents with groundbreaking initiatives around technology, mobility, and wellbeing. Lake Nona is located contiguous to Orlando International Airport in the most visited destination in the U.S. The smart and connected community’s advanced infrastructure and commitment to collaboration has drawn visionary companies and entrepreneurs from across the globe to join its living lab environment accelerating economic growth and opportunity across health and life sciences, education, hospitality, and sports and performance. Lake Nona’s attractive business ecosystem is enhanced by a thriving cultural landscape defined by iconic architecture and engaging public art installations, miles of trails and walkable green spaces, weekly signature events, shopping, dining and entertainment options set amongst Central Florida’s beautiful natural landscape and year-round sunshine. For more information, visit www.lakenona.com 

About WHIT 

The Wellness Home built on Innovation and Technology (WHIT) is a first-of-its-kind home designed to activate health solutions and technologies and research their ability to measurably improve health and wellbeing. It is both a livable space and a living laboratory to test new prototypes, evaluate solutions and assess health and wellness concepts within an established wellbeing centered community. For more information, visit www.meetwhit.com/. 

About Tavistock Development Company 

Tavistock Development Company is a diversified real estate firm located in Orlando, Fla. owned by Tavistock Group. Specializing in planning, design, finance, construction, and development of groundbreaking projects, Tavistock Development Company has built a portfolio of nationally-acclaimed residential, retail, commercial, and industrial projects highlighted by master-planned communities Lake Nona and Sunbridge in Central Florida and Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit tavistockdevelopment.com. 

ORLANDO, Fla., July 14, 2023 – Members of the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club topped the leaderboards at both the Meijer LPGA Classic and the Amundi German Masters in late June. Leona Maguire and Ariya Jutanugarn secured first and second place finishes at the Meijer LPGA Classic, respectively, while Cara Gainer clinched a remarkable second-place finish in a play-off at the Amundi German Masters.

Home to 14 LPGA Tour, Ladies’ European Tour and Epson Tour players, Lake Nona’s rich golfing history and global reputation continues to inspire and develop a new generation of emerging talent. This culture of excellence has propelled touring professional members, both women and men, to 44 Major Championship victories worldwide.

“We are thrilled to see our members dominating the leaderboards around the world, it’s rewarding to see the Club’s world-class facilities providing a platform and ecosystem of development in helping these players reach their goals” said Matt Collis, Director of Golf at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.

At a time when the National Golf Foundation reports the highest representation of female golfers ever, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club not only boasts some of the finest practice facilities for its members but also continues in its tradition of hosting LPGA tournaments on its Tom Fazio-designed championship course – a legacy launched at the inaugural Solheim Cup in 1990 and restored at the 2021 Gainbridge LPGA, followed by the 2022 and 2023 HGV Tournament of Champions.

Lake Nona members including Nasa Hataoka, Lydia Ko, Leona Maguire, Annika Sorenstam and Ariya’s sister Moriya Jutanugarn have also made headlines over the years, most recently with Lydia Ko claiming the Race to CME Globe in 2022 and the world #1 spot.

“Lake Nona for me provides a world-class environment to follow in the footsteps of some of the best players in the game,” said Cara Gainer. “It is motivational to be among so much success!”

Situated in Lake Nona, one of Orlando’s most coveted neighborhoods, the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club is the anchor of Lake Nona’s growing sports and performance district accompanied by USTA’s Home of American Tennis – the largest tennis facility in the world, the Lake Nona Performance Club – Central Florida’s most comprehensive training facility, and XL Soccer – home of the Orlando City Soccer School.

About Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Recognized as one of the world’s top private golf club communities, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club sits at the heart of Lake Nona, a 17-square-mile, master-planned community comprised of wellness, education, recreation and entertainment offerings. For over 35 years, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club has delivered the highest quality of living in Central Florida, combining natural splendor with a dynamic lifestyle amidst an abundance of luxury estate homes. The unique opportunity to live and play at Lake Nona has attracted a vibrant community of residents and members who enjoy a wealth of amenities, including: a Tom Fazio-designed, championship golf course; a fully equipped golf performance center; a 40,000-square-foot Clubhouse with an 18-room guest lodge; a Bath & Racquet Club with an all-inclusive fitness center, along with state-of-the-art tennis and pickleball courts, a lakeside pool and playground, and a dedicated youth activity center with year-round children’s programming; 24-hour gated security; and outstanding water-based recreation on a trio of waterways. Guided by a continual pursuit of excellence, highlighted by exceptional family experiences and outstanding service, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club will continue to set the benchmark for lifestyle-driven club communities for years to come. For more information, visit: http://www.lakenona.club.

About Lake Nona

Orlando’s Lake Nona is one of the fastest-growing communities in America with more than 10 million square feet of world-class residential and commercial facilities. Adjacent to Orlando International Airport, the large-scale, master-designed community is home to thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, world-class education facilities, a Health & Life Sciences Cluster, a Sports & Performance District highlighted by USTA’s Home of American Tennis – the largest tennis facility in the world, diverse work spaces, recreational facilities, retail centers, and entertainment venues encompassing the best Orlando has to offer with all the conveniences of a dynamic, vibrant community. Driven by a long-term vision, Lake Nona is committed to building an innovative community that inspires human potential whilst being focused on sustainable design, healthy living, and groundbreaking gigabit fiber optic technology. A smart and connected community, Lake Nona is wired for the future, providing a no-limits foundation for individuals and companies to thrive. For more information, visit http://www.lakenona.com

So, what is Lake Nona’s secret sauce? Lake Nona isn’t the only live-work-play offering in Orlando, but it does provide some comparative advantages such as a coveted location just off the Orlando Beltway and fewer than 10 minutes from Orlando International Airport. And there’s the mixed-density retail and autonomous shuttle program at Lake Nona that are a draw for the more than 12,000 onsite employees, as are the benefits of being located in the United States’ very first Cisco Smart + Connected community.

Scott “Skipper” Peek who is part of the leadership team that has developed Lake Nona into a nationally renowned mixed-use project that is recognized for its excellence in design, technology, health and wellness.

As featured in Authority Magazine

An Interview With Jason Hartman

As a part of my series about the ‘Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Real Estate Industry’, I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott “Skipper” Peek.

Scott “Skipper” Peek who is part of the leadership team that has developed Lake Nona into a nationally renowned mixed-use project that is recognized for its excellence in design, technology, health and wellness. With over 40 years of experience in the real estate industry, Mr. Peek leads Tavistock’s commercial real estate transaction team for projects that have entitlements for more than eleven million square feet of development and contain more than 12,000 acres.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?

Myfather was a real estate investor which started my initial interest. I was a finance major at the University of Florida and took a real estate elective class under Dr. Clayton Curtis which accelerated my interest. I had a great opportunity with a group called Georgetown Development out of Miami after graduation and the rest is history.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?

My teams have had a lot of success on corporate build-to-suits over the years, including some of the largest transactions in Florida’s history. Many of these projects started as speculative designs where we were focused and forward-thinking on prospective tenant needs, with imbedded flexibility.

Because we had designs in evolution that were thoughtful and aligned with tenant needs, we were able to have a speed-to-market advantage over competitors that were starting from scratch. I think the key takeaway on this is that it helps to be forward thinking about your customer needs and be willing to risk pursuit capital to gain a time advantage, which can often be the difference between winning and losing an opportunity.

In the amusing story category, while at Highwoods Properties, we did a large build-to-suit for CNA Insurance and we agreed to a super aggressive schedule. I was literally helping to install toilet seats at 5:00 am on move-in day. The takeaway is you have to do what you have to do, to get the job done.

Do you have a favorite “life lesson quote”? Can you share a story or example of how that was relevant to you in your life?

This is simple; always do the right thing and don’t be afraid to be inquisitive and ask questions. Doing the right thing will be critical in forming people’s faith in your reliability and their willingness to do business with you.

Some people view asking questions as a sign of weakness and are afraid to show that they don’t know everything. I think asking questions is a sign of strength. There is something to learn in this business every day and real estate is changing and evolving every day. To be at the top of your game, and to compete at the highest level, one has to take a lifelong and daily approach to learning.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Lake Nona is the most exciting community that I’ve worked on in my career, with a constant stream of projects in the works. While I am usually an analytical thinker, Tavistock has pushed me to imagine the impossible as part of creating in Lake Nona, a new blueprint for a great American city-within-a-city in metro Orlando that covers 17- square miles, encompassing several million square feet of commercial property, with millions more in the pipeline.

We are relentlessly pushing for Lake Nona to establish a gold standard of living because of its rich mixture of uses, unique amenities and walkability. Whether you’re living or working in Lake Nona you have access to everything within 17 square miles; from the Lake Nona Performance Club, the most comprehensive gym and wellness center in Central Florida, to a vibrant Town Center with a variety and growing number of restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues with community events all year round, public art, autonomous shuttle program, and education from pre-k to MD. I think Lake Nona’s blueprint is the future of planned community living that people will demand to foster a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Wow…it’s hard to condense all the great qualities that make Tavistock different in a paragraph or two, but I will try. Firstly, we have an incredibly smart, visionary and well-resourced owner in Joe Lewis who has pushed us to the limit on creativity, our attention to detail, and commitment to excellence while allowing us to take measured risks. He has empowered Tavistock Development Company to take a generational approach to its communities and other projects.

Tavistock has an amazing team with unique skillsets and expertise across residential, commercial, mixed-use, health & wellbeing, sports & performance and hospitality. This really stands out in Lake Nona, where we’ve created an extraordinary environment that inspires human potential through excellence in design, community programming, collaboration and innovation. We’re fortunate that this vision has attracted an ecosystem of innovative companies that call Lake Nona home, including KPMG, BBA Aviation, SIMCOM and Fountain Life, to name a few. Plus a large cluster of research, clinical and education partners including University of Central Florida’s Health Sciences Campus, Nemours Children’s Hospital, The VA Hospital, UCF’s teaching hospital and the Sara Cannon Cancer Institute.

For the full article, visit Authority Magazine online.