Winter Garden expanding Tucker Ranch

The second phase of the Tucker Ranch Park and Nature Preserve has officially begun following the groundbreaking ceremony Friday, Aug. 23.

The next phase will encompass 25.6 acres and will provide personal health and wellness amenities to guests. It will be known as the Tucker Ranch Holistic Health, Wellness, Teaching Farm and Family Activity Center. The 209-acre Tucker Ranch, a former cattle ranch, is located at 100 Avalon Road in Winter Garden and is considered one of the city’s best natural assets.

Winter Garden city leaders, donors and partners took turns addressing the crowd before shoveling spades full of dirt.

Multiple people spoke at the event, including City Manager Jon C. Williams, who recognized the architect and civil engineering group, landscape architects, design team and project managers; Tracy Swanson, CEO of the Foundation for a Healthier West Orange; Kari Vargas, president and CEO of AdventHealth Winter Garden; and Maggie Bonko, president of Orlando Health-Horizon West Hospital.

Mayor John Rees said he is excited to see the next phase get under way; the original phase opened six years ago.

“The city of Winter Garden is proud to provide this state-of-the-art facility for the community to nourish its mind, body and spirit,” Rees said. “We believe when we get through with this part, it will be a state-of-the-art park. We would like to really thank all our city staff that made this happen.”

He recognized the city’s project team — Williams; Laura Coar, director of Winter Garden Parks and Recreation; former City Manager Mike Bollhoefer; and Tanja Gerhartz, former economic development director — as well as the many donors and partners.

City commissioners Iliana R. Jones and Colin Sharman also made remarks.

Sharman held up a thick master plan created by city staff years ago that included an extensive park plan. Tucker Ranch was among the projects.

“This is going to be the crown jewel of our park system,” Sharman said.

The project will include a 5,000-square-foot retreat center for programming and classes, edible and teaching gardens, an outdoor teaching kitchen, a trail system with multiple exercise nodes, outdoor fitness equipment, and a greenhouse.

Construction of the $31 million park phase will begin this fall and is estimated to take two years.

Walking paths will connect it to the existing park’s offerings, which include a playground, nature trails, pavilion, picnic areas, and a launch for canoes and kayaks on Johns Lake.

The first phase of the conservation park opened in 2018, but the project was in the works for years before that.

Former Commissioner Bob Buchanan was instrumental in bringing the Tucker Ranch project to Winter Garden. The city purchased the land in 2011 from Corinne Tucker.

“If it wasn’t for Mrs. Tucker, you wouldn’t be sitting here today,” Buchanan said to groundbreaking attendees. “Because of her vision … she wanted this to become a park for everybody in the city of Winter Garden and Orange County.”

The city spent $2.1 million and obtained a state grant for $900,000 to preserve and develop the property as a legacy park.

Key partnerships — between the city and physical and mental-health organizations — have been working together to bring this health and wellness facility to Winter Garden. The goal is to capture the whole mind-body-soul concept and to create a culture of health and wellness.

Community partners include Healthy West Orange, AdventHealth, Orlando Health, Shepherd’s Hope, American Heart Association, Community Health Centers, American Diabetes Association, UCP of Central Florida and Mental Health Association of Central Florida.

The ranch property and adjoining space was the site of the original West Orange Country Club in the 1910s. The country club closed in 1924 following severe flooding of the golf course.

Judge C.M. “Pete” Tucker and his wife, Mary Matilda Thurmon Tucker, operated a cattle ranch in the 1940s.

During World War II, folks were sent to work at Camp Kent, housed at the West Orange Country Club. Officers and scientists tested different types of new radar. They used a boat owned by Ford dealer Hoyle Pounds and tested their experimental radar on Lake Apopka. The scientific team also tested several kinds of mosquito repellent on the camp guards.

Pete Tucker demolished the old country club building in 1950.

Tucker’s Ranch Campground opened on the eastern shores of Johns Lake in 1969.

The re-envisioned Tucker Ranch health and wellness project’s first phase opened in October 2018.

The Tuckers’ 1950s block house will be preserved and will be home for a full-time caretaker.

“Tucker Ranch will have a long-standing positive impact on the wellbeing of residents and visitors,” Williams said. “To my knowledge, no other city nationwide provides such a comprehensive outlet within a natural environment to maintain or improve an individual’s physical and mental health.”

Tucker Ranch Park and Nature Preserve will remain open during construction. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from March through October; and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from November through February. Admission is free, and leashed dogs are welcome.