University Park celebrates 20 year milestone

UNIVERSITY PARK — As John Neal looks through the window of University Park Country Club toward the golf pro shop, memories formed over the last 20 years come rushing back.

Neal, a teenager at the time the community was being developed, played University Park’s golf course before it even had grass.

He learned to drive on its dirt roads and even helped corral cows that had escaped from the property and were walking along University Parkway on Thanksgiving Day.

“There was nothing here,” Neal says. “It was this mound of dirt. (Rolf Pasold) would wave his hands in the air (and talk about what it would look like). He had this great vision.”

Pasold and Neal’s father, Neal Communities founder and President Pat Neal, joined forces in the 1980s to develop University Park, an award-winning community that has gained a reputation for its pristine and natural look, golf and other attributes.

Although Neal already was in the homebuilding business; Pasold was an Austrian-born, British manufacturer of children’s clothing. His was the largest clothing manufacturer in the United Kingdom until he sold the company in 1974.

University Park, one of the East County’s first communities, celebrated its 20th anniversary Nov. 4. University Park Country Club members will enjoy a special party Nov. 11, at the clubhouse — complete with fireworks.

PARTICULAR PRESERVATION
University Park General Manager Laurie Evans still remembers the first time she drove into University Park for her job interview.

“It was like I was driving into this magical garden,” Evans recalls.

The sentiment is one shared by longtime and newer residents of the community, as well as visitors and even the project’s developers, who worked hard to protect the land’s natural landscaping.

“It was all our priority to make sure we did lots of preservation,” Pat Neal says. “John and I marked out the entry road ourselves. We worked on the golf course to save trees one by one. Trees have been a big part of our past, present and future at University Park, and it shows in the ambience (there).”

Rolf Pasold, in particular, was determined to save as many trees and natural habitat as possible.

“He wouldn’t cut trees,” his daughter, Karin Pasold, says. “He was very adamant about it. He didn’t believe in just knocking things down and replanting. I think that’s what makes University Park so different.
“Also, you don’t see a house until you get to the clubhouse,” she says.

Pat Neal says he estimates they saved about 60 acres of trees and native habitat in total — a roughly $7.5 million investment.

Rolf Pasold also was adamant about other aspects of the community, setting homes farther back from the golf course, so they wouldn’t take away from the view, and making sure roads curved to emphasize greenery, for example.

Karin Pasold’s mother, Barbara, who still lives in University Park, had her own hand in shaping the community, settling on the blue roof for the clubhouse and pro shop. The unique tiles were imported from Japan, she says.

“(My mother) wanted the feeling of the water,” she says. “It’s still very lovely.”

FAR EAST
Although Rolf Pasold and Pat Neal purchased the property on which University Park now sits in November 1980, they did not start constructing the project until nearly a decade later. The property previously was a wooded hunting preserve.

“We waited until University Parkway was six-laned, starting in 1989 to get the development started,” Pat Neal says.

Although University Parkway had been expanded, the road virtually stopped at Interstate 75.

“It was about the farthest east of anything,” John Neal says, adding at the time, he couldn’t understand why anyone would drive so far. “You had to go back to U.S. 41 to get a sandwich. We were sort of the edge of civilization.”

Home sales began in 1991. The first three communities to open were Hampton Green, St. James and Regents. Homes in Hampton Green started around the $200,000s, with lots starting at $20,000.

“The feeling was (there should be) an attention to detail — everything should be perfect,” Karin Pasold says. “And (that’s) still (there) now.”

STILL GROWING
Twenty years later, University Park’s future is still governed by the families who founded it. Karin Pasold and her brother, Colin, now own their parents’ stake, although Charles Varah handles the family’s interests. John Neal, owner of John Neal Homes, purchased his father’s stake in the community in early 2008 for $4.1 million.

“I wanted to continue on the vision,” John Neal says. “I wanted to be part of something special.”

The community still has about 30 home sites available, some of which Rolf Pasold had refused to sell for many years, because of their natural beauty, Karin Pasold says.

Earlier this year, John Neal re-launched University Park’s new home sales, which he had put on hold during the economic downturn. At the time, John Neal also began offering an on-your-lot service, which allowed new buyers to construct any of Neal Communities’ homes.

John Neal says 50% of home sales within the community are by University Park residents who are moving within the community to homes that better suit their needs. Additionally, University Park Country Club became semi-public in late 2007 in a proactive step to address changes in the market. The club now has 857 members across all membership levels.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

TIMELINE
1991: Golf course and first three neighborhoods open
1993: Reader Choice Best Golf Course (also won 1994-1995)
1996: Addition of third nine holes to the original 18
1996: University Park wins Aurora Award for Best Community in Southeastern United States
1998: Dedication of new fitness center
2001: Additional clay tennis courts constructed
2001: Construction of private Varsity Club completed
2003: Expansion of the Park Grille and addition of banquet facility
2005: 100th Wedding at UPCC
2007: John Neal/Colin Pasold take back management of University Park Country Club
2010: Earns Best Manatee Community Environmental Award

PIONEERS
Although Stewart and Gertrude Fogleman weren’t the first to sign contracts in University Park, they were the first residents to move in there.

Now at age 87, Stewart Fogleman still plays golf every day, although he went from playing nine holes of golf instead of 18, in 2010.

As of Nov. 4, Stewart Fogleman had played 6,024 rounds of golf, all at University Park.

“We found the perfect place for his addiction,” Gertrude Fogleman said, noting her husband has played at courses all over the world and locally. “He likes this one the best.”

CHANGED PERSPECTIVE
Pat Neal says the experience he gained at University Park strongly influenced how he develops communities today.

“(The Pasolds) changed my life in a lot of ways, but two of (those ways) were their extreme attention to details and attention to everything visual, which I believe makes University Park exceptional,” Neal says. “University Park was an important part of my journey to learn how to steward the land. There was a lot to learn. It was fun experience.”

BY THE NUMBERS
1,200 — Number of acres University Park covers
1,167 — Number of homes in University Park
857 — Number of members at the University Park Country Club
31 — Number of neighborhoods within University Park