The Retreat at Twin Lakes

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Coordinates: 28°47′33″N 81°19′50.5″W / 28.79250°N 81.330694°W / 28.79250; -81.330694
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

28°47′33″N 81°19′50.5″W / 28.79250°N 81.330694°W / 28.79250; -81.330694

The Retreat at Twin Lakes, north entrance

The Retreat at Twin Lakes is a

financial crisis of 2007–2008
.

History

In 2004, Engle Homes began construction on the 263 two-story townhouse development which is located 18 miles (30 km) northeast of downtown Orlando.[1] The community, near Interstate 4 in a suburban section of Sanford, was marketed as "an oasis where nobody could park a car on the street or paint the house an odd color."[1] The remaining lots were acquired by Lennar following the 2008 bankruptcy filing of Engle,[2] and the neighborhood was finally built out in 2011.[3]

George Zimmerman moved to the community in 2009. At that time, the United States was experiencing the

Great Recession. This caused a "demographic transformation" of the gated community, where 1,400-square-foot (130 m2) townhouses had once sold on average for $250,000. However, by February 2012, that value "...had fallen below $100,000." With the change came a "spate of burglaries" which were largely due to the "...large-scale foreclosures in the wake of the housing crash led investors to rent, rather than sell, the spaces, which brought a new, transient type of resident." These events were the background which led to the fatal shooting and the controversy of the stand-your-ground laws which were in effect in the entire state of Florida.[4] After the shootings, the community was in the "national spotlight."[5]

Demographics

According to the

black." In 2010, the community reported 326 crime incidents which ranged from homicide to burglaries.[6] According to another source, the community was one where "very few black teens like [Trayvon Martin] live."[7]

In an opinion piece in The New York Times, Rich Benjamin blames the gated communities for contributing to the death of Trayvon Martin saying "gated communities churn a vicious cycle by attracting like-minded residents who seek shelter from outsiders and whose physical seclusion then worsens paranoid groupthink against outsiders."[8]

References

  1. ^ a b DeGregory, Lane (March 26, 2012). "Trayvon Martin's killing shatters safety within Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford". Tampa Bay Times.
  2. ^ Shanklin, Mary (April 6, 2010). "Bankruptcy fallout: Contractors fight repaying home builder Tousa". Orlando Sentinel.
  3. ^ "The Retreat at Twin Lakes". New Southern Properties.
  4. ^ Tuttle, Ian (July 22, 2013). "The Neighborhood Zimmerman Watched". National Review.
  5. ^ Green, Amy (March 28, 2012). "Zimmerman's Twin Lakes Community Was on Edge Before Trayvon Shooting". The Daily Beast.
  6. ^ CJR Staff (April 2, 2012). "Reporting Trayvon". Columbia Journalism Review.
  7. ^ Fears, Darryl; Roig-Franzia, Manuel; Jackman, Tom (March 22, 2012). "Florida shooter George Zimmerman not easily pigeonholed". The Seattle Times.
  8. ^ "Did Gated Community 'Groupthink' Play A Role in Trayvon Martin's Shooting?". WBUR. April 30, 2012.

External links

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