Lakewood Park

History of Lakewood Park

Lakewood Park in northern St. Lucie County is an unincorporated community covering 6.7 square miles. It was one of the first developments in northern St. Lucie County. According to the 2000 Census, it is home to more than 10,400 people.

The community got its start in 1956, when Edmund and Delores Brant formed the Lakewood Park Construction Company, and began to develop the area. “Half of the land was in cow pasture and half in wetlands,” said Robert Parker, a Vero Beach attorney and Lakewood Park resident. “There wasn’t a tree in sight. Now it is heavily wooded. They dug 26 lakes and used the fill for the roads and lots.” All of the lakes and most of the roads are named for Brant family members or friends, he said.

The Brands were from Babylon, N.Y., but they and other family members also developed land in Texas.

Brant plotted 4,000 one-quarter-acre lots, all of which were sold for $895 each, and about 3,000 of which now hold homes, Parker said. About 600 acres of the land are used for a community center and village office, fire station and public school. The roads were unpaved for most of the community’s history. In the late 1990s, St. Lucie County began a program to pave the roads. The plan was opposed by many residents who said paved roads would damage the rural atmosphere of the area.

Public affairs for Lakewood Park are managed by the Lakewood Park Home Owners’ Association, which sponsors a citizens crime watch unit, schedules community activities and represents the area before other agencies. The area is covered by a municipal services taxing unit.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 10,458 people, 4,562 households, and 3,166 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,561.6 people per square mile (602.7/km²). There were 5,124 housing units at an average density of 765.1/sq mi (295.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.81% White, 5.28% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.54% of the population.

There were 4,562 households out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 29.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,805, and the median income for a family was $41,069. Males had a median income of $30,271 versus $22,872 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,041. About 8.2% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.