Chicago banker was visionary behind Lakewood Ranch

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch CEO Rex Jensen, left, with former CEOs Mary Fran Carroll and John Clarke at the Polo Grill in Lakewood Ranch in September 2010. Carroll, who expanded SMR's operations from cattle ranching and aggregate mining to real estate development, died March 24, 2-014, at age 92.

Published: Friday, March 28, 2014 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 28, 2014 at 12:24 a.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - Mary Fran Carroll had dreams of creating her own city.

But when the Chicago banker came to Southwest Florida to sketch out plans for 30,000 acres of pastureland, she was told it couldn’t be done in such a remote area.

In the years that followed, Carroll helped orchestrate development that saw those fields transformed with more than 8,500 homes, 4million square feet of commercial space and retail shops east of Interstate 75 that would become Lakewood Ranch.

The woman whose vision is today one of the best-known master-planned communities in the U.S. died at her Sarasota home Monday. She was 92.

Carroll’s legacy is as vast as the former cattle ranch she helped mold.

She rose up the ranks of corporate banking and development in Florida at a time when those industries were predominately run by men. But Carroll’s bigger impact, colleagues and friends say, was found in her love for the community.

As a sign of mutual affection, today a Braden River bridge, a Palmer Ranch nursing center and a Lakewood Ranch road are named after her.

“She was a terrific leader,” said Roger Postlethwaite, who worked with Carroll at Schroeder-Manatee