NOVEMBER, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS MONTHLY

‘Their Own Backyard’
By Laura Musall

Call it a family affair. Dr. Lawrence and Carol Reitz are developing 200 acres of what used to be prime Boone County farmland, the very farm where their sons, Larry Jr. and Jon, baled hay in their younger days. Now the Reitz boys are again working the land. Only this time Larry Jr. is project manager, Jon is a financial investor, and Larry Jr.’s wife Jasna, is in charge of advertising and marketing. The project has been dubbed Stonegate, and all insist that it’s no ordinary subdivision. The family likes to say that it epitomizes everything they love about Zionsville—charm, close-knit neighbors and kids riding bikes.

Like Carmel’s Village of WestClay, Stonegate aims to be an upscale community, offering executive homes in Phase I. This fall, lots in Phase II will be available for construction of Tudar-and English-style homes. Later phases will feature cottage homes and condos. In total, 350 houses will be built around a community center, swimming pool, chapel, shops and greenspaces. A K-4 elementary school is slated to open in 2005, and the Reitzs are donating $200 of every lot sold to the Zionsville Education Foundation.

The elder Reitzs have more than a financial interest in making sure their vision of small-town charm becomes reality: They’ll still live on the farm-turned-housing-addition, and their backyard overlooks the property.— Laura Musall