James Lentz serves as Harmony Institutes Chief Executive Officer. Jim’s thirty-year background in Municipal Bond Finance provided him with the unique perspective to follow through on building a community that demonstrated the vision of the Harmony Institute. Because of his resume and understanding of the finances of State and local governments, his selection to become General Partner and CEO of the partnership that owned the 11,000-acre community to be known as the Town of Harmony was logical.
After the requirement that a water and wastewater system be built, the development focused on features and amenities recommended by HICAB, the Institute’s academic advisory board. Restrictions on many dog regulations were removed while rules on the use of the two 500-acre pristine lakes were implemented to ensure their on-going natural state.
Others that are unique to Harmony include total Dark Sky lighting, energy star homes, pocket parks, the absence of houses on the golf course or along the shores of the two 500-acre lakes, a community park along the shore of Buck Lake and a charter school so residents could place their children immediately in a walk-to-school environment. The development further donated land to Osceola County to accommodate both a middle and high school. To ensure the safety of Harmony children, Lentz worked with Osceola County and the Florida Department of Transportation to finance and construct a one-mile highway underpass walkway to the schools. Finally, the development set aside 70% of the land as a natural preserve.
Lentz grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, a rough neighborhood with little opportunity to connect with nature outside of pigeons. Fortunately, his home was not far from Central Park. He was drawn to the park where he began to understand the calming balancing effect of nature. By the time he moved to Florida to participate in the State’s growing infrastructure needs, he was the head trader and manager of the firm’s $100-million municipal bond trading portfolio. He started his own businesses, MG Lewis and Capital Market Consultants, Inc., where he raised over $10 billion dollars involving hundreds of transactions for his clients.
In 1996 he joined his wife Martha’s efforts to help build communities smarter and healthier. His real-estate leadership includes serving as General Partner for a NYSE listed company, project development leader for a private equity firm, and recently as managing member for a group of private investors from Brazil.