Harmony, Florida

Story of Harmony

Harmony is much more than merely a master-planned community. Shaped with purpose from the start, Harmony is a town consciously designed to offer a peaceful balance with animals and nature. Take a few moments to read about the unique qualities that make Harmony a special place to live.

The History Of Harmony. 

From its humble beginnings as a historic hay farm and citrus orchard, learn how a dream of a better way of life became the reality of Harmony.   The Harmony project originally began as the harmony institute, a non-profit foundation created by former Orlando Humane Society/SPCA of Central Florida director Martha Lentz  in 1996. As the guiding light of the developing Harmony community, the Institute exists to promote the psychological, emotional and public health values of living in an integrated balance with pets, wildlife and environmental ecologies.

As co-founders of Harmony, Martha and her husband Jim considered a number of locations for the Institute’s headquarters site, finally arriving at the current property – 11,000 acres of pristine Florida nature, an area known historically as the Triple E Ranch. The Institute and development company formed a partnership to develop the land in accordance with the underlying principles governing the Institute, reserving a 100 acres of Harmony for the Institute’s nonprofit purposes.

The private company developing the town of Harmony is dedicated to the idea that communities planned for the well-being of all their residents – human and non-human alike – will produce not only a higher quality of life, but real marketplace returns as well.

Today, the thriving community of Harmony is home to approximately 1,000 residents, many of them families. Together we successfully fulfill the vision of environmentally intelligent living – as well as proudly serve as prudent caretakers and contributors to the continuing history of Central Florida.

The Harmony Institute.

The Harmony Institute
Before the community of Harmony was created in east Osceola County, there was a project called the Harmony Institute. The Institute forms the philosophical - and even spiritual - heart of Harmony, Florida.

Founded as an independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization in 1996, the Harmony Institute was created by former Orlando Humane Society director Martha Lentz to promote the public health value of living in close proximity to animals and natural wildlife ecologies. The Institute was named in memory of Margaret Harmony Eastman, the mother of the founder.

The 100-acres within Harmony's 11,000 acres provide the philosophical and moral leadership that today guides the development of the Harmony community.

Among other activities, the Institute studies and develops programs to innovate new ways for human beings to enjoy peaceful, healthy, coexisting relationships with the animals and the environment

Harmony's Commitment To Conservation.

Even when Harmony is fully completed, thousands of acres of designated open space will surround your homesite while also providing sanctuary for wildlife and native plant neighbors.

When you visit Harmony, you will not find noisy, gas-powered boats or the intrusion of private homes along the protected, peaceful shorelines of 505-acre Buck Lake and 465-acre Cat Lake. Neither will you find houses fronting our championship golf course, the roar of car traffic in your neighborhood, or the nighttime glare of overlit streets or parks.

What you will discover is a beautiful abundance of natural life, and a charming community engineered to strike the ideal balance between environmental health, natural preservation and homeowner amenities.

An integrated part of the town of Harmony is a 7,700 acre network of protected habitat that is near enough to make nature a part of every day living yet removed enough to provide the shelter and separation that healthy wildlife populations need. Among your Harmony animal neighbors, you will find thriving populations of deer, egrets, owls, sandhill cranes and many others of Florida's 1,200 indigenous species.

Both Harmony and the Preserve are carefully maintained to allow human beings, natural habitats and native wildlife to live together in a sustainable environment. From careful protection of our lakes to the use of only Dark Sky® compliant streetlights, every aspect of Harmony has been designed to observe a balanced human-nature ecology.

Harmony's dedication to local ecologies and Dark Sky® compliance has attracted local astronomy clubs for night sky observing and prompted residents to conduct regular birding activities, trail walks, and habitat enhancement projects.