Since 1988, The Worthington Group has built a reputation for
excellence in Southwest Florida and beyond, as a builder and developer of fine
residential and commercial opportunities.
The Worthington Group began in 1988, with the start of
Worthington Country Club in Bonita Springs, Florida. Principal, Jeff
Darragh founded Worthington to create this 799-home bundled golf course
community. Worthington Country Club’s unprecedented sales pace, combined
with careful community design and resort style amenities set the bar for future
developments in this high growth area of Southwest Florida. Worthington’s
18-hole championship golf course, and those of the two communities to follow
were designed by Gordon G. Lewis.
In 1994, Jeff Darragh partnered with John Gnagey as Worthington
continued building its reputation for excellence with the start of Lexington
Country Club in Fort Myers. Situated across from the area’s newest major
health care campus, “Health Park Florida”, it was poised for success from the
start. Lexington offered 1,479 single family and multi family
residences – all exclusive Worthington designs, with the community centered
around two lifestyle opportunities – the Golf Village which included bundled
golf membership with each of 800 residences; and the Lake Village with an
Island Club activity center social membership. Lexington also set a
blazing sales pace and received numerous awards, including Community of the
Year.
Expanding its reach in Southwest Florida, Darragh and Gnagey
partnered once again in 1997, for an 800-residence bundled golf community in
Naples, called Vanderbilt Country Club. Careful site selection for
Vanderbilt Country Club, like previous Worthington communities, placed it in
the path of growth east of Interstate 75 in Collier County. In addition
to its 18-hole championship golf course by Gordon G. Lewis, Vanderbilt Country
Club also featured an innovative aquatic driving range with island
targets.
Renaissance, started in 2001, presented new opportunities for
Darragh and Gnagey, as it was a community unlike any other they had previously
built and developed together. Renaissance was a 391-home community in the
popular and upscale Daniels Parkway corridor of South Fort Myers.
Renaissance offered an exclusive private country club with an 18-hole
championship golf course designed by Arthur Hills, as well as a two-story
Mediterranean style clubhouse and spa/fitness/tennis center. Renaissance
has been recognized with numerous awards, including Community of the Year and
is currently nearing sell-out.
Expanding the Worthington reach into his home state, Darragh
began development at Willow Creek in Sweetwater, Tennessee, in 2004.
Willow Creek is a traditional neighborhood design community – pedestrian
friendly with a town center – featuring homes in Victorian and Craftsman
styles, as well as townhomes and condominium carriage homes. Willow Creek
has been a trendsetting development for Sweetwater as the first development of
its kind in that area.
In 2004, Darragh partnered with Bob Kudelski and John Parsons to
develop a luxury western community near Cody, Wyoming called Copperleaf.
This community is also unique in that it is the only development of its kind in
that area of Wyoming. Copperleaf lies on over 550 acres along the North
Fork of the Shoshone River. The community features a River Club community
center and 360-degree views of the mountain ranges surrounding the scenic
Wapiti Valley. 130 home sites and 24 villa homes are currently being
marketed.
During 2005, The Worthington Group of Tennessee began plans for
Sweetwater Mills, an Interstate commercial site on 466 acres near Sweetwater,
Tennessee. Plans include a mixed-use retail/attraction village component,
visitor center and multiple outparcels.
Also in 2005, Darragh has partnered with Quentin Lutz and
Vladimir Tkac to establish Worthington Europe, LLC, to seek out and develop
master plan opportunities in Eastern Europe as well as other emerging global
markets.
Throughout the years,
Worthington has provided ancillary services to complement its real estate
endeavors, including Worthington Title Services and Worthington Realty.
In addition, Worthington has coordinated numerous land offerings from
acquisition and entitlement through sales to other developers and
builders.