For partners, not speculators.
I'm Franklin Andrew Cruz, the developer of Oaks on Olive. This page tells the whole story from an investor's seat: what we're building, why we're building it, how the project works, where it stands today, and who you'd be partnering with. No hype and no funnel. If it reads more like a briefing than a pitch, that's on purpose.
Want the full financials? The complete numbers, the tranche structure, the letters of intent, and the live pro forma live in the private portal. Access is granted personally; if you don't have credentials, email me and request them.
Who this page is for: an experienced investor, business owner, operator, or family office with meaningful liquidity who wants a credible long-term real estate investment, and, if you're carrying a recent eligible capital gain, this site's federal Opportunity Zone designation can make the timing work harder for you. You don't need to love Frank Lloyd Wright to belong here. The architecture makes this memorable; the economics make it investable; the OZ makes it timely.
The product, first. Concept rendering, subject to final entitlement. Every image on this page expands when tapped, print any rendering you like.
The problem we're solving
People pay a lot of money for rent, it only goes up, and it buys them nothing. On the path we're on, owning a home is becoming close to impossible for a huge part of this country within the next ten years. That's the pain, and it's everybody's pain. Understand that, and you understand this investment.
How we solve it
We build a 2 bed 2 bath product, on Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian principles, that a working family can truly own for less than they're paying in rent. Not a slogan, arithmetic. I've already run all the numbers.
The proof · Run the buyer's number yourself
I've already run all of these numbers. Here's the proof, and you don't have to take my word for any of it, run it yourself. The buyer's math is public arithmetic:
The rent chips reflect published Lakeland averages, apartments around $1,459 for 1 bed, $1,585 for 2 bed, $1,822 for 3 bed (RentCafe, Rent.com, 2026), and single family homes in 33815 typically rent higher. Every number is editable, run it your way.
Estimates only, for education, not a loan offer, quote, or financial advice. Principal and interest only; taxes, insurance, and membership not included. Rates and terms come from your lender, and your numbers will differ. Pricing pending final entitlement.
And compare it to the bank
Now weigh the alternative. The default below is $5.5 million, because that's the real conversation, horizontal and vertical, though every number is yours to change. A bank savings account typically pays around 1.5%. Here: put in an amount, the rate your money earns today, and the rate you'd name in our conversation. It shows the difference in plain dollars, compounded annually. This is arithmetic, not our final numbers and not a promise; those live in the proforma and the conversation.
And an FYI, from me to you: whatever number you just named, if you're selected as an investor partner, I believe this project does meaningfully better than that, more than double what you're looking at, easily. That's my conviction, I've run the numbers behind it, and the proof is a conversation, not a webpage. We can talk. But keep reading.
Hypothetical, educational arithmetic only, based entirely on numbers you enter. Not an offer, a projection, or a promise of any return. Any actual terms are established solely in definitive documents prepared by counsel, and all investment involves risk, including loss of principal.
The plan · One primary path, defined contingency
Primary: capitalize the acquisition and horizontal development, build in controlled phases, lease the residences, stabilize, refinance, return a portion of investor capital, and hold long term. Contingency: sell selected residences or phases when sales produce a materially better risk-adjusted return or reduce leverage. One plan, one fallback, decided by numbers, not hope.
And the economics unlock nobody sees coming: impact fees on this ground approach $4 million, city and municipality combined. Staying within the workforce housing ratio removes roughly 75% of that burden. The city calls it workforce housing; Wright called it the Usonian home. That alignment of mission and math is why this pencils where garden apartments didn't. Full numbers are a direct conversation.
Safety first · What if something goes wrong?
I know what you actually need before any structure talk: safety and security. So here it is. Every study on this site is already done, the surveys, the environmental (the site is clean), the geotech, the utilities, the easements, all shown below with the conceptual plan. We already have vetted bids for all trades on this project, so the costs are real bids, not hopes. And the product itself is the protection: we sell homes priced below the cost of renting, or we rent them ourselves, either path is profitable, and that optionality is exactly what protects your capital. Win-win for the buyer, win-win for the partners. Then we buy the next property and do it again.
Bottom line: this is an amazing opportunity, and it's a win-win for everybody involved. We can break it all down personally. If you're interested, email me with the subject line "I'm interested," or keep reading, everything else is behind this, the vision, the product, the studies, and who I am.
Want to study the ground itself first? Explore the location and the full due diligence center on the main site.
And for the land's whole story, 101 years and 47 conceptual plans: read the history.
The vision · Why we're building this
Can timeless architecture become attainable again? I believe it can, and Oaks on Olive is the proof: 99 private residence compounds in Lakeland, Florida, designed around land, peace, and privacy, at prices working families can actually reach. We believe it will be the first new community of its kind built on Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian principles, two miles from the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.
Why it matters: after I built Cruz Court and sold it to KB Home, every national home builder bid on that property, and I talked to all of them. Not one had any plan for style, for a Frank Lloyd Wright, a Mies van der Rohe, a Gene Leedy. Not one. The demand for something better is enormous, and almost nobody is supplying it. That gap is the opportunity, and closing it for ordinary people is the mission.
The opportunity · How the project works
Discipline before dollars. Every study was completed before we committed to the ground, and we're negotiating the land acquisition at the best possible price, because disciplined entry protects the entire project. Bids for the horizontal work, the roads, streets, and infrastructure, are already in hand from contractors, so our infrastructure numbers are real bids, not estimates. And the demand side is already running: the public Priority List grows daily with buyers, financing-ready buyers, and Realtors.
Why we believe in it long term. The site carries a triple federal designation: Qualified Opportunity Zone, Qualified Census Tract, and Targeted Employment Area. The product is priced from $259K in a market that offers almost nothing with architecture at that number. And the build is phased, 99 residences delivered in stages, so capital is deployed against milestones, not hope.
The facts, stated plainly
Land: in active negotiation. We have not acquired it yet, and we say that plainly. We control the opportunity and are negotiating final terms now. The plan: 9 acres at 1506 N. Olive Street plus 4 acres across the street in the same vision.
Entitlements: the land carries existing entitlements; our plan proceeds through a major modification with the City of Lakeland, estimated 4 to 6 months. We hold a letter of support from the Mayor of Lakeland, and city staff have reviewed our direction and indicated support.
The product · What we're building
Every residence is a private compound: a walled 30 by 93 foot lot, a private courtyard, a covered carport, and mature oaks preserved around it. You don't buy a house on a street. You own a compound behind your own wall.
The single story compound at dusk · Concept rendering, subject to final entitlement
The compound by day · The two story courtyard compound at night · Tap any image to enlarge
The product board, version 11: the butterfly roof residence, the flow, the specs, the materials. It's a rendering, we're still refining it. Tap to enlarge, and you're welcome to print it.
The two story courtyard compound by day
The two models
Single story: 800 SF, 2 bed, 2 bath, from $259K, premier homesites to $269K.
Two story courtyard: 1,600 SF, 4 bed, 3 bath, from $399K.
Materials are specified off the shelf on purpose, so 99 homes build the same way, on schedule, at cost discipline a custom build can never match.
The site plan · July 2026
The current working site plan, evolving with the City of Lakeland: all 99 lots, access roads, and the existing oaks marked to remain. Tap to see it full size.
The partnership · You name your terms
Here's how I think about partnership, plainly: the structure gets built around you, not handed to you as a take-it-or-leave-it term sheet. Some partners prefer a preferred return with a share of the outcome. Some prefer a simple flat structure. Some come with their own idea entirely. All of those are conversations I want to have, and the actual numbers belong in that conversation, with counsel involved, not on a webpage.
Pref + Share
A preferred return first, then a share of the outcome. Structure discussed directly.
Flat Structure
One number, plain and simple, no waiting on a split. Discussed directly.
Name It
Tell me the structure that works for you and we'll look at it together, with counsel.
The Opportunity Zone advantage. This site carries a federal Qualified Opportunity Zone designation. For investors sitting on large capital gains, OZ investment can defer federal tax on those gains, and after a 10 year hold, eliminate federal tax on the new growth entirely under current law. If you have high gains, this can be enormous. I'm not your tax advisor and this isn't tax advice; bring your CPA, and we'll bring the designation letters.
Interested? Email me two things: that you're interested, and for how much. I'll connect you directly with my attorney, Wright Townsend, and we'll look at which structure and which tax benefits serve you best.
The documents · Complete and real
Plain-language explanations, because you should never nod at a document you don't understand. Tap any image to see it full size.
Survey · Topo · Tree Survey · Complete
Boundary and ALTA surveys with full topography, and every protected oak mapped. The precise legal truth of the land, and the starting point of every plan.
Utilities Map · Complete
The GIS utilities map. In plain words: we know exactly where water, sewer, and power connect to this property. Tie-in points are identified, not assumed. That is the make-or-break question of any site, answered.
Easement Map · Complete
Every easement on the site, located and mapped. No surprises under the ground or on the title.
Geotechnical Report · Complete · 17 pages
Engineers bored into the ground and tested the soil. This tells us exactly what the earth can carry, and it is what every foundation is engineered from. Tap the cover to enlarge; the full 17 pages are available in conversation.
Environmental Site Assessments · Phase I & II · Complete
Roughly 600 pages of environmental testing, and here is what they say in one sentence: the site is clean, no contamination. That is exactly what we wanted. We won't make you scroll 600 pages here; want to read it in a conversation, you can.
Government Support · In Motion
A letter of support from the Mayor of Lakeland is in hand. Multiple conversations with the City of Lakeland, who have reviewed our plan and indicated support. Formal approval proceeds through a major modification once the land closes. Shovel ready follows.
Where it stands · Timeline and current status
Now: Land acquisition. In active negotiation.
Next: Entitlements. Major modification with the City of Lakeland, estimated 4 to 6 months.
Then: Horizontal construction. Roads, streets, and infrastructure. Bids already in hand.
Then: Vertical construction. The first four residences, estimated 4 to 6 months of building.
Then: Residence deliveries. First move-ins estimated 8 to 12 months, possibly more, after construction begins.
Capital is raised and deployed in phases matching this timeline. Structure and details are discussed directly, not published here.
The developer · Who you're partnering with
You've seen the vision, the product, and the process. Now I want you to know me, not a bio paragraph, the real story, the same one I tell every buyer on the main page. Because if you partner on this, you're partnering with a person, not a pitch deck.
From War Veteran to Real Estate Developer.
U.S. Army · Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom · TEDx Lakeland Speaker
This project started with a drive. February 23, 2021. I passed a for sale sign on a piece of land, and something in me would not let it go. The real beginning, though, was decades earlier.
Before any of that, there was just me and my mom. I didn't meet my biological father until I was nineteen. For most of my childhood it was the two of us, and we came from the Jacob Riis projects in New York City. Where I'm from, owning a home isn't a dream people talk about. It isn't even a thought.
My mom brought us to Florida when I was about six, maybe seven. She met an amazing man named Eli Cruz. They dated, they fell in love, and they got married.
Not long after the wedding, the man I call my dad picked me up, set me on the table, and asked if he could adopt me. I asked what that meant. He said my name would be Cruz. I thought it over the way a kid thinks over anything important: Cruz starts with C, Padilla starts with P, and the chocolate milk line went in alphabetical order. So I said of course. Front of the line. That was the whole ceremony, and it was perfect. Franklin Padilla became Franklin Andrew Cruz.
My mother, Nancy Cruz, and me. For most of my childhood it was just us.
Then my dad showed her something she thought was impossible: a home of our own, as a family. Coming from the projects, that was everything.
The home she never imagined she could own.
My mom would not stop talking about that home. We had friends over. We had movie nights. I remember watching La Bamba with my uncles. People would come over and stay for hours. My mom cut hair at home. Everything happened at home. She loved it. We were happy.
The only letter I have from her. In her handwriting: Mom Nancy, happy we are all together as a family. Franklin playing ball with Popie Eli. We love you and miss you son. May God bless you always. P.S. Miss you and write to me. OK. Kisses to all. The biggest thing she drew was the home.
When I was ten, my mom was pregnant with my little brother Jordan. That weekend we won our baseball tournament. I was the star player. I turned a triple play in front of her. I stayed the night at my friend Bubba's house, and the next morning the call came: come see your brother be born. When I got there, everybody was crying, and I kept thinking something had happened to my brother. Then my dad came to me and said the words I have carried ever since. Your mom just died.
Jordan lived. She didn't. I was ten years old. I never got to say goodbye, and I never got to hear her say she was proud of me. I knew she loved me. Her letters told me that. And since that day I have known one thing for certain: nobody is promised tomorrow.
What stayed with me through everything since is how happy she was in that home. It wasn't a big home. It wasn't fancy. It was hers. That is what a home is supposed to do. A home is not supposed to be stress, or tension, or a bill you're afraid to open. A home is supposed to be safety, privacy, peace, and your own land under your feet.
So when the Army taught me discipline and real estate taught me the business, one question drove all of it: how do I build that feeling for people like my mom? I could easily rent all ninety nine of these out and never sell one. Never. Not my heart. These homes are for owning.
Nancy Cruz. My mother. My first why.
I'm Franklin Andrew Cruz. U.S. Army war veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and a real estate developer with a passion for architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright's organic principles, Gene Leedy's indoor outdoor living, and Mies van der Rohe's less is more. I happen to live in Lakeland. The mission goes further. I've run my own crews for years and built everything from a Habitat home to a 41 home community, and much more. If you want the full story, it's at franklinandrewcruz.com. When you join this community, you're not dealing with a sales office. You're dealing directly with me, developer to buyer, start to finish, together with a team I chose to make sure your experience is amazing.
The part most people don't know.
I was a big Back to the Future kid. After I built Cruz Court and sold it to KB Home, every national home builder bid on that property, and I talked to all of them. What I learned changed my life: we are never getting the homes of the future. Not one of those builders had any plan for style, for a Frank Lloyd Wright, a Mies van der Rohe, a Gene Leedy. Not one. Ever.
The kid in me wanted the future. · Two miles from our site, the banner says it: the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.
Elon Musk saw the same thing about space. He knew we were never going back to the moon or on to the stars the way things were going, and instead of complaining he did something about it. I decided to do the same thing with homes. So I started learning. And the first time I stood in front of a Frank Lloyd Wright home, it blew me away. A house built in the 1920s looked like it could have been built yesterday. That's when I understood that great architecture doesn't age, and great architecture can actually inspire you to be a better person.
I've been part of 30 plus developments and hundreds of real estate transactions. I went through a divorce after a 15 year marriage, and I raised two boys who are young men now, 17 and 24. At this stage of my life I want to give back. Modern homes for ordinary people, built on Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian principles, something that inspires the people who live in them. That's what my mother's joy taught me a home could be. Oaks on Olive is how I keep that promise.
A hands on developer. Every screw, every trade.
This is me with the guys during the butterfly roof build. I like being outside, on site, in the middle of it. We built the Habitat house in four months with me and four guys: sheathing, roof trusses, roofing, framing, drywall, flooring, the kitchen. I bought every material and called in every inspection myself. I want to know every detail, so I don't miss one. That's who is building your residence.
Built, not promised · Look at what's already standing
Don't take my word for anything. Every one of these is standing in Lakeland right now. Click any map link, drive by, walk the street.
The 41 home subdivision I built and sold to KB Home, taken from one house to a full community. The street carries the family name. That's me at the sign.
See Cruz Court on Google Maps
Modern butterfly roof homes at 716 and 720 W. 14th Street. City of Lakeland Beautification Award, Frank Lloyd Wright Spirit Award nominee, front page of The Ledger. A third is under construction now.
See them on Google Maps
The first Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Habitat for Humanity home. Community building is my operating history, not a slogan.
See it on Google MapsGet to know me, anywhere you like
Trust isn't built on one webpage. Follow along wherever you already are, watch how I work, and decide for yourself.
Questions investors actually ask, answered the way I work
"What's the rate?" Structures get built in conversation, not printed on a webpage. Some partners prefer straight interest on capital. Some prefer a preferred return with real participation in ownership and proceeds. Which one is right depends on you, your gain, your timeline, and your goals, and the final structure is papered with counsel. I have never closed a partner from a webpage, and I never want to.
"What's the minimum investment?" Also a conversation, because fit matters more to me than size. I'd rather spend fifteen minutes making sure this works for you than take a wire from someone it doesn't fit.
"Why a conversation instead of a term sheet?" Because every investor I've ever worked with started exactly there, and it's how both sides find out the truth fast.
Can I trust the developer? Don't take my word, take the record: 30+ developments, hundreds of transactions, a site I entitled and sold to KB Home, a street that carries my family name because of it, award winning homes standing in Lakeland right now. The whole story and every address is below, verifiable on Google Maps.
How is my capital secured? Within the site itself. Structurally, partners participate through ownership and/or a first mortgage position under a lending trust on the property, papered with counsel. And the ground under it has already been valued by the market: two written LOIs above $4M sit in conversation.
Why didn't you just sell to those LOIs? Both were affordable housing developers, and if you've dealt with that world you know their funding is roughly a coin flip. Rather than bet the site on someone else's tax credit award, we build it ourselves: architecturally responsible, raw true materials, low cost basis, profitable either way, and a win-win for the buyer or the renter.
Does the project work without the Opportunity Zone benefit? One hundred percent yes. The proforma you can open in conversation is built on those numbers, the OZ treatment is acceleration, not the engine.
How long is my capital committed? Until the refinance event. Best case roughly 18 months, worst case roughly 3 years, and the ten year OZ hold applies only to the qualifying structure if that's the path you take.
What are the major risks? Construction costs carry contingencies already priced into the horizontal and vertical numbers. Our price point is deliberately low, staying inside the workforce housing ratio bypasses roughly $40,000+ per property in impact fees, which protects margin. The risk I name out loud is key-man risk: me. That's why a detailed operating manual is being built, exactly what happens, in what order, and who inside my company picks it up and keeps going if something ever happens to me.
How are distributions made? If we sell, distributions on each sale. If we lease, monthly distributions once the properties are leased. Stated in the operating documents, not on a handshake.
Who covers cost overruns? True Investors Development.
What if sales or rents underperform? We're priced roughly $30,000 below comparable sales on purpose. The cushion is built into the price, not bolted on after.
Why this Opportunity Zone investment instead of another? Go with what feels right to you. I don't convince anybody to do anything, and if this isn't your fit and I can help you evaluate your next one, that's good too. It's all good.
Continue the conversation
By now you know what we're building, why, how it works, and who's leading it. If you're an accredited investor and want a direct conversation about partnering on Oaks on Olive, reach out. No deck-first funnels, no promises on a webpage. A conversation.
Contact Franklin DirectlyYou can also join the Priority List and choose "I'm an investor," and I'll reach out to you.
This page is informational only. It is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any investment opportunity, if offered, will be made only to qualified persons through definitive documents prepared by counsel. Figures and timelines are estimates from a working proforma, are subject to change, are not guarantees of performance, and remain pending land closing and final entitlement. Partnership structures described are discussion frameworks only; any actual terms will be established solely in definitive documents prepared by counsel. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances and current law; consult your own tax and legal advisors.