Benjamin Leon leaned across his desk at his 647-acre farm off U.S. 441 last week and counted off on his fingers the ingredients of a good real estate deal.

“It’s when preparation meets opportunity and then you get lucky,” said the former Cuban refugee, who fled to Florida with his parents 50 years ago. “It’s not just luck.”

“And buy low and sell high,” he said, smiling.

During the past two years, when many in the skittish commercial real estate market stopped investing, the 66-year-old Leon started buying. This past summer he poured more than $8.5 million into two Marion County land purchases: 71 acres along Southwest 27th Avenue near 42nd Street and 51 acres along the 2900 block of Southwest 60th Avenue, near the Ocala Airport.

For the 27th Avenue purchase, he plans to build as many as 440 rental units — townhouses and apartments — in addition to office space.

He anticipates some phase of the development to begin within five years.

Leon paid about $6.5 million to Bahia Honda Real Estate Investments V LLC for the property, but said he doesn’t think about the money he is out. Instead, he thinks about the savings he made when buying the land: The property was once appraised at more than double what he paid for it.

And that brings him back to his faith in the county’s economic resilience.

The county will always be a draw to retirees and the service sector that follows them here to Florida, Leon said. In addition, it’s only a matter of time until Gainesville sees “explosive growth” southward and Ocala grows toward the north, he said.

“Ocala is in the center of everything,” he said, citing its proximity to Tampa, Orlando and Daytona Beach.

Many investors are only looking at the recent real estate downturn, he said, instead of what’s happened to Marion County real estate over the past few decades. And if investors were to look at growth here over the long haul, they would have the same faith in the county’s continued growth as he does, he said.

“No one has a crystal ball … but I think things will stabilize,” Leon said of Ocala’s economy. “I have all the faith in the world.”

Leon thinks that when the local economy starts to rebound, his property on 27th Avenue will be one of the first to benefit.

“It’s the best commercial property in Marion County,” he said.

That’s because, as Ocala’s population grows again, people will need a place to live, he said. But borrowing money to buy a home won’t be easy, he said. Banks will for many years invest their money elsewhere instead of loaning it to would-be homeowners.

“It’s going to be more difficult to realize the American dream … now,” Leon said.

And that leaves rental units as the best answer for many people looking for a roof over their heads. Leon hopes to be the person to provide it.

The property also has a good location in that it’s close to retail stores and Trinity Catholic High School.

“And you have proximity to the mall. You have proximity to Walmart. You have all the things you need,” he said. “It’s location, location, location.”

Leon looks at the 51 acres he bought from A J Barhoush MD PA profit Sharing Plan & Trust for a little more than $2 million in the same way.

“I believe things are going to happen [in that area]. I believe the Ocala [Regional] Airport will become an international airport,” he said.

Horsemen will continue to travel to the Ocala Breeders Sales Company (OBS) to buy and sell horses and use the airport to transport their horses to race tracks or their farms, he said.

He plans to build a hotel on the site, as well as storage units.

Leon admits he’s taking a risk buying the land but says it’s a calculated risk.

He points to other businesses in the area, saying there is a handful of people who also expect growth there.

“You have Walgreens and CVS on the corner of State Road 200. They’re telling me what they think of [Southwest 60th Avenue],” he said.

Leon also said he has the patience and financial resources to wait out the sluggish economy if it takes longer to rebound.

Leon made his fortune building and selling Miami health care businesses that catered to Spanish-speaking Medicare patients.

He has about 1,800 employees.

He also bought and sold real estate in Miami, but said he unloaded much of his properties before the housing collapse.

He said many who built during the real estate boom years were only speculators who rode the wave of rising prices but didn’t have the basic businesses savvy to understand the forces behind the businesses and problems just around the corner.

Leon said he could retire, but chooses to work and continue to build his businesses for his children, most of whom also work for the company, and his grandchildren.

Bartow McDonald, managing director for Sperry Van Ness/ Skye Commercial Real Estate, said Leon is representative of businessmen who see the financial potential of Marion County real estate.

McDonald said that in many cases it takes someone living outside the county to see that Marion County real estate is still a good investment.

“I think Mr. Leon is a very astute investor who is going to see a significant return on his investment,” McDonald said.

While many now avoid investing in real estate, McDonald said “Leon has the courage to act today and that is what differentiates a great entrepreneur.”

Geographically, Alachua and Marion counties have a lot in common, sharing a border, an interstate and a lake. Both are inland and rural with mid-sized cities at their centers.

Economically, however, they are worlds apart.

The recession brought out just how far apart.

Ocala, like other housing boom areas, was on the leading edge of a recession that cut deep — taking with it jobs, businesses, home prices and household wealth — and is only recently showing signs of starting the slow climb out of a deep pit, according to Moody’s Economy.com. The area had an abundance of jobs in home construction and manufacturing, industries that were particularly hard hit, dragging down related industries such as finance and spreading to retail and other sectors.

Compared to the state as a whole, the recession came to the Gainesville metro area later, dipped less and was over sooner, according to an analysis provided by Moody’s. The area was buffeted from deeper pain by relatively stable employment at one of the nation’s largest universities and a healthcare industry that combined account for nearly two-fifths of local jobs.

Moody’s economic outlook for Gainesville and Ocala also takes different shapes.

Led by health care, job gains in Gainesville are expected to accelerate late this year with full recovery by the end of 2011, ahead of the state and the U.S. The outlook improves with the state granting the University of Florida a 5.4 percent increase in funding in 2011 and a 15 percent increase in tuition. Home prices will rise faster than national averages after 2011. Long term, Gainesville’s economy will outperform the national average.

Ocala has to look more long term for good economic news but once the population starts moving again stands to outperform the national economy from migration gains.

In the meantime, Moody’s reports that it will take years to rebound from job losses and undo the damage to home prices. Jobs will gradually edge up this year and accelerate in 2011, but will not fully recover to prerecession levels until 2015. Home prices will continue to decline, though at a slower pace, before gaining any momentum perhaps in 2012.

Gainesville’s economic makeup is pleasantly boring, never experiencing the volatile highs and lows of the nation’s boom and bust cycles thanks to its dominance by state government – namely the university – and health care – stable industries that provide above-average wages.

Though susceptible to state budget woes, colleges tend to cut capital projects before cutting jobs, Moody’s reports. And despite an ongoing plan to cut 4,000 students over four years, UF will continue expanding research, boosting graduate enrollment and faculty and research jobs.

Health care, the only growth sector in the state during the recession, continued to add jobs in Gainesville.

Commercial Realtor Beau Beery of AMJ Inc. said local government regulatory approvals are more difficult here, which helped avert the overbuilding by national builders that Ocala faced.

With that backdrop, Gainesville’s gross metro product fully recovered in late 2009 and is reaching new highs while the economy has added a significant number of jobs after hitting bottom in August 2009, Moody’s reports. The area shed 6 percent of its jobs from peak to trough compared to 11 percent nationwide and the near 8 percent unemployment rate is below U.S. and state averages. However, many of the job gains are in low paying fields such as hospitality.

Ocala’s economy is more a function of its location.

Pete Tesch, president and CEO of the Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Corporation, said railroads built before the Civil War, phosphate mines and citrus helped establish the area’s manufacturing credentials.

Natural beauty brought visitors to areas like Silver Springs and helped establish the horse farm industry.

A large retiree population has also fueled a health care industry that boasts two hospitals and numerous clinics.

As a central Florida locale with cheap land and housing, it provided a retirement and second-home destination for people from the North and from South Florida, and a bedroom community for workers from higher priced surrounding areas, making it one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S.

But home builders got ahead of the growth and the subsequent crash brought construction to all-time lows for an extended period, eliminating hundreds of construction jobs. The ripple effects spread to home products manufacturers and the financial industry, with mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Corp. with 1,000 employees and Ocala National Bank forced to close. Lower consumer demand cut into other manufacturing companies, with the exception of defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Lower property taxes led to government cuts, with several hundred teachers laid off last year.

Over two years, the area shed 18,000 jobs, a drop of 17 percent, with the unemployment rate among the highest in the state at more than 14 percent.

In recent months, commercial Realtor Bartow McDonald IV said activity – whether looking, buying or leasing – is up for all types of businesses in Ocala. For the first time in two years, he said, properties are getting interest from multiple buyers as businesses and investors compete for deals.

McDonald, managing director of Sperry Van Ness / Sky Commercial Real Estate, said they were recently hired by a number of national restaurant chains to find sites in Gainesville and Ocala.

“They’re anticipating disposable income in those markets,” he said. “That’s encouraging.”

For the near term, business leaders are focused on the November election, Tesch said, delaying decisions until they can get a clear picture of economic policy and job creation directions.

McDonald said even Ocala companies with money to invest on expansion are waiting and hoping for a change in leadership.

Beery said a lot of future growth will depend on whether Florida voters approve Amendment 4 to the state Constitution, which would put many land use decisions to a voter referendum.

In the short term, it would help fill the existing inventory of vacant office and retail space, he said, but would eventually keep companies from expanding “because they don’t want to go through the hell of a vote.”

Looking ahead, Gainesville and Ocala stand to make significant gains in the health-care industry from an aging baby boomer population.

Gainesville’s economic development efforts are focused on nurturing companies formed from the many medical therapies, medical devices, information technology and other high-tech inventions to come out of university research with hopes of retaining graduates.

The high quality of life and low cost of doing business are important factors in luring professionals and technology firms, Moody’s reports.

Ocala’s inevitable recovery hinges on the same volatile factors that led to its prior boom and bust – population growth, Moody’s reports. As the national economy recovers and people are able to sell their homes and move, the area is again poised for rapid growth from in-migration.

Major highway and rail links that helped spur expansion in transportation and distribution centers before the bust will help a return to job gains in those areas.

Tesch said the industries with the greatest losses such as finance and manufacturing also provide recruitment opportunities with an available and experienced workforce. They have been preparing business parks, including a 200-acre site at Ocala International Airport.

“In economic development, I have to look optimistically at 14.9 percent unemployment,” he said. “We translate that into a deep labor pool of hardworking individuals with specific skills in that industry sector.”

Ten years ago, during a booming housing and real estate market, the Marion County Building Industry Association helped the Marion County Children’s Advocacy Center build Kimberly’s Cottage, a not-for-profit organization to serve abused and neglected children.

With the addition of a Child Protection Team, Kimberly’s Cottage outgrew its facility at 2131 SW 22nd Place and began to look for a new home, according to a news release.

The building association decided it no longer wanted to manage a property that included a rental hall and executive office suites inside a 7,245-square-foot facility at 2800 NE 14th St.

Kimberly’s Cottage board members visited the MCBIA facility and found it a good fit for their growing needs. The organizations closed on the property Dec. 1, according to the release.

Kimberly’s Cottage began moving into the facility on Tuesday. Child victims of abuse will continue to be served during the move.

The MCBIA relocated to 2635 SE 58th Ave.

“The new building will provide the space we need to accommodate the addition of the Child Protection Team to Kimberly’s Cottage as well as provide the space to grow and add additional services to meet the ongoing needs of Marion County’s most vulnerable citizens,” wrote Ken Ausley, the agency’s board vice president, in the release. “Add to this the great location and once-in-a-lifetime price and the move just makes sense.”

According to an e-mail from Bartow McDonald IV, managing director with Sperry Van Ness/Skye Commercial Real Estate, the price was $525,000.

For information about Kimberly’s Cottage, call 873-4739 or visit http://www.kimberlyscottage.net. For information about the Marion County Building Industry Association, call 694-4133 or visit http://www.mcbia.org.