Meet the husband-and-wife duo bringing a $1 billion youth sports complex to Ocoee

Today, Jaime and Anne-Marie Douglas are the husband-and-wife, CEO and president leadership team who founded Montierre Development; the developer behind the $1 billion, 159-acre youth sports complex dubbed The Dynasty | Ocoee coming to West Orange County. 

However, their journey to leading the youth sports and sports tourism industry revolution came on the back of years of hard work, betting on themselves and — like The Beatles sang — getting by with a little help from their friends. 

Origins of a dynasty

The benefits of playing youth sports are well-documented in a variety of academic studies and countless anecdotal testimonies. It just so happens the story of the Douglas duo’s journey to developing The Dynasty | Ocoee is another example of the many benefits of playing youth sports. In the case of the development of the regional sports complex coming to Ocoee, the benefit that deciding to play high school baseball gave CEO Jaime Douglas was the relationships he built through the sport and the opportunities that came his way directly and indirectly because of baseball.

After his first season of pitching competitively, as a senior in high school, Jaime Douglas earned a spot on the Ohio Dominican University baseball team and managed to develop enough in one season for the NAIA program to show former UCF player Rich Wallace he had what it took to hop on the mound for the Golden Knights. All Wallace had to do was convince his summer ball teammate to head down to Central Florida. 

Wallace got Jaime Douglas to transfer to UCF, and after two seasons in Orlando, he was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 26th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. Douglas spent two seasons playing in the Angels farm system before spending the next four seasons playing for independent league teams.

Although playing professional baseball might sound like a dream come true, he didn’t make much money while playing in the minors. Fortunately for him and his bank account, the relationships he built playing at UCF helped land him different construction gigs during the offseason. 

“Jaime has been in the world of construction since his days of playing professional baseball,” Anne-Marie Douglas said. “In his offseason, he would reconnect with an old college teammate (Matt Rhodes), who would always put him in contact with different construction specialty tradesmen and he would work different trades of construction … to make some extra money. Jaime was actually on the crew that poured the concrete for Fun Spot Orlando.” 

Following his playing days, thanks to the off-seasons he spent working in a variety of construction trades, including HVAC, electrical and flooring, Jamie Douglas developed the requisite skills to thrive in the construction field. He joined Oviedo-based Wilson & Company General Contractors as a superintendent of construction. 

Eventually, the Douglas duo moved to South Florida, started a family and founded their own construction company, Montierre Development. 

“Working together has always been a family goal of ours but it was not always our reality,” Jaime Douglas said. “Anne-Marie was an emergency medicine and trauma nurse, and later a family and acute care nurse practitioner in Orlando and South Florida for more than 14 years prior to making the career shift and coming on full time with Montierre Development. She always worked with Montierre Development, since its day of conception, learning the ins and outs of the business … (sometimes) with a newborn or a few children in tow, to learn the field of construction and land development.”

After years of growing Montierre and their family — welcoming five children into the Douglas clan — Anne-Marie shifted from splitting her time as a nurse during the day and developer at night to focusing fully on the family business. And as luck would have it, another former teammate of Jaime Douglas helped spark the creation of The Dynasty | Ocoee.   

“Jaime and one of his best friends from the UCF baseball team, Mike Mercadante — our current vice president — were chatting one day about helping Mike expand a baseball academy he was working with in Ocoee,” Anne-Marie Douglas said. “Upon going to a meeting of the minds at Ocoee City Hall, Mayor Rusty Johnson mentioned a dream he’s always had of bringing baseball to Ocoee. … Before you knew it (we) were back at City Hall with an initial set of plans for the Ocoee Regional Sports Complex, which would later grow to become what we now know as The Dynasty | Ocoee.”

When family meets business

Today, the Douglases are living the dream of not only working together but also running their family business. Although there are challenges that come with the demanding hours and overlap of family and work, the two are grateful to be in this position.

“As a family, we thoroughly enjoy working together and building a better future for our and other families in the world,” the two said in a joint statement. “Being a large family — we have five children from newborn to age 8 — we find that we want to spend as much time together as possible. Working together was the best way for us to achieve that. We enjoy the challenges we face, we are grateful for the opportunities that are created, but most of all, we are are driven by the positive example of hard work, resilience, dedication and perseverance we are setting for our children and the world to witness.”

Having such a demanding schedule can cause blurred lines between their work and home lives. But thanks to the help of their team and their willingness to treat their business like a family by bringing the kids along, they have created a dynamic that not only works but also is helping their business thrive.

“We do not necessarily believe that there is one set formula for work-life balance,” they said. “There are ebbs and flows, and you must make it work … to be successful. We are beyond grateful for the team we have helping us to build The Dynasty | Ocoee, as (they) allow us to better balance and be present in multiple aspects of our family life and work life. Often times, you will see us bringing our family along with us, as we want to set a positive examples for our children, of what believing in yourself, hard work and dedication can create.”

Jaime and Anne-Marie Douglas have enjoyed seeing their dream become a reality.

“The journey of making The Dynasty a reality has been one filled with passion, love of the game, innovation and breaking down barriers — in an industry that has done things one way for so long,” the couple said. “The memories we have made along the way are ones that have made us stronger, more creative, happier, and overall, very fulfilled (because) we are creating a place where (we’re) bringing families together and prioritizing health, wellness and sports.”

The Dynasty is slated to begin construction this year and be completed in 2027. The couple is looking forward to the impact this project will have on the industry, the community and the athletes.

“We look forward to the positive impact this project will create for every single life it will touch,” Jaime and Anne-Marie Douglas said. “We look forward to the world of education and interaction The Dynasty | Ocoee will bring on a local and global scale. We look forward to helping to change the lives of youth (sports) athletes, spectators and patrons alike and creating an atmosphere of infectious positivity that will help to elevate each person The Dynasty touches for years to come.”