London Bay Homes buys Founders Club lots

BUYER: LB Founders Club I LLC (London Bay Community Investments LLC), Naples

SELLER: The Founders Club Development Co. LLC

PROPERTY: various lots, Founders Club

PRICE: $7.33 million

BUYER: LB Founders Club II LLC (London Bay Community Investments LLC), Naples

SELLER: Founders Estates LLC

PROPERTY: lots A-2, A-4, C-2, C-5, L-4, U-3, U-13 and U-14, Founders Club

PRICE: $1 million

BUYER: LB Founders Club I LLC (London Bay Community Investments LLC), Naples

SELLER: CRM Florida Properties LLC

PROPERTY: lots D-9, G-2, L-6, L-7, Q-12, Q-22, R-12, R-16, R-18 and U-11, Founders Club

PRICE: $1.77 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Cheffy Passidomo PA, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: London Bay Homes purchased the last remaining 86 home sites in The Founders Club for $11.25 million.

The price equated to $130,814 per lot.

The Naples-based homebuilder assumed management of sales and marketing for the gated golf course community, which is a few miles east of Interstate 75 off of Fruitville Road. Sarasota-based Signature Sotheby's International Realty will also continue to represent the community.

London Bay has developed other golf course communities, including Mediterra in Naples, a high-end master planned community. London Bay first entered the Sarasota-Manatee market in The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch.

Buying the property at an attractive price was key, says London Bay vice president and chief financial officer Stephen Wilson.

“We needed to change the pricing structure in order to regain sales velocity,” he says. “Previously, a house and lot in the community started at close to $1 million. Now, we can start in the high $600,000s.”

Adds Wilson: “The message we are trying to get out is that The Founders Club has always been an absolutely gorgeous community and that's going to remain as it has been. The price of entry has just been adjusted. It's a tremendous value.”

The Founders Club covers 700 acres. It features a total of 262 home sites, an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed golf course and a 24,000-square-foot Golf Hall clubhouse.

U.S. Asset Group, which developed The Founders Club with Sarasota developer Fred Starling, is expected to remain involved in the community.

“We plan to remain active on the board of directors of the club,” says Tom Brown of U.S. Assets Group. “We projected selling out all the lots in about five to six years. We started in 2004, so we accomplished that. Obviously, we thought it would take a more even sales path over the past few years. This worked out best for everybody. London Bay is a very capable builder. They have a reputation for building very high-quality homes.”

London Bay will act as both the developer and a homebuilder in the community. It will join existing Founders Club builders Lee Wetherington Homes, John Cannon Homes and Todd Johnston Homes.