Taylor Morrison buys land for Verona Reserve

BUYER: Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc. (principals: Todd Merrill, Louis Steffens, Charles Evans II, Douglas Miller, John Kempton and William Stapleton), Tampa

SELLER: OB Sunrise LLC

PROPERTY: a portion of East Venice Avenue, Jacaranda Boulevard and Delray Street, Venice

PRICE: $1.75 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.15 million, March 2002 and $240,000, April 2003

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Scottsdale, Ariz.-based homebuilder Taylor Morrison purchased 55 acres off of Jacaranda Boulevard for $1.75 million.

The price equated to $31,824 per acre.

Taylor Morrison plans to build a gated residential community on the site it will call Verona Reserve. The homebuilder plans to start developing the property in late August, with the goal of having it ready for sales by February. The community will feature a mixture of single-family homes and twin villas.

The development plan is still being finalized, but the community is projected to have 160 home sites. Sizes of the homes will range from 1,500-square-foot attached villas to 2,329-square-foot single-family homes, says Jeff Cooper, vice president of sales and marketing in the Sarasota office of Taylor Morrison. Prices will start in the $150,000s.

The community will also feature a pool with a cabana and restrooms.