Neal's new project: Grand Palm

VENICE -- Neal Communities began construction on the first phase of its newest community, Grand Palm.

The Venice community is the product of “seven years of planning and working with the county,” a release says, and the Lakewood Ranch-based firm's first contribution to the Sarasota 2050 initiative.

The community's first phase includes the construction of 259 homes. At completion, Grand Palm will feature 1,999 homes in four neighborhoods, as well as a village center, built on 1,005 acres. Company president Pat Neal says a third of the land being used for Grand Palm will remain “open space.”

Neal Communities has built more than 8,000 homes in Southwest Florida.