Neal Communities buys land for 400-home Indigo community

BUYER: Empire State Holding Group LLC (managers: Patrick Neal and James Schier), Sarasota
SELLER: Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc.
PROPERTY: the corner of White Eagle Boulevard and 44th Avenue, Lakewood Ranch
PRICE: $8.29 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Neal Communities purchased 111 acres at the northeast corner of Central Park in Lakewood Ranch for $8.29 million.

The price equated to $74,652 per acre.

Neal Communities previously purchased 40 acres in that area from the Riker family, which gives the company a total of 151 acres to develop.

The land was acquired to create a follow-up community to Neal's Central Park, called Indigo. The homebuilder expects zoning and entitlements on the new community to take about a year, but infrastructure work on the first 40 acres has already begun. It expects to have models open in the first portion by March with models on the remaining portion of the property opening in January 2016.

As currently conceived, the gated community will have 421 single-family homes with a clubhouse, swimming pool, community kitchen and a pickle ball court.

Homes are expected to start in the $200,000 range.

The purchase entity, Empire State Holding Group LLC, mortgaged the 111-acre property to the seller, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc., for $4.14 million.

— Pam Eubanks, correspondent, contributed additional reporting