Builder closes on $38M land deal

MANATEE COUNTY — National homebuilder Lennar closed on a $38 million deal for nearly 1,400 acres in east Manatee County, where it plans to build nearly 2,000 homes.

Lennar bought the land from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc., developers of Lakewood Ranch in east Manatee County.

In August, Manatee County commissioners approved Lennar's general development plan to build 1,999 homes on the property, north of State Road 70. The sale of the land was finalized Dec. 10, according to Manatee County records.

Miami-based Lennar plans to split the acreage into two separate subdivisions, according to an August story in the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. The northern portion, which will be called Lakewood National Golf and Country Club, will be a gated 36-hole golf course community with 477 single-family homes and 1,110 multifamily units. Divided by the Braden River, the second section, Bridgewater East, will be further south and will have 412 single-family homes.