Homes by Towne company buys land for Lakewood Ranch apartment

BUYER: Tri of Lakewood Ranch Apartments LLC (associated member: Towne Realty Inc.), Milwaukee, Wis.
SELLER: SMR Northwest Land LLC
PROPERTY: (the future Wood Fern Trail) a portion of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard north of 44th Avenue, Lakewood Ranch
PRICE: $5.94 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
An affiliate of Homes by Towne purchased 41.16 acres on the east side of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard for $5.94 million.

The price equated to $144,315 per acre.

The residential builder expects to break ground in the fall on a 360-unit apartment complex called the Echo Lake Apartments. The development will feature 12 buildings with 30 units each.

“The demand in this area continues to put it on the map to say the least,” says Wes Thompson, a spokesman for Homes by Towne. “It's equidistant to State Road 64 and 70. The property is also near shopping and the LECOM medical school.”

Thompson says the homebuilder is ramping up its apartment division.