Fast-growing village booms in home starts

The West Villages, a master-planned community in south Sarasota County, west of the Myakka River, continues to build a big lead for new home construction countywide.

There were 614 home starts in the community over the last 12 months, according to a report from data firm MetroStudy. That's good for 43% of all home starts in the county, according to a release.

Neighborhoods in and around the West Villages include Gran Paradiso at the West Villages, Island Walk at the West Villages, Grand Palm and Sarasota National. The area also includes Thomas Ranch, a separate master-planned community projected to have up to 20,000 homes and at least 3 million square feet of non-residential space.

In addition to home starts, there were 346 closings in the West Villages, 129 in Grand Palm and 55 in Sarasota National over the last 12 months, according to MetroStudy, for a total of 530.