Homebuilder buys land for $20M

SARASOTA — Prolific area homebuilder Pat Neal is making another attempt to develop more than 500 acres east of Interstate 75 into what is slated to be called Grand Lakes — and this time will include plans for more affordable housing.

Lakewood Ranch-based Neal Communities recently bought a swath of agricultural land two miles south of Clark Road, in south Sarasota County, for $20 million, with plans to use Sarasota County's long-range growth overlay — Sarasota 2050 — to build up to 1,100 homes. The firm's consultant Kimley-Horn and Associations will host a neighborhood workshop on the project at 6 p.m. Monday, March 6, at Twin Lakes Park, according to the Sarasota Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer.

The move comes four months after county commissioners denied a component of an initial application that swayed from Sarasota 2050's full affordable housing requirement. Last year, Neal sought to build 788 homes on the site. Leisa Weintraub, vice president of marketing and creative director of Neal Communities, says the homebuilder is creating a new affordable housing product for the project, but declined to provide specifics.

Sarasota 2050 is a voluntary development process that allows property owners to add more density to proposals located east of I-75, with regulations intended to promote walkable, environmentally-friendly developments.