Naples firm plans 563-acre Charlotte development

In the wake of its $6.5 million purchase of a 563-acre tract in Punta Gorda, Lely Development Corp. intends to start work on a project that could contain as many as 2,400 residents and hundreds of thousands of commercial square feet at completion.

The Tucker's Grade property is currently entitled for 999 single-family residences and roughly 22 acres of commercial space. But Lely President Joseph Boff says the eventual development there could contain a mix of single-family homes, apartments, condominiums and town homes, which could push up the total figure.

“We think this is where the market is going,” says Boff. “It's a straight shot from Punta Gorda into Fort Myers, and in Collier County, we're just about out of property to develop.

“I fell in love with the Tucker's Grade property the first time I saw it,” Boff says.

He adds that residences in Tucker's Grade — bounded by Interstate 75 and Tamiami Trail — will likely be priced between $200,000 and $400,000. He says, too, that the number of residences could range anywhere from 1,900 to 2,400.

Commercial space could include a new gas station, grocery-anchored retail center, hotel and restaurants, Boff says.

But much work needs to be done before Lely can sell homes or bring commercial space to the site, including extending utilities to Tucker's Grade. He anticipates that exercise could take two years to complete.

That work will come on top of land use changes and Southwest Florida Water Management District approvals obtained by the previous owner, a California equity fund, says Ashley Bloom, national land and development services product council chairman for commercial real estate brokerage firm SVN.

“We had to do a lot of work with utilities, the city of Punta Gorda and Charlotte County to make the property marketable,” says Bloom, who represented the fund in the sale to Lely. “But we felt those steps added value.”

Lely's other developments include the Barefoot Beach community in Bonita Springs and the Lely Resort Golf & Country Club, which includes three golf courses and hundreds of homes, in Naples.