Taylor Morrison buys Bradenton land for $10.52 million

Homebuilder Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc. has acquired a roughly 200-acre tract in Manatee County, where it plans to develop a community of 350 single-family homes and villas.

The residential builder, which plans to commence construction on its new development during the second quarter of 2019, paid $10.525 million for the land, according to Manatee County property records.

The seller, the city of Bradenton, had used the Honore Avenue property as a holding reservoir for municipal drinking water. A recent shift to injection wells prompted the municipality to list the Evers Reservoir as surplus land in 2014.

A city request for proposals for the 200 acres, which lies on the southern edge of the former reservoir, was won by homebuilder WCI that same year, but the company backed out of a contract to purchase the property two years later. That move led to Taylor Morrison's renewed interest in the site and a second contract in 2016. City officials successfully rezoned the tract for residential development through Manatee County following Taylor Morrison's commitment to purchase the land.

Taylor Morrison was represented in the transaction by SVN Commercial Advisory Group Senior Advisor Tony Veldkamp, who adds the builder's price was based on the number of units it will be allowed to construct there.

“It’s an interesting situation,” Veldkamp says. “A big chunk of land in the center of everything, west of Interstate 75. Most new development there today is to the east. To find this one is pretty incredible.”