Builder starts work on 700-acre, gated community

LAKEWOOD RANCH — National residential lot developer Forestar Group Inc. has begun construction of Star Farms at Lakewood Ranch, a multi-generational, 700-acre, gated neighborhood.

Plans call for the community to have 1,500 single family homes, paired villas and townhomes with amenities, clubs and hospitality services in a resort ranch hometown-feel, according to a statement. Builders are expected to be introduced this summer and construction of model homes is planned to begin in early fall, the release adds.

“It is exciting to begin our journey, watching our designs become places and our creations become new experiences,” Forestar West Florida Division President Tony Squitieri says in a statement announcing the March 23 groundbreaking. “In a short time, we will see families creating homes, friends and neighbors exploring new relationships and our community becoming a hometown for many.”

Lakewood Ranch is a 33,000-acre master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Attendees at the groundbreaking included Squitieri; Tony Chiofalo, executive vice president and CFO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, which developed Lakewood Ranch; Manatee County Building and Development Services Director John Barnott; Forestar West Florida Development Director Tim Martin; and Robert Price, Forestar West Florida land development manager.

“We are thrilled that we are moving closer to the opening of Star Farms, a village that will offer a unique mix of family and age-appropriate amenities and homes woven into a traditional town setting,” states Laura Cole, senior vice president of LWR Communities, in the statement.

Forestar Group has operations in 49 markets and 21 states. It is a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton.