More build-to-rent homes coming to Lakewood Ranch

Development for a new build-to-rent community in Lakewood Ranch will begin this April after New York-based Lafayette Real Estate acquired property there for the project.

Called Lorraine Crossings, the community will include 66 townhomes on 10 acres near Savanna at Lakewood Ranch, with an address of 3518 Lorraine Road, according to sister publication YourObserver.com. The project received approval from Manatee County commissioners in April 2024 when the land was owned by Windham Development.

Michigan-headquartered Windham Development sold the property off Lorraine Road to a subsidiary of Lafayette Real Estate for $3.43 million in January, according to Manatee County property records.

“The significant growth of the Lakewood Ranch area makes Lorraine Crossings a key addition to our portfolio,” Lafayette Real Estate CEO and founder Thibault Adrien says in a statement.

Lafayette, which has more than 2,000 build-to-rent homes in the pipeline, has developed a few other build-to-rent communities in the region: Preserve at Pine Grove in Riverview, Belmont in Ruskin and Avila Bay in Port Richey.

Marquis Homes, which is Lafayette's vertically integrated homebuilding affiliate, will oversee construction of Lorraine Crossings.

“Developing the community in-house via our development arm, Marquis Homes, will allow us to build at an attractive basis, supporting our efforts to maintain attainable pricing for renters,” Adrien says. “Importantly, 25% of the homes in Lorraine Crossings will be dedicated for workforce households earning up to 120% of the area’s median income, further advancing our affordability goals for families of all types and sizes.”

Homes will begin to come online in the second quarter of 2026, according to a statement from Lafayette.

Brandywine Homes USA, another Lafayette affiliate, will handle leasing and property management once homes are completed. Brandywine manages and operates more than 1,000 single-family homes across Tampa, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale.

Lafayette has a portfolio of more than 5,000 homes and $1.3 billion assets under management.