A Toronto-based company is beginning design and planning work on a 450-acre, village-style development in northeast Sarasota County, marking one of the first new projects in the wake of the Great Recession.
Lindvest Communities Inc. says it is seeking the development rights and hopes to break ground late next year.
Details, such as the price range of the homes or how many there will be are not finalized, but when Lindvest bought the property for $20.6 million in February 2008, the company said it planned to use the land for a "village-styled, walkable community, utilizing an urbanized approach, while preserving 50 percent of the open space."
Alan Anderson, executive vice president for the Home Builders Association Manatee-Sarasota, called the development "a great step forward" for the region's housing industry.
"It is sign of times and maybe the market will continue to grow and rebound," Anderson said. "I don't think we are going to get 20 of these at once, but if we get a few of these a year, it will bring construction back to a positive and reasonable level."
Lindvest bought the property north of Fruitville Road and east of Interstate 75 from Orion Bank and Mercantile Bank, which had foreclosed on the former owners -- serial real estate flippers Neil Mohammad Husani and Michael Tringali.
Lindvest has hired Sarasota's GAP Engineering & Planning LLC to spearhead the development and oversee all phases of the work, from planning through construction.
"We believe that projects such as this will complement the county's economic initiatives including affordable housing, accessible retail centers and viable commercial properties while preserving the area's natural beauty," said Roland Piccone, GAP's managing partner.
Coral Gables-based Dover Kohl & Partners has been hired as town planners and Orlando's Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc. will assist in design.
One problem Lindvest may have is that Sarasota County's ordinances require that a developer must control at least 1,000 contiguous acres to be considered for a village.
Lindvest had only 445 acres when they bought the property, so it will have to do one of three things: Buy more land; put together a joint proposal with a neighboring landowner; or change the county's ordinances, all of which are still being considered.
