LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Construction on the new Lakewood Ranch maintenance facility should begin within the next few weeks.

The Inter-District Authority authorized Chairman Tom Green on Thursday to execute the nearly $2 million contract with Magnum Builders of Sarasota, Inc.

"We will let the contract in the next few days to Magnum builders and hopefully we'll be in our new building by November of this year," Green said.

The IDA selected Magnum as the winning bidder last month, but a competing contractor challenged the decision so the final selection was postponed until a special magistrate denied the protest.

That cleared the way for the board's move Thursday empowering the chairman to finalize and execute the contract, according to the board's attorney, Scott Rudacille.

The district is leasing its

current space from Pinnacle Academy, which needs the space for expansion, Green said.

"That's forced us into building our own maintenance facility. It was not motivated by improvements. We were leasing a building ... and we had to find another site," Green said.

The new building will be built near the Lakewood Ranch Post Office, northeast of the intersection of Lorraine Road and State Road 70.

"The plan included the purchase of the land and it included putting a building up, so it will be our own now," said Tom Leavey, a member of the Lakewood Ranch Community District 5 board.

Dee Graham, Herald reporter, can be contacted at 941-748-0411, ext. 7024 or tweet @DeeGrahamBH.